《Dukes Bastard》 Prologue - Last Dinner talk before Enrollment In the Empire of Crest is a large Dukedom, in there lives the Family of Berklin. Duke Berklin and his Family was sitting on the Table and were eating quietly their sumptuous meal. While Duke Berklin, his wife and two children are eating on the long table on one side, his youngest child Drak is sitting on the other end alone. Although the Family is made out of beautiful people, Drak is extremely overweight and has a pale skin with black short hair. Even the Servants and Maids do not deign to look at him and only serve one side of the table with full intent to ignore the one outlier, except for the two maids directly behind Drak, who on the other hand ignore everyone else except him. Drak himself was clothed in rather mundane clothings for an Aristocrat and might be mistaken for a Merchant on the streets rather than Nobility. His fingers are adorned with Rings, each finger having a Ring with a chain going to them. Eight Iron rings on his Fingers except the pinkies, where the right hand has a silver Ring and the left has a golden. Nothing too ordinary, if not for the small black stones embedded into the Iron rings, the green jewel in the silver one and the grey pearl in the golden. No true Noble would be seen with such cheap and tacky accessories, but he is wearing them daily, like they are part of his body, never taking them off. ¡°Servants, leave the room. I will call you, when we are finished, as we have something to discuss under Family.¡± After the Words of Duke Berklin all Servants leave the Room except for two standing near Drak. ¡°Drak¡­ Your Maids¡­¡± While a bit angry, Duke Berklin holds his anger at bay. ¡°Claire, Alice. It is okay, just step out for a while.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Bowing to Drak and not even deigning to look at his Parents and siblings the two Maids leave the Dining Room and inviting a long time of silence while Drak still eats slowly and silently. Drak¡¯s meal was rather thoughtful for his stature. A small piece of meat with a variety of vegetables and decorated with sauce in a colourful design, a glass of water and another with fruit juice where a pitcher of water with Ice inside stands to the side. As dessert some slightly steamed fruits with a sweet red sauce put in the pit of the halved fruit pieces. For such a dish it was questionable, why he was the size he is, but somehow all in the Mansion just accept it as a fact. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. In this awkward silence Duke Berklin starts to collect his thoughts. His wife sits silent and had stopped eating, while his eldest son and his daughter wait for him to speak first to Drak the youngest child. Drak is only their half-brother, being conceived by a Maid Duke Berklin had taken into the house especially because of her beauty. Drak¡¯s mother died two weeks after giving birth to him and was always called the black sheep of the family, until¡­ ¡°It is your twelfth birthday soon. You will be going to the Imperial School, just as you wished and get a proper education.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± After the declaration of Duke Berkley, his Father, Drak only nodded and continued his meal slowly. ¡°Do you need anything else? Maybe Money or some recommendations, so you can make friends?¡± ¡°Nothing like this, but it would be better to write an exclusion of Magic evaluation, Sports and Combat classes. Can you take care of it?¡± ¡°Of¡­ of course! You need a residence, so I thought about the Mansion occupied with your siblings together¡­¡± ¡°I already looked into it. The old Woodsman estate in the City is ours, right?¡± ¡°That old thing? It is nearly broken down and I bought it only for the property to build later a better estate, this thing is not good for¡­¡± ¡°It is the ideal Mansion for the bastard of the Duke of Berkley. People might otherwise wonder why suddenly you show appreciation to me. Going to the Imperial School is already stretching it, but can be seen as ¡®benevolence¡¯, especially after the exclusion of most of the Classes that could be used in battle ¡®father¡¯.¡± At this moment Elizabeth, his elder Sister broke her silence. ¡°You still are not accepting our apology? I¡­ We know we were wrong! Please don¡¯t be so harsh to us and yourself. We can at least help you in the school, as you are our brother.¡± ¡°Just ignore me and try to keep our contact at a minimum. After I graduate, ¡®father¡¯ can disinherit me, give me some severance money and I will go wherever I want. Luke can become the next Duke and you can forget my existence. Oh, and I already forgave you all for what you did.¡± ¡°Then could you¡­¡± ¡°That does not mean I trust you!¡± Glaring at the Family which Drak not even considered any more his blood relatives they look dismayed and evade his glare. After a few seconds Drak starts to continue with his meal and looks at his food. ¡°Drak¡­ Brother¡­¡± Finishing his meal Drak stands up and goes to the Door, while the Family starts to finish their own meal, even if they do not have much appetite right now. Opening the door, the Server wanted to go forward, but after seeing Drak, his eyes filled with indifference and does not move. Claire and Alice, his private Maids come forth and walk behind him. All the other Servants ignore Drak¡¯s presence or avoid him purposefully. While Drak was going the head Butler looks at him and thinks of how strange the dynamic of the Family got years ago and is careful to avoid any direct confrontation against this now too mysterious bastard child of his Master. ¡®Maybe the Family will get better after he is out of the house. I do not understand what happens, but Master and Madame are definitely afraid of their son for some unfathomable reason.¡¯ Chapter 1 - Arrival of the Bastard ¡° ¡° ¡° This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡±¡± Chapter 2 - Entrance Ceremony and the new Desk Mate ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Stolen novel; please report. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 3 - First try in bullying, cliché unfolds ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 4 - Magical testing, disqualification and changes of the plan ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 5 - Tea Time ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 6 - Nightmares and other strange happenings ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Side Story 1 - Alice My Name is¡­ Alice I think? Time was strange for a long time. I was seeing colours that should not exist and there were these perpetual Nightmares, caged like an insect in a Tornado of Emotions. I was¡­ I remember, I was a Slave of an underground Alchemist. I was the drug test subject. My strong resistance was my luck, no it was my doom. Often I was forced to drink some things I did not want to. Injected with things, that let me feel like my bones were melting. Sometimes I was flying and sometimes I was falling. The worst were the times I had to test Antidotes for different poisons. First I got the poison and would writhe in agony, then I got the antidote that often did not work as expected. Sometimes I did throw up blood over days, until the Alchemist found the right concoction. Many of us died. I was less lucky and survived for several years. The worst was how the Alchemist said, that I was his favourite, as it always made me shiver in horror of what would come next. Turning point was, when I became useless. He said my Organs could not handle any more and I would die in a matter of weeks. He sold me to another slaver for cheap and I got to hear them talk. My original end should be Monster bait. With so much stuff in my body, those Monsters would become numb and easier to hunt. For this the Monsters would need¡­ to eat my flesh. While I was ready, someone different came. I still saw things that weren¡¯t there and thought him at first as another illusion. A behemoth of a Monster made out of darkness but at the same time¡­ a crying child? I could not understand what I saw, but that was nothing new. What was new was the choice that Behemoth gave me. While I could not understand the words at that moment as they were just shaking my mind I felt like this time I could make a choice. One choice that really mattered. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Laying my hand into the claws of the Behemoth, the crying child got quieter and it made me glad. How nice to make this little child not hurt so much. While that Behemoth took me away in his jaw out of wood and wings made out of horses I remember his caring claw holding my shattered body together. I was close to sleeping eternally, but he would not let me. In his burrow he took away those colours and crazy illusions. For such a long time I was not thinking in shapes but in words. Lines became straight and my Fingers did not multiply any more when I looked at them. I was nearly scared to death over this new World, I had never seen before. While I was getting used to my new home in this Mansion, he took away my pain and sorrow and gave me new abilities. Like the Alchemist he experimented on me, but unlike the Alchemist he was¡­ gentle. When I was hurt he would care for me. When he saw me in pain he would soothe it immediately. While resting he was holding me often. Not out of lust, but out of¡­ loneliness. He was lonely, way more than me¡­ --- My Name is Alice and I am the personal Maid of my Benefactor and Master. I was formerly trapped in nightmares but he showed me the way out. Without him I would already be dead and I am thankful not to be. I finally know how it feels like to be cared about. For everything he gave me I want to give him back a hundred times, if not more. My close Sisters are like me and also want to be with him forever, so I have not only my dear Master but Friends I can be with. Never did I thought I would make friends that are not imaginary. As I have the same colour of Hair as my Master, black, I often take care of it and make sure it is in pristine condition. While it already reaches my behind, I still will not cut it any shorter, as it makes me glad, we have something in common. My dear Master loves my voice. In his words, it soothes him and my singing can help him relax. I was so elated, that I promised myself only to let Master hear my voice. Okay, my close sisters are an exception of course. And maybe I talk to the Bloodsworn sometimes for Orders, but no one else! Master sometimes worries about me, as I have often bags under my eyes, but I always assure him I am fine. Better not telling him I lay awake deep at night and look at his sleeping face for hours. While I work as his personal Maid, I also help him in other things, that need more direct approaches. The Underworld is not a nice place and often my powers are needed in making things go smoothly. Also my dear Master found that Alchemist. I gratefully gave that Alchemist back what he gave me, but he only lasted for a few hours before he stopped moving. How weak, I drifted inside for years but he gave up after such a short time. While I now only have beautiful dreams, Masters enemies will get Nightmares from me. Chapter 7 – Black Merchant meets the Syndicate ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 8 – ‘Dear’ Brother and Sister ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 9 – History, that erodes the Heart ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡°after I put the slavery curse on Duke and Duchess Berklin.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°That is a lie right? How can she not be there? Even if you want her to be honoured, would you not place her Body there by relocation? She is your Mother and you should have made them put her there from the Servants graveyard!¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡° ¡° ¡° Alchemic Furnace. A great invention with a whitish flame inside. Non magical items can be thrown inside and instead of burning them, the whitish flames disintegrate everything into particles that float into the earth and nourish it with new minerals. Albeit expensive, high ranking Aristocrats have their own at home and do not need to bring them to the communal one. Ripped clothes, simple Garbage and for some ruthless Aristocrats even dead Slaves were thrown into it to get removed. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°No, it was your Mother Elizabeth. Funny, isn¡¯t it? First she was forced to submit to the Baron, as he was pent up, because the Duchess did not want to do her obligation, then she got pregnant and was called a whore, after my birth she was poisoned by the Duchess for seducing my ¡®Father¡¯ and after he found out I was really his kid, he was so angry he threw all of my Mothers belongings including her into the Furnace. What a joke.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° While Luke is silent of his own, Elizabeth looked at Drak in pain and horror while crying without a sound. Luke saw how the Servants were ordered to throw away everything and while he remembered the bedsheet he also remembered the hand of a woman looking out of it. He always knew, but did not care as it was her fault for bringing Drak into this World, but now he regrets to not understand anything and especially the upbringing of his parents who made it look like it was no big deal. ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°...there does not come to mind anything you could do. It just might be already too late for us to ever have anything of a relationship between Siblings.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°I put a Slave Curse on you with a dozen of others. Do you really think, I would believe you, if you want to be near the one who enslaved you by force and put lethal curses inside of you, that could even make identifying your remains nearly impossible?¡± ¡°I¡­ yes, yes I want to know you and try to be a Sister for you, not for me but for you, the one I have hurt so much!¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°But I am not. I saw the Cake, and it is a disservice to call that even courtesy. Not even hiding it at all, I can not stand it.¡± ¡°Master, I believe he makes sense. We are already outside of the Duchy, they can handle their Servants how they want, as long as they do not tell anyone something important.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°Alright, alright. Elizabeth, Luke, as there is already some hiccups in my planning you are allowed to ¡®educate¡¯ your Servants, but do not let anything about myself slip, as otherwise the Curse Marks activate and you might be in deep trouble.¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡°Curious¡­ I will think about it, could be a bit longer in the Future though. Next is the show for Sir Spy over there.¡± Chapter 10 – Retraining plans and reporting reasons A scream came out of the Lounge. The Guards and Staff were shocked and rushed in, post haste. ¡°You fat pig, what did you¡­!¡± ¡°Guards! An intruder, capture him!¡± While the Guards thought the half brother finally snapped and did something, they were shaken by the voice of their Master Luke to look at the corner. In that corner a person clad in black was hurriedly standing up and before they could do anything the Person jumped through the window and vanished right away. ¡°What are you doing you morons! After him!¡± ¡°Yes Sir!¡± Running through the Lounge and jumping out of the Window they searched the Garden for the long gone suspicious Person. Nothing could be done, the Person itself was way too skilled and escaped right after being spotted in the Lounge. - ¡°That concludes our visit. It seems you have more on your hands and I do not want to steal your time Elizabeth, Luke.¡± ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience. Whoever that was will be found and inquired about his motives. I hope to see you another day Brother.¡± ¡°Yeah Drak. Just come over, if you have the time. We are not at home and you are our Brother.¡± While the small talk was done the Servants were feeling a bit incredulous. Since when do their Masters talk like that to their half brother? They remember in the Duchy, they never talked to him for a very long time and mostly evaded him, but now? Is it some kind of play or do they want to look benevolent to their waste of a brother inside the School? ¡°I will think about it. Right now there are many things to do and to study. Maids, we are leaving.¡± ¡°We bring you to the door, Brother.¡± With Elizabeth¡¯s words Luke also walked him to the door where the Coach lazed around. Seeing Drak an his maids coming out, he not even cared and just waited with his Carriage close to the other end of the track through the front Garden. When Elizabeth and Luke saw this behaviour they were incensed. ¡°Head Butler, is this how our coachman should behave? Do we need to walk to him too, if we need a ride and beg him to drive us?¡± Not really understanding what Luke meant the Butler was a bit perplexed before Elizabeth also started to shout. ¡°Get that lazy piece of work right over here with the carriage, or by the House of Berklin you both will be punished with the worst we can get legally away with!¡± Finally the coin dropped, that his Masters are meaning what they say and ran over to shout to the Coachman. His speed was way faster than when he walked to Drak the first time he came through the door and under huffing he makes the Coach work double time. The whole thing was even funnier, as the shouting of the Butler scared the white horses and needed a little bit of time to behave. Driving over, the Coachman was sitting in the seat and did not move as Luke personally ordered him to open the carriage door and put the stairs out. Not knowing what is going on, he just followed orders and made sure to work the official courtesy he would give everyone except his Masters half Brother. ¡°...Thank you.¡± ¡°No worries Brother. We will see to it that the bad behaviour will be sorted out by the next time you visit us.¡± Elizabeth was friendly and tried her best to be like a real Sister, while also balancing the distance to Drak, as he seems to still dislike their presence in general. She thought it would take so much time to close that chasm she herself created with her own doing. ¡°...~¡± Drak nods and entered the Carriage. Afterwards the Maids got on too and while the Coachman was rigid at first, he noticed the look on his Masters faces, carefully put up the stairs and closed the door himself, like he was originally trained to do. With that he originally wanted to go on top and just drive those nuisances back to where they came from, but Luke came forth and talked in a low tone to him. ¡°I know what you are thinking, but he is flesh and blood of the Berklin Family. You have slighted him for years, and we just ignored it but it is now enough. If I hear you mistreat or even disrespect him you will not be the only one who will be punished. Your Wife in the house is pregnant right now, right?¡± Cold sweat flowed from the face of the Coachman, his face white as a sheet. He did not know what is going on right now, but definitely would remember to not look down on that waste¡­ no, his Masters half brother ever again and be as courteous as he could be. Jumping on the Coach Seat he first thought to drive fast, but could hold himself back at the last Second to not make a mistake and made the Horses start the trip slowly as to not shake the visitors too much. - ¡°What do you think you are doing?!¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Returning to the Lounge, Elizabeth was furious at seeing how the Servants were close to throw away the Cookies with the whole Plate. ¡°I¡­ I am sorry Miss, we need new tableware, as it is already soiled by-¡± ¡°Set that plate down on the Table! Now!¡± Not understanding the Maid did so and was already thinking of a generic apology as she did not know, what she did wrong. Elizabeth came to her in a quick step and slapped her across the face with heavy hand. Falling to the Floor the ears of the Maid still kept ringing, not knowing where she caught the ire of her Master. ¡°Why do we need a new tea set, just because our Brother touched it? Would we also need new sets every time you all touch it with your filthy hands?!¡± The Servants were all shocked by the sudden outburst. While their Masters were silent the whole years, the treatment of the Servants was still the same ever since. Is this some kind of reoccurrence of the missing Day that happened in the Duchy? Sitting down on the couch Elizabeth drank the last bit out of her cup and ordered at another maid sternly. ¡°Give me some tea out of the kettle¡­ And bring the plate with the cookies over!¡± Still not registering what they had heard no one was moving. While the first maid still silently sobbing on the floor is keeping quiet, the others were quiet out of not knowing what to do at first. ¡°Miss, this tea was brewed by the maids of that¡­ I mean your-¡± ¡°Did. I. Stutter!¡± ¡°My Sister wants tea and those cookies, and you are really ungrateful for not presenting them to her. I will see for how I will punish you, so better not make it worse!¡± Domineering Luke made his point, as he was rather angry at his Servants too. So long was he not able to get that grudge out of his stomach. He understood the simple scheme his Brother had worked on, to be as inconspicuous as possible, but while he is a bit young, his planning is not the best. One of the rough edges were how the inconsistency of the Family and their Servants behaviour was. Now that they are a bit less restrained, they first wanted to vent that vile feeling inside them before smoothing over details for him. ¡®My half brother is simple in his scheming, but it is what he wants, so best to help him somehow. It should be possible to help a bit. And about the Empire¡­ No, that is no ones problem, they just do, what they are doing. Better ask him to keep Sister¡¯s mind clear at least.¡¯ ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, there is just half a cup. If Miss wants, I will brew a new one right-¡± ¡°It is enough. You can go and clean the rest of the dishes. Do not throw them away just like that!¡± ¡°Yes Miss, I understand!¡± While the Servants were running around like ants doing their best to make their work as seamless as possible to abate the wrath of their Masters, Luke sat on the other couch directly in front of Elizabeth where originally Drak sat. ¡°Master we did not clean that place as of-¡± ¡°What? Is my half Brother that filthy? Are the Berklin in your eyes just filth staining this Mansion?!¡± ¡°No Sir, I did not mean-¡± ¡°Get out! All of you. NOW!¡± Without any time in between that order everyone left the Lounge in a hurry. While they were panicked, they still bowed before going through the door, except the one Maid who was hit, as she had already a hard time walking straight. Elizabeth did not hold back with her slap and it showed. ¡°Close the door!¡± Luke commanded the last one to close the double door and left them inside alone. The wind through the broken Window was the only thing that was heard as the search team was already far away looking for the suspect. Elizabeth took the half full tea cup and saw an ember coloured liquid gently swaying inside. No residue or other blemishes were inside, this tea was really well prepared by his maid. She notices with how much love this must have been brewed. After a taste she put the cup down and took one of the remaining cookies for a nibble. ¡°...It is sweet. Does Brother like sweet things?¡± ¡°His Life was and still is really bitter, so I can understand him to love sweet things to balance it out. Maybe that is why¡­ no, it is definitely because of his constitution, it has nothing to do with that.¡± ¡°We were not that better. I am still regretting it. Why did we do such things?¡± ¡°It is our Education from our Parents, Sis. We imitated them and saw only upper and lower class. Just seeing him as lower because¡­ No, it is also our own fault, too. We just made him our outlet, for our own convenience.¡± Elizabeth nodded at Luke¡¯s words. Still her eyes were moist from the realization how deep the pain goes inside Drak. She was not sure if she ever could mend those scars on his heart, but at least she would try her best. ¡°First we should make this place a bit more homely for our Brother, Luke. His Maids seem to be angry with the Servants too, so we should make them have a better opinion of us. We need to educate those people and thoroughly at that! I will whip them until-¡± ¡°Stop! Do not use a whip. We can use everything else except a whip.¡± ¡°Eh? Why is that Brother?¡± ¡°...trust me. Drak would hate it and it would be very bad.¡± ¡°Is there something I do not know?¡± ¡°I do not want to talk about it, just¡­ trust me and do not use a whip. Do not have anything like that even near him. It¡¯s better that way.¡± ¡°I understand. There are still things I do not know, I¡­ I need to work harder to try and remedy what we all did.¡± ¡°I help. We are Family, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ You, me¡­ and Drak is too.¡± - ¡°Reason for the incident was an injured knee?¡± ¡°Yes Princess. Albeit the Doctors did not see any issues before, an old scar inside the knee got inflamed and made him lose balance, accidentally revealing himself.¡± ¡°An accident, huh? If the doctors found it, so it must be true. But somehow I still have doubts. What did those Siblings talk about?¡± ¡°It was more or less courtesy, the talk was only about school and related issues. Tone was cold and detached. There were some signs of reconciliation, but were still more out of embarrassment for some behaviour in their own home fief.¡± ¡°So no clue at all. Still somehow I feel there is something going on, we might overlook or not able to see.¡± ¡°A premonition?¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe just a feeling of unease, because of the last failure to connect him with the black Merchant. Whatever, we have time. Six more years, it is only one week since we are tracking him in the Central Domain. Review prior happenings with the new Information we now have.¡± ¡°Yes Princess.¡± Chapter 11 – Still problems at School ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Side Story 2 - Seria My Name is Seria Anderbach¡­ or better was¡­ I had a Nickname: The golden City Flower. I was pretty and also pretty narcissistic and vain. Showing of my beauty always brought me joy, as the people stared and either awed or envied me. Born as the daughter of Lord Anderbach, I was Nobility. While we did not have our own Fief as we were below the Barony, we had still our own pieces of properties in the great Dukedom and were honourable doing business. People with Nobility had it easier to do Merchant work as my father always said, but we were so close to becoming a Baron family we just needed a supporter, and that was when all was going down hill¡­ Duke Falk was infatuated with my beauty. He was old and had already a wife, but if I would become his¡­ Concubine, we would become Barons in no time. At first I was totally against it, but my Family pleaded with me. As I was close to agreeing suddenly strange rumours came out and my whole Family was framed in embezzlement, illegal substance trade and having dealings with the Underworld. So close to my families dream and we were all either put in jail or made work slaves for a few years before becoming commoners again. While I thought I would work some kind of menial job, I was scared of where I was brought. The Mansion of the Duke¡­ My first thought was, he did not want to wait any more and just took me by force. Forging my death certificate and making me an illegal Slave was in my mind and my fear was made true, but it was oh so much worse... When I was chained up in the hidden room not the Duke came through the door¡­ but his wife. Some people love pretty things like me¡­ some loved to destroy pretty things¡­ like me... I remember the agony as she ordered the man she brought with her to peel off my face. I never cried in utter pain like this before. Afterwards I was made the favourite punching bag for the Duchess. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Pulling out my Fingernails, covering all my skin in rash inducing tonic, ripping out my hair bushel by bushel, kicking, burning and breaking my bones. I got finally numb after she brought a silver tablet and unveiled it to be the head of my younger brother. If he was dead, then¡­ I did not feel any more at that point. Even when she brought the Head of my Mother and Father I did not care. I already knew they would be dead, too. So she got bored with me. Discussing about selling me to a brothel was quickly thrown away as an Idea, as she thoroughly destroyed me. So I just needed to be ¡®disposed¡¯. While she definitely meant to be killed, she did not care and her helpers just sold me for such a low price I would have laughed, as my former cheapest accessory was worth more than that, but¡­ like how I was, maybe the Slaver did pay too much. I was brought to another City in another barony to not accidentally be found out of me being an illegal Slave and marked as Victim of an alchemic explosion in the laboratory. I could not refute, as my tongue was already gone. That was when he came. He took me out of this horrible World and gave me a new life a new start¡­ he gave me back my face! --- The Name is Seria, and I am the dedicated Maid for my Master and my Master alone. While my past is behind me, he gave me the strength and motivation to live a life with my close Sisters and a reason to finally smile again. I am highly educated in Arithmetic, Calligraphy, Law and Business. I take care of all the tedious tasks of my Masters off the book Market of selling diverse products, where we have superior quality or a Monopoly. While those things can only be sold on the grey market and sadly some very niche items on the black market, I hold his financial Empire in my hands for him. He trusts me unconditionally and I will never abuse his trust in any way, even if I have to die or worse. Unlike my Sisters I wear a veil, as I only want to be seen by my Master or my Sisters. I remember when he healed me and just looked with his eyes dumbfounded and muttered ¡®so pretty¡¯. At first I thought he was messing with me but really my Face¡­ my true face was back and more! Only he has the right to see my true face. Alas, I would him show so much more of me but he only cuddles¡­ But I can wait, as my Sisters do it too. We wait for him, even till our death if needed. By the way the former Dukedom I lived in, broke apart. The Duke was murdered and all his children too. Their Heads were found stacked on a silver platter and the cry of the Duchess was rumoured to have been heard through the whole Mansion. It came out witnesses had seen how she herself killed them laughing maniacally and in horrible ways at that! While she was put on the axe block to be beheaded, I was there. She even saw me from her white face and how she wanted to cry out again, but the axe was faster and her cry was never heard. Well she saw my true face, but her head flew off a second later, so it should count as punishment for looking at something she should have not seen, right? Chapter 12 – Girl with Glasses and Shopping in the City ¡° ¡° ¡°¡­¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° Chapter 13 – Prophesies of Death and Silence Inside Darkness there stirs a Woman in a dress. Looking around in wonder and trying to figure out where she was. ¡°A Vision? Now? But I am not sleeping, how am I¡­¡± The darkness slowly vanishes and she was on a grassy field looking at a starry night. While it should be dark, she could see like in the daylight all around her. ¡°Such a detailed Vision. I was having none for Days, but now this.¡± Around her were the first animals visible. Birds flew short spaces and hid again in the long grass. More and more of the Field got shown in front of her but all creatures she could see were birds. Large one, small one, colourful one, even ones that look like the grass itself or burrowing in the ground. ¡°Only birds? Does that mean some-¡± She noticed stirring behind her. For the first time she turned around and saw a black mountain area. Ten peaks looking weird and have strange decorations on the middle, she only slowly can decipher. ¡°No, that is not a Mountain range!¡± Realising the thing in front of her is not what it first seemed she now looked in abstract horror onto this gigantic behemoth of a creature. Eight gargantuan legs looking like elephants feet would hold it high into the sky if it were not¡­ napping? ¡°It is sleeping, thank the gods.¡± Looking closer Eleonora saw more details of this thing. Black carapace like impregnable oricalcum, powerful feet making the world shatter below it, ten horns on its back like some kind of crown. ¡°Those Horns are inlaid with Iron?¡± Finally realizing how the decorations on the Horns she mistook for Mountains were surrounded by bands of Iron the eery engravings on them were horrifying. Human faces distorted and elongated breath in the power of this Behemoth devouring it in an endless stream to keep it hidden from the world, the closer someone came the higher the chance to realize it is not just some mountain but a living being. ¡°Chains?¡± There were chains going to a golden Halo, the bands were chained to this halo and giving it more power to devour even more vigorously. ¡°How much power¡­ This is insane! If it were not suppressed by those bands, how strong would it be?¡± Noticing something flickering around the Mountains¡­ no, those Horns, Eleonora saw four big and beautiful birds flying around. Everyone was different and had impossible characteristics. One of them noticed Eleonora and landed while looking at her. It was an etherial bird with no fixed form, like a moving flame or just a Mirage, but the Eyes were piercing through her. A voiceless cry was shaking the area. Nothing was heard by Eleonora but every single bird noticed the shout and looked at the human intruder. The other three birds in the sky were landing next to the first one. A small woodpecker with a small black beak. The beak was glistening and shows power beyond believe, one peck and Eleonora would be just a stain on the floor. The second was a scarred raven with metallic wings emanating a smell of salt. The last one was the most baffling, as it had no true form as if it shifts between looks. Sometimes the Creature vanished completely and only the word ¡®Bird¡¯ was in its place, it was ridiculous. The Behemoth slowly waking up was noticing Eleonora too. Her presence a nuisance and while it still lied down on the ground, it was watching her. ¡°This is bad¡­¡± Looking around she tries to find a way out. She felt the breath of Death right in front of her and she did not like it. She was never that close to dying and if she died in this Vision, her Death in real life might come faster than she would like. ¡°An escape. How to live?¡± Looking around Eleonora tried to find an out. Most Visions had her do something to see the real outcome, but she could not find anything. Trying to shout was her first Idea but noticed right away, this would kill her on the spot, so there must be another option. Seeing the birds all around her she noticed more things. ¡°Scars on the Wings¡­¡± All Birds looked like they had clipped wings and bruises on their necks, slowly healing. They were domesticated? But now they are free, or not? Seeing the small bands on their left feet made her realize those Birds were all owned Pets. ¡°The owner¡­ Is it that Behemoth, dear Gods how many¡­¡± The bands on their feet were slightly red, while many had close to white bands. Looking up to the Behemoth the four Birds on its back had also bands but these were crimson red and slightly glowing. It made her feel like those bands were close to bleeding so red were they. ¡°Where is the escape? There must be one. I must find it!¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Looking around she notices the Darkness slowly creeping back from the horizon. ¡°Damn! The Vision is ending, if I do not find a solution fast I will die!¡± Panic came over her like the other time where she had no hope in her Dream. Finally she found something in front of her feet lying on the ground and she took it immediately. A tool would often show her the right way, she just needed to understand how to use it. ¡°A needle with red string. What shall I do? I do not understand!¡± Darkness came closer and closer, behind the Behemoth the creeping shadow started to engulf him and devour her hope to make it out of here intact. ¡°Running and I am dead, shouting and I am dead. I need to appease all of them but how¡­ No, this is insane, that is stupid!¡± Realizing her way out she saw the still slowly creeping Darkness coming closer. ¡°I need to do it, otherwise I will not know if that is the right way! Damn it!¡± Taking her shaking hand she put the Needle on her lips¡­ and started sewing her Mouth shut. ¡°Pain! There is never pain in Visions, even when that creepy one cracked my Skull open there was none! No, I have to be quiet. If I even make a noise, I will die!¡± Slowly sewing close her own mouth the bloody needle never stopped and after an excruciating long time finally she was finished. The pain suddenly halted and the thread became invisible while the needle vanished. The eyes on every Creatures around her still stared right into her soul until¡­ ¡°They are dispersing. Still watching but now they are not hostile to me and the Behemoth started dozing off again. I am saved?¡± Darkness engulfs her and this vision should soon end. ¡°I survived. I may not have much time to understand what to do, but need to do it quick, when I wake up. My life is on a thin thread!¡± After a few seconds the place started to light up again. ¡°Another one! Is this a new one or continuation, I am so confused already, let me understand the first one, damn it!¡± Inside a golden cage Eleonora stood. Below that cage was a giant chess board moving into the eternity without end. In the darkness she felt a familiar presence. ¡°There is someone playing a gigantic chess board. This feeling of familiarity. Someone I know?¡± The presence seems to be busy and did not notice her on the chess board, but felt if she just said a word, it would make her visible to the one she felt such familiarity to. At a loss what to do, she noticed her small cage rattling. A small force without being noticed by the presence shoves her slowly and steadily from a black space to the neighbouring white space. ¡°Isn¡¯t that cheating? My teacher said, cheating is it only if it is noticed, but that blatantly is a bit much.¡± While she is slowly shoved, she was in a dilemma. The presence does not notice for now, but only a word and she would stop being moved and instead placed back to where she should belong. ¡°Telling or not. Why is it so difficult, is the Presence not someone I know? What is this force for making me move without permission?¡± While she was close to shouting to the presence, she remembered the last Vision. The last time the solution was silence. Brutal and vicious silence, but silence. ¡°If that was the case, then what about now? I mean I know the Presence, but is it really someone I could trust? The force pushes me, but could have pushed me directly without the presence noticing, it made it careful to not shake me too hard and I do not think it is because it does not want to be noticed but for my comfort. Better believe my intuition for now.¡± Being silent the cage was finally pushed to the white space and nothing else had happened while the darkness slowly crept in. ¡°Was I wrong? Maybe I should shout¡­ no I made my decision, now I have to see.¡± Before the Darkness came fully a red statue came through the chess board. It was originally grey, but soaked in blood. A skeleton with a scythe scraped through the black space the Cage originally stood on and left a trail of blood and gore. ¡°I would have been¡­ What does this now mean? I escaped two Visions and both were showing me my Death. Why am I on such a tight rope and balancing between multiple ways I could die, I am going crazy!¡± - Out of shock Eleonora let go of Drak¡¯s hand. While she is still a bit dazed she realizes where she was and sensing from her surroundings no time had passed. ¡®Back to where I am. How could I have Visions while awake and in such a short time? No matter, I can not let the people know-¡¯ Eleonora noticed the look on someone specific. A Maid of Drak looked at her with unblinking eyes. Her smile was gentle but did not feel warm at all. Looking unwavering at her she looked in Eleonora¡¯s eyes like¡­ a specific etherial bird. ¡°...~¡± Fear started to crawl like the freezing cold of winter slowly up her spine to her skull. This was bad, really bad. The next moment she noticed the scarred maid slightly touching her own skirt, seeing multiple metallic things glinting for a split second in her hands. ¡®metallic feathers-¡¯ Looking at the small stature of the always bubbly cute maid of Drak, her eternal smile she wore was a bit diminished, and she remembered a woodpecker in her Vision. She did not even need to look at the veiled one, she already knew. With only touching Drak¡­ touching that Behemoth, she made her demise so close she could taste the earth put on her grave already. Her brain was working in overdrive until she finally could speak after a few second. ¡°I know, you would like your new outfit being a secret, but I would love to be by your side, I will not say anything about it I swear.¡± ¡®Please notice my intention. I really will never tell anyone, I swear in my heart and be forever silent about it. Please!¡¯ ¡°...~¡± ¡°It is embarrassing¡­ but okay. And please do not touch me, I have still problems with that. I have bad memories¡­ I bet everyone has something that they want to forget, right?¡± ¡°I know what you mean, but I am here, if you want to talk, we are fellow students, I will always hear you out and keep your worries between us, I promise.¡± ¡°Ah, dear guests, please be not that melancholic, I will make sure you will have the best possible Garments and for the time I will do my utmost to entertain you. Assistant, bring some chilled fruit drink for our Guests, while we look at the Fabrics. Please follow me, dear Guests.¡± The retinue of Eleonora was questioning her strange behaviour, but could not say anything while on public. They just noted the behaviour to ask later. Chapter 14 - Changes to simple plans Inside the Carriage on their way back sat Eleonora with Drak, Seria and Alice. While the travel was harmonic the Servants on Eleonora¡¯s side just started to nod away. ¡°Now, what do we do with-¡± ¡°Shh, esteemed Drak. Inside this Carriage are multiple surveillance devices.¡± ¡°Already taken care of, and now I want to know what is going on.¡± ¡°Sir Drak. I¡­ I will not tell anyone about you, I promise on my Families blood to never tell anything.¡± ¡°Figured you were the Seer. So many problems and it is only the second week of School. This can not further go on like this. Then I have to end-¡± ¡°Please wait! Albeit I know about you, the Empire does not! As long as I do not say anything, there will be no problem with anything. I am in charge in surveillance of you, and as long as I skew the Information, there will be no danger of being found out!¡± ¡°She has a point Master.¡± The ever changing bird¡­ no, Seria said quietly in the Carriage. Time was short, as the travel will be over in a few minutes, so Eleonora was in a hurry to lay down her thoughts. ¡°Inside the School I can help you with anything, as I am ordered to be close to you and sway you. Our Network believes you to be connected to the Black Merchant¡­ No you might be the one, as we want to keep the supply of the artificial Magic Stones in check. They are beneficial, but could be a risk in the wrong hands, so by keeping you, the Empire only wanted to have a stable supply of them. Nothing more!¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Ah, wait! You are also treated as Calamity Class emergency, as some Prophecies were calculated and saw a dangerous Individual or Beast roaming the whole Empire! That¡¯s it I swear!¡± ¡°...~¡± Listening to all the talks Drak was silent for a while, as Eleonora was sweating bullets for a long time. ¡°A Behemoth, am I really that scary?¡± ¡®He knows about my Vision? Ah, that Maid Alice might have-¡¯ Looking at Alice grinning broadly and nodding made her realize, there was nothing she could hide. Everything was now in the palm of their Master. The one she at first thought harmless, no maybe even was suggested harmless by some ability of that Maid Alice. ¡°What to do¡­ She will be obviously checked for curses, so enslavement will not work¡­ Contract Magic? I do not have the Supplies on me.¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Could work but her privacy¡­ Ah, well she will have to live with it. [Secret Peering]¡± Drak took out an ordinary ring and used magic to connect Eleonora to the ring with a Magic she never heard of. ¡®Through all my defences without breaking them. How strong is he?¡¯ Eleonora had more questions today than she had in a Month, but kept shut as she knew her life was on a small string and this string was fraying. ¡°This will work until School. Please make a meeting with me for Tea or anything, so we can make proper arrangements. Otherwise-¡± ¡°No worries, I will ask you right before we part ways at your Home!¡± ¡°Fine, breathe deep once. Alice removes the warding in a Second.¡± A small breath was taken from Eleonora and the napping Servants woke up. ¡®Instant nap? I have to rest properly, if noticed I was out for a second I might lose my job!¡¯ Not saying anything the Servants just looked if someone had noticed. Afterward all relax and did their job more diligently to make them less suspect of accidentally lazing off. - ¡°Drak, thank you for your time. It was nice to go out without being too rigid. We should do this more often, can I thank you with a piece of cake next School day, in the Mensa privately?¡± ¡°Eleo¡­ Elly, I thank you for the time. I would love to eat something over tea with you in the School. Just say where we meet and I will try my best to be punctual.¡± ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s depart. Next time I hope you would take me somewhere. Just please try to get a better Carriage or borrow one. Yours would be a bit¡­ cramped.¡± ¡°I am not a favoured Son, but I will see what I can do. Until School, Elly.¡± ¡°Until School, farewell.¡± - Inside the Carriage ¡°Princess, what was that in the Boutique? You just froze out of nowhere for a short while.¡± ¡°I¡­ I accidentally just took his hand like he is a real friend of mine. For a second I forgot my Image and was not working fully on my Mission. It made me shocked by my own doing for a while and needed to find my bearings.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. After a small while one of her servants spoke up. ¡°Working in intrigue and spy work there is a need to be more open for some targets. Being open and yourself without shackles might be the way to have the best effect. The only thing is to keep the core of the mission deep inside the heart. Switching between emotion and Mission will become easier with time. Best use that waste as a training dummy for a more carefree approach.¡± ¡°Thanks for the Guidance. I will think about it. Keep an eye on him through the surveillance Crystals in his Mansion. If he makes strange moves, tell me.¡± ¡°As long as they are working we will document everything.¡± ¡®As if you will get any Informations. If they can deactivate the ones in the Carriage without even flinching, how can those work in their Mansion? Well, I am now on his side, so better for him to be able.¡¯ ¡°Still try to work harder on your steady Personality Princess, you¡¯ve sweat rather strongly at diverse points and those can be noticed as mistakes in your appearance.¡± ¡°Will work on it!¡± Feeling like a cat that got stepped on its tail, Eleonora answered with an affirmative tone and swallowed her unease. - ¡°Everything goes downhill. If it does get any worse, I will have to make a cut with all of this and make it work by brute force.¡± Laying on the couch Drak got pampered by his Maids. While Celia was kneading his ankles and calves through the pants for his relaxation, Raja was giving him her lap to rest and brushed his hair with her fingers. ¡°Do not be discouraged Master, having Eleonora on our side is a rather good thing. She is the main source of Information of us to the Empire.¡± ¡°Who knows if she is really on our side. Saying one thing and doing another is human behaviour. With her, we might be even in more danger than before.¡± ¡°Right now she is not doing anything against us Master~¡± Wearing the ring Drak enchanted with his magic, Alice is sitting in a comfortable chair and monitoring what Eleonora is doing. ¡°Maybe we should just do what you were suggesting earlier.¡± ¡°We¡­ we were just joking, Master. Eliminating those people would cause trouble.¡± ¡°I would do it and was not joking.¡± ¡°Raja, not helping! Master your plans need a bit reconstruction, but it would be better to not make it too big of an incident. It would be hard to repair the damage afterwards. These two days, please relax and let us try to think of a better way than making a move yourself, okay?¡± ¡°...okay. I need some rest. Gonna doze of a bit, thanks for caring for me Celia, Raja.¡± ¡°No worries!¡± ¡°My pleasure, Master.¡± After a little bit Seira relaxed and sat down herself. ¡°Hah. What a pain that Eleonora is. This complicates things, but it can also make things in later stages go more smoothly.¡± ¡°She is behaving like a well trained puppy~¡± ¡°One thing going fine this day at least. One false move and detonate the Peeper and eradicate her with it.¡± ¡°Roger~¡± With that in place all of them rest a bit. Celia is still massaging the legs of Drak while Raja would not stop grooming his hair. Seria was a little bit envious, but collected her thoughts. ¡°So the next thing is to make that mess into a good thing. A double Spy in such a high position might be not that bad. Especially if the Prophecy that bi¡­ Eleonora saw is keeping her at bay. Birds, do we look like poultry to her?¡± ¡°Bladed feathers, maybe I can remake my knives into that form? Should help with throwing precision.¡± ¡°Raja, still not helping. The first thing is cleaning up and sorting the issues. While we watch her for anything suspicious, we need to make a few amends. The hiding in the shade is crumbling, and we should use more effective strategies. Master¡¯s plan is a bit too simple.¡± ¡°I am still awake, you know.¡± ¡°Did I say something untruthful Master?¡± ¡°...no?¡± ¡°Then rest a bit, we will help you achieve the goal, as it would make us also happy.¡± ¡°Okay, but remember I am also here.¡± ¡°Everything is revolving around you Master, we would never forget you.¡± ¡°I mean in work I can do.¡± ¡°Your work is learning for School. Do not think I do not know, you want to try evading hitting the books.¡± ¡°Aww¡­¡± - While the talk is going on Eleonora worked hard to not look any different. While she was trained to put the Empire first, she does rationalize it as helping, as awakening that¡­ thing would be worse than it just lazing around. He was not a Calamity Class, as he broke through Disaster right to Extinction Class. Even if he would get exposed, the Empire would practically presenting him a Kingdom for him, as long as they could borrow time for a way to eliminate or use him. His danger Level in Eleonora¡¯s heart was already that high and she felt she could not see all of it with only one look. ¡°What a day. Maybe I should lessen my schedule a bit. It feels like I am overworked.¡± Eleonora finally able to relax in her luxurious bed felt still shaken, but was able to fall asleep in short notice. ¡°...another Vision? Please give me a break, I am already at my limit!¡± Standing inside the cage on the chessboard she heard the distant * clack * of pieces getting shuffled around. The only difference was her being watched by eyes. Every way she looks there were those eyes and they watched every move and every breath of her. She knew it meant ¡®he¡¯ was spying on her, but could do nothing at all. If she fought, she would die. If she would tell about it, she would die. If she made one wrong move, death, death and more death. So the only thing she could possibly do in this situation was¡­ wait. And waiting she did, but this time the vision did not end. After Minutes only the clacking of the pieces were noticed. ¡°Some hint anywhere? Maybe because I touched him or switched sides I am now seeing another perspective?¡± She was in no delusion of ever coming out safe, as her betrayal was already a fact. Deliberately hiding crucial Information in an official Imperial Mission is always a death sentence. Even if it was beneficial to hide something from the Empire, the person would be beheaded and afterwards honoured post mortem. No exceptions, ever. But while she was looking there were only her, the Chess board and the Cage. ¡°Wait a second, the cage has small writings on them. Nearly illegible but I might find a clue there. Let me see¡­ Imperia¡­ Optimus¡­ Serving¡­ Honour¡­ Sacrifice¡­ So many illegible words but I feel like they are important.¡± Reading for a long time she noticed all those little words strung a cord with her Patriotism. They show her honour and pride to be of the Imperial Family and helping to keep the Empire stable. ¡°But they are caging me here, that does not make sense. I know I am not implanted with magical memes, as checking for them is a prerequisite of going on a Mission. Those words are more like what I was always taught.¡± Thinking long and hard she had no Idea what it meant. It was just what she learned since she was a child, but now those words were hindering her to even walk outside. ¡°To be honest I can not move on my own, as I am an Imperial Princess. I have my duty and have to uphold it, as I am true blood of the first Emperor. My Conviction holds true in the end.¡± Noticing the watchful eyes in her peripheral vision she noticed they are radiating some emotions as of her conjecture. The emotions those Eyes were radiating felt like sadness and disappointment while the darkness came slowly closer. ¡°Wait, that felt like the wrong answer. I must have overlooked something, damn it!¡± The darkness engulfed her and in the end she could only sleep peacefully until the next morning. Chapter 15 - Meanwhile in the Imperial City... ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Side Story 3 - Claire My Parents named me Claire. Sadly, I was a defective child. Everyone in the World can use Magic. No matter how small it is, at least they can create some sparks or make a water droplet. I on the other hand¡­ I was born without magical power whatsoever. I was a disappointment and I understood why my Parents sold me to a Slaver. Sadly they did not get much for me. Even while being sold I was a disappointment. Without any aptitude I would maybe be a lowly slave working hard in some cleaning places, but even that was just wishful thinking. At first I was put out to be seen, but nobody wanted to buy me. I was even cheap, but¡­ at this time I really thought I was useless and just waste. Day after day I thought of someone who would want me, but there was no one who would even look at me. Later my price dropped and the treatment got rougher and rougher. Working day and night to keep the cages clean, I was slow, because of the lacking skills in magic, but I never said anything and tried my best to please. Day after day I got less and less food. Work got harder without it, but I tried my best. I really tried my best to be useful, but¡­ At the end I broke down. I was already thin but at that time I did not even got the small extra for my work and I could not regain my strength. All I could do is crawl and eat that mouldy piece of bread I sometimes got. Then¡­ he came. While I already thought I would never get bought, he suddenly came into my cage and said I could choose to be free or be¡­ useful to him. I am embarrassed, I could not remember the real words he said, but he wanted me, so¡­ can I be useful? Me, the defective product? If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Taking me home he fed me the most delicious soup I had for a long time. He took care of me until I could walk again. After that my training began. Housework, cleaning, etiquette, even reading he explained to me. He was nice and had so much patience, even if I needed more than once to understand. No beatings, no telling how useless I am, no deduction of my food or rest time. I was so happy! He often wanted to lay with me in bed and I complied. If he wants my body, I would give it to him, but he just wanted to snuggle. It felt strange and after a while some things happened, I could not really understand. Then the experiments started. I was scared, but was working hard with him on why those things were happening and then I was the first to become¡­ --- My Name is Claire! I am the first personal Maid of my Master. While I have now close Sisters at my side and there are many in the dark, I was the first and am proud of it! Keeping myself together and working hard makes me what I am today. My Master is so nice, but even now he is sometimes melancholic, so I have to be twice as enthusiastic for both of us! With the help of my Sisters we help Master in everything in his daily life! Not only do we do the housework, we keep those nasty guys away from him, who look at him with those ugly eyes! While we also work in the not to nice places and do some more nasty things, I was surprised how I did not even shake after looking at blood the first time. He was so worried about me and I felt so strange as if I would hover by only the care in his voice. That was when I swore to myself I would protect his heart and ambitions, even if I must make Rivers out of Blood and Mountains of Corpses! Oh, he likes my cookies! I started baking and the first were not that good, but he still liked them, and now I have mastered different kinds and have so many in reserve, my temporal pouch almost bursts! I always give him some at teatime and he smiles every time! Yay! Sadly I never learned Magic, but I got something better from him. WAY better! It is so good, that my Sisters are envious that Master even needs to use the same¡­ hehe¡­ While I was the first, I might be one of the more lucky ones¡­ I saw how deep the underworld goes and made me sometimes lose my appetite¡­ And THAT¡¯S why, I have to be more positive for all of us, to keep the morale up! Now that I am useful, I will do my utmost to work hard and protect all of them as the head Maid and masters first Subordinate. Anyone who tries to make anyone in my happy World sad I¡¯ll PUNCH EM! Chapter 16 - Sealing it with Blood and true ambitions ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡® ¡° ¡® ¡® ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Chapter 17 - Being in two places at once In class Eleonora was still a bit dazed of what Drak said to her. A Merchant who wanders around is not an ideal outcome the Empire wants for him, especially as he could easily supply over half or the needed Magic Crystals to run the Central Domain alone. If he wanders around, there will be problems in routing the whole process through Teleportation. On the other Hand it does not harm the Empire itself, but even helps it, as he wants to go to all kinds of areas to sell food, resources and utensils for cheap, and his direct goal is just the travel itself. ¡®How can a powerful Person like him be so simple minded? Maybe it is a lie, but he was so serious about it. What is the purpose of just wandering around all the Kingdoms for him¡­ No I see it wrongly, he is just twelve and should think simple right now. While he is underdeveloped, there might be a chance to create a better picture of staying in one spot.¡¯ Not realizing she as an elven old criticises the thought process of a twelve year old boy, Eleonora thinks of the future. His goals are not malicious and could be beneficial even if she can not stop him. For this she was willing to play the farce with him for now. ¡°Ah, Drak. By the way, I did not see one of your Maids today. Is she sick?¡± Remembering another point she asked him in the class with a smile. ¡°At the Mansion happened something. One of my Maids had to stay to work with the clean up. A demerit of having an old house.¡± Eleonora was already in the know of a Chandelier breaking out of the ceiling and breaking the floor below. While she does not truly believe what is shown in the Surveillance Magic, she had to ask for keeping the appearance. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°A Chandelier broke. Nothing particularly problematic, no one was injured, as it fell in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°Then maybe you should- No, it is nothing. Better make sure the other fixtures are stable.¡± ¡®I can not give him a better Mansion to live in. The Clothing is already stretching it.¡¯ - In the Imperial City ¡°The Ripper did what?!¡± ¡°He came in broad daylight and destroyed the Base way earlier before we could set the trap.¡± ¡°Damn it! Is he that lucky or could he sniff the smoke before we even started cooking?¡± Many Gangs and Organizations are trying their best to capture the Ripper as the bounty is really that enticing. A hundred thousand Gold can buy a whole block of Estates even in the Imperial City. With all that greed, they readily made plans to give false Information to the Ripper through fake Documents and lure him into traps for their own benefits. Sacrificing a small hideout was of no importance if they could get such a financial boost afterwards. ¡°Has he at least taken the bait?¡± ¡°Yes and no. He took it with the notes we were trying to destroy before he would attack. Now we do not know when he will be trapped and we could lose one or two Businesses while we need to patiently wait.¡± ¡°No matter, a few lives are easily replaced. If we get a connection to the Merchant, we might even have the richest harvest in the future. The Money is just the cherry on top.¡± ¡°Boss, the Black Owls try the same strategy as us, what shall we do with them?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Trip them! Put in every base of ours, that might be in the stolen real notes a few Locations with ambiguous relations to the Merchant so they bleed, too. Also most of their places are in the slums and an accidental Fire could break out at any Minute. Leave a corpse of someone huffing Dragon¡¯s Ember around and the Guards will think of an overdose.¡± ¡°Clever Boss! Right away.¡± The wars between Gangs got heated up. While all of the Underground forces lose some flesh and many accidents happen, they are of no concern, as the bounty would make the winners of this Gamble rise to prominence and be crowned Partners of the Syndicate, which oversees over half of the City as of right now. While the Syndicate itself lost a few Warehouses and Businesses, they see it more as a investment for now, because the sell of those Crystals alone would take out all those losses in just a few days with a large bonus. - A week passed and it came time for Drak to wear the Black Merchant Mask again to trade with the Underworld. While being ready, the Imperial Spy Network was working hard to make sure Drak and the Black Merchant are two different People. Surveillance was at maximum and being made ready to infiltrate the Mansion to watch personally. ¡°Ghosts One, Two and Four are in. Three has some issues, as his entry point was watched and needed to stay put. His delay will be at most five Minutes. We could confirm the Gardener to be an old Veteran being sold into slavery after a loss in Battle. His insights are sharp and were the reason of the first infiltration being unsuccessful.¡± ¡°Where did he get that Veteran?¡± ¡°Never was sold as he was already of high age. Might be an accidental buy. He has no slavery collar, so he got his freedom back, hypothetically by Drak Berklin and works now for him out of gratitude in the Garden and protects him secretly.¡± ¡°Hypotheticals do not say anything. What about the guard?¡± ¡°A Nobody, mostly lazing around.¡± While the last Spy got into position they look at the rather shabby interior of the Mansion and waited in their dedicated positions. Drak and his Maids are walking around and doing their own things, which were noted by the Spies, but nothing was seen as out of order. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. At night Drak cleaned himself and got into his Bedchamber, while the four Maids, which hovered around him all the time were going to their private rooms while the Night Servants were checking Oil in the Lanterns and cleaned everything, that was overlooked prior. In the Bedchamber of Drak, he was sleeping deeply while a pair of eyes watched him warily. ¡°Notice got in. The Black Merchant is in the Imperial City and moves to the Syndicate place for the exchange.¡± ¡°So my Classmate is really not the Black Merchant? That guy really just uses him as a scapegoat and Drak does not even know about it.¡± ¡°Shall we act on Drak Berklin to be absolutely sure he is no Double, Princess?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you already watch him for hours? It would be a demerit to startle the sacrificial Lamb and make the Black Merchant aware of us.¡± ¡°Understood Princess.¡± ¡®If they try anything, all of the spies would die. It is so painful to find plausible excuses to not act rashly. Luckily it is my Mission and while young I am in charge of it.¡¯ - The Black Merchant came to an old Storage and was waved right in. After going inside a heavy Slab was lifted and a staircase was exposed. ¡°A hidden Storage under a real Storage. Do you not think it could be found easily?¡± ¡°Sir Merchant, this place is most of the time filled with heavy stuff and while Guards search through the stored things they never pry out the Foundation.¡± While walking down the Stairs Drak talked with the Guide and the Guide himself was rather talkative. Behind Drak were two Masked People, like last time but one was different. This Person was slightly shorter and had a smiley Face as Mask and had on their back a heavy looking club, while the other was the one with no markings whatsoever. Right behind those were two rather strong looking individuals having cloth over their faces to hide their Identities. ¡°Interesting. At least it is secure.¡± Entering a large place some people are already waiting for Drak. The muscular People were all armed with Knifes and Swords, while the people who looked like the leaders were hiding their Identities with gauze and looked unarmed. ¡°Black Merchant, welcome to our exchange point. I hope you found it well.¡± ¡°It was easy enough. Let us quickly make the trade, I have an unwell feeling somehow.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Might be nothing, but I thought I smelled Salt and get always uneasy if I notice that smell.¡± Understanding where the Black Merchant hinted to, some were sent up to look around. If the Ripper were here, it would complicate the whole transaction. ¡°Here is the Gold. Look over it.¡± On a Table were different stacks of Coinage, Drak specifically asked for. Large Transactions would be done normally in Gold or Platinum Bars, but it would be problematic for Drak to use them elsewhere. While he could melt Gold into Coins himself, Platinum Coins were always annoying to launder. ¡°One, count the coins. Then I will put down the Crystals now.¡± With a bow Seria got to count the Coins in quick moves while Drak took out a black cube and activated the magic inside. In a flash of light a large chunk of Crystals appeared in the small room. ¡°Storage Artefact. A great thing you have there.¡± ¡°Yeah, an Heirloom. Weigh them and I will pull out the next one afterwards.¡± While the Workers do their job, Seria kept count and was already halfway done. After the first load of Crystals Drak summoned the second one right afterwards. ¡°The Quality is high and stable. We are happy to make business with you, but could you please bring one half in powdered form-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want, don¡¯t ask. I was burned once with alchemical drug traffic, and will not do it again. If you want Powder, grind them yourself.¡± The mood of the Middlemen were obviously soured by the blatant slight of Drak, but kept their composure. ¡°...Understood. We will refrain from-¡± ¡°An attack!¡± While they were talking, shouts were heard from the stairs. After a short while one of the Bodyguards came running. ¡°The Ripper is here!¡± Right after the cry, red salt followed and started to wreak chaos. ¡°That Bastard is here! Do you want to sell me out?!¡± ¡°Never, Black Merchant! We get him right away for you. Better have the Bounty ready.¡± At the shout Seria stuffed all the Money in a bag and came back. ¡°All the Money is counted. Not one copper less, Boss.¡± ¡°Good! Muscles in front! Protect us!¡± The two masked Bodyguards stood in front of the three having their Weapons out to Guard them with their lives. ¡°Here he comes!¡± As Drak said that a masked person came down in a red storm made out of salt. The Persons trying to stop him were possibly already dead. ¡°Muscles protect me, Four break his spine but keep him alive. One, support Four!¡± The battle started. While the Members of the Syndicate threw their Magic on the Intruder and the Fighters got close, they were no match for endless cutting of the massive Salt waves drenched in Blood. With a Jump Celia came near the Ripper and wielded the Mace on her back. The Ripper, Raja escaped with a jump and was evading the wave of Wind that was pushing the Salt out of the way. When the Wind hit the Wall cracks started to form and showed how much brute force was behind that swing. At the same time Seria started chanting different Magic incantations and threw Magic of Multiple Elements against Raja. Fireballs, Waterjets, Earthspikes, the whole place was drenched in different Elements to catch Raja. With a sidestep Raja came directly to Drak and started channelling the Salt directly at him. Most was blocked by the Bodyguards which were heavily injured, and the rest bounced of a bubble around Drak. ¡°Do you think I would not find ways to stop your cursed Salt you Freak?!¡± After the Attack Raja sprinted to the Stairs and escaped right away. The whole attack was not even a Minute but the devastation was serious below. ¡°One, Four! Do not chase, that is what he wants!¡± After a few breaths the casualties were one Bodyguard comatose, one with a lost arm and Six Syndicate Members, while the others had slight but extremely stinging injuries. ¡°I come in two weeks again and hope for an explanation. The Crystals are fine?¡± ¡°Ah, Sir Merchant the Crystals have a bit of Damage, but nothing severe. We will find out how the Ripper found out the exchange place for you. Do you need an escort out?¡± ¡°Find a better place to exchange, I do not want to be a Target again!¡± ¡°Of course. We should hurry and leave, otherwise the Imperial Guards might find out.¡± - Going through different alleys Drak and company were still being stalked. Celia was carrying the comatose Bodyguard while the other one is carrying his cut off arm. After another Alley there were a dozen rather well prepared people waiting for them. As they saw the Black Merchant, they came right away and tried to capture him. With a snap of Drak¡¯s fingers the whole place was enveloped in darkness for a few seconds and when it came back Drak and company was gone. The People attacking him were also ¡®gone¡¯ but in a different way. They were stains on the walls and floors. Not a little bit could be recognized as a piece of human so small were the chunks of gore left. With this one move, the watchers all dispersed and brought a note to their different Gangs to never ever slight the Black Merchant in the future. Chapter 18 - New clothes and new Image Inside the Cellar of Drak¡¯s Mansion were three now unmasked maids, two men and Drak now without his mask. ¡°Rock, you can wake up.¡± ¡°Ouch, the cuts are still stinging, big Sister.¡± While Raja ordered the ¡®comatose¡¯ man to wake up, the muscular guy tried to sound as pitiful as he could make it. ¡°Everything alright Rock? I can boost your healing if you need.¡± ¡°Ah no need, Master. Help Markus attach his Arm again. At least he did not ¡®die¡¯ this time.¡± ¡°Can do it on my own. A cut off arm or decapitation will not stop me. Still the Salt stings, like Rock said.¡± Rock had no name when Drak found him as a Slave. After Drak worked on him, Rock became extremely sturdy and could heal from heavy wounds himself, so he got the Name Rock from the other Slaves Drak saved. Markus was different from Rock. His powers were somewhat eerie, as detached body parts could reattach without scars after being cut off. While it looked like healing at first it was a totally different kind of Magic he could now use. Cuts just close in self regenerating fashion. Broken Bones on the other hand were his nemesis, so cuts must be made exactly between joints or he would suffer. Even a cut off Head could be put back on. It must be done in about half an hour though, as they did not want to try it any later than that, out of fear he might really die after too much time. ¡°Coins got cleansed and have no tracking on them since the Alley incident, Master.¡± ¡°Thanks Seria. Celia, you were rather hard on Raja. If you had hit her with the Shockwave, she could have been injured.¡± ¡°Master, Celia knows my capabilities and is working hard to not kill me. Do not worry.¡± ¡°I would not hit Raja that hard, Master. And we need to make it lively to look cool!¡± ¡°You two¡­¡± ¡°Ah Master, welcome back~¡± Down the Stairs came Alice. She was already in her nightgown which made her look a bit out of place between the blood soaked group. ¡°Yeah, we had an incident on the way back, but had made our Name known through the whole Empire. We should be less troubled and now that they think the Ripper is trying to get me, Raja can Raid Gangs without them thinking about me.¡± ¡°That is great Master~¡± ¡°Still, it is a bit crude in many aspects, Master. I will smooth things out in the meanwhile. After the attack the Syndicate is on high alert, so better use this to sow discourse between the different Underworld Parties.¡± ¡°You can do that, Seria. I just want to bathe and then sleep. Anything happening with the Spies?¡± ¡°Two have exited the Building but one is in my Room while the other is watching your Room. They see what they should see~¡± ¡°Great. While this has to go on for a while we need to rest. Can you maybe also make an Illusion tomorrow Morning of me studying-¡± ¡°No can do Master. You have to Study, otherwise your Plan of getting that Certificate would be in Danger. So better be prepared.¡± ¡°Seria, please spare me!¡± With that the Night was afterwards uneventful. While Seria said Drak needs to study, she still gave him an extra hour sleep before waking up and letting him hit the books. - The further Rest days were quite uneventful, except the delivery of four large packages to the front door. While they were checked by Spies of the Empire, they did not find many problems with them, except the high quality of the brought in Items and their peculiar special details that were listed on the manufacturing of those Items. ¡°Maids Clothes in that high quality and every single one specially made? That Drak is really spoiling his Maids. This must have cost him nearly all his allowance.¡± ¡°We can not really understand him, but as he has gotten good clothes for himself by me, it might be the reason for giving his Maids also good quality items.¡± ¡°Princess, we looked into his finances, and he has a rather unsteady income unknown to us. While we could not find Alice¡¯s origin we had only found out about the Maid Celia¡¯s former family. She was sold by her parents as an incompetent, but afterwards nothing was known about her for a long time.¡± ¡°Does he get Money from the Merchant as compensation? Would be logical and maybe he is clinging to the only one who even gives him a little bit of genuine support.¡± ¡°As the Princess said. We should look into the travel of those coins, maybe we can find the Merchant¡¯s location itself. Otherwise we need to contact him through the Syndicate.¡± ¡°While a good idea, do it as subtly as possible. If he finds out he might cut the ties with him.¡± ¡®Such a pain! He is definitely the Merchant, but I need to think of them as two personas all the time, it makes my head hurt!¡¯ While Eleonora was struggling to keep her mindset in check, the Maids were struggling to get comfortable with what they found in those packages for them. The only exception was Seria, who was the first to openly thank Drak for the presents. - At school Drak was in his blue golden Uniform and walked through the gates. Behind him was Seria proudly wearing her new Maid outfit, which was made out of very expensive black Satin, inlaid with golden threads and having a pristine white apron with meticulous frills on the side. Her maid cap was especially made with a special veil of magic inhibition to not have her face seen. While she was the most outgoing one of the maids, the others had a harder time to adapt. ¡°Master, the new clothings are rather over the top!¡± ¡°I agree Master, this kind of fabric should be worn by high Aristocrats and not by Maids.¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Now you know how it feels. My revenge is complete.¡± ¡°Master, don¡¯t be mean!¡± ¡°While we might only be Maids, we should wear those proudly as our Master made them especially for us and also it increases the fame of our Master. Laying low has failed spectacularly, now we try the other approach, which will make Master hopefully untouchable.¡± The new costumes of the Maids made some Servants envious, as they could see how high quality these were. While not as high quality as the Outfit of their Master, it showed a pride and authority, which made it hard to overlook. Other Students cursed under their breath for how lavish such a waste treats his staff while others mocked him openly for being so vain. All of this was ignored by Drak and noted down by the Maids. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. - ¡°Dare to touch that?¡± ¡°Why would I not, but she looks hideous with those scars.¡± ¡°Then do it. Do you think we believe you would touch someone that has so many scars?¡± ¡°What is the bet?¡± A week passed and while Drak and Eleonora talked on their way to the Mensa a Student came close to them and tried to touch Raja on her butt. ¡°Ah!¡± The shout came from the Student as he felt strong pain in his hand even before he could touch her. After looking at his hand he noticed it sliced open in multiple places. ¡°You Bitch disfigured me!¡± ¡°What is the commotion?¡± Hearing him shout, Eleonora looked back and saw the bloody hand of the Student. He must be already fifteen and should be in a higher class than them. ¡°She just sliced my Hand!¡± ¡°Did you see me slicing your Hand? Where was your Hand going, while being sliced? And how come you were so close to me to begin with?¡± ¡°Shut up Maid! You injured a Member of Count Chantler! Better be clear about how you will be imprisoned and beaten to death for your offence!¡± At this moment Drak got angry. ¡°The only one who will be sorry is you, if you try to harm my Servants, is that clear?¡± ¡°You, a fat excuse of a Duke¡¯s Son, has nothing to do with it! Scram!¡± ¡°She is my Maid, are you stupid? Who do you think you are, ¡®son of a Count¡¯?¡± This incensed the Student even more. Eleonora wanted to stop them, but felt the Maids did not want her to interfere. ¡®What are they up to? Why does it seem like they were waiting for such an occasion?¡¯ ¡°For the honour of my Count Cantler¡¯s Family I demand a duel!¡± ¡°As I am not allowed to fight or be in any offensive class, I do not need to accept those duels.¡± ¡°Are you daft? If you can not, just ask a substitute and let him fight for you, fat ass!¡± ¡°Master, this is a ruling in the School. As many Children are highly protected by their own Family, this Rule was instilled to have Bodyguards take the Fight to stop assassination attempts disguised as a Duel.¡± ¡°You at least have one smart Maid, you waste. Now, will you apologise and give me that Maid for re-education, or do you want to make it a bigger mess?¡± ¡°In that case I accept the Duel.¡± ¡°You are dumber than you look huh? Very well, Tomorrow at the training ground. If I win I want that Maid and a hundred Gold in Damages!¡± A Hundred Gold is rather much in many Kingdoms. While it devalues in the Central Domain as the living costs are way higher, it still can buy a small house in the outskirts of the Imperial City. A copper can pay for a meal in a nearby Kingdom while five coppers are needed in the Central Domain. A hundred Copper are one Silver, and a hundred Silver are a Gold and a Hundred Gold are a Platinum, but everyone still says ¡®Gold¡¯ until around ten Platinum, as saying one Platinum made it seem less valuable, for vanity reasons. ¡°Good, and if I win you will pay me a hundred Gold for Slandering me while also kneeling and apologising to my Maid.¡± ¡°You are going too far Bastard!¡± ¡°What? Afraid, you will lose? Then walk away and better never mess with me and any of my Servants again.¡± ¡°...Fine! As you are so brazen, it will then be a Duel to the Death!¡± - While Eleonora was talking to Drak about cancelling the Duel, he was rather relaxed. On the next day in the Pause at noon, Drak and Eleonora walked to the Fighting Arenas. While Drak rarely came to this place it had a subtle smell of blood, as these few hundred Arenas are often filled with Fighters. Mostly the fights are until one falls or the first blood is drawn, but sometimes there are Death Battles, and this was one of them. Dozens of Rings are already filled with their own squabbles, Ringmasters are there to stop escalations, but had often a hard time to keep those puberty driven children in check. The Empire endorses duels as often Might makes right, but also to let those Children learn in a painful way the Rules of Society with their own bodies. Drak walked to the arranged Ring and already saw the Student looking at him mockingly. ¡°So you did not run, that is good. Who are you sending to die?¡± Looking at the Student like an Idiot, Drak just stood there while Raja got on the stage herself. ¡°That Maid? You are clever you Bastard. If she is dead, I can not punish her, right? Just so you know, the Money and her Body will be mine after she is dead, better not think you can strip her of that cute dress, it will be my trophy while she gets fed to the pigs!¡± ¡°So much talk, do you like to hear yourself speak? Raja is already standing and waiting, why are you still talking?¡± ¡°You Bast¡­ Bricksley, go in and torture her to death. Do not make it easy for her!¡± A giant of a Man walked onto the stage. Raja pulled out of her pouch a standard Sword and stood at the ready. ¡°Little Miss, I am sorry, but this is my Job. Better curse that useless Master of yours.¡± Not answering this bodyguard, the giant furrowed his brows and got himself ready. His Sword had a black sheen and showed how it included Oricalcum to create Black Steel. The length of the Sword was reaching further and the alloy was way better, the Ringmaster saw the difference and took pity on the poor Maid, but could do nothing. ¡°Rules are to the death. Stakes are a hundred Gold and either the Body of the Maid or the Son of Count apologising. Are you both accepting?¡± ¡°I accept.¡± ¡°Accepted.¡± Seeing both Parties saying this, a few Noble came over to see a bloody massacre from the other Rings. ¡°In this case this is now a legal Duel. Now you can fight!¡± With these words the Ringleader stepped back and waited for the End of the Duel, as ¡®to the death¡¯ means the Fight will be fought until only one of the contestants is left standing. There is not much he had to do, except for hindering others to intervene and even this is taken care of by a magic field stopping anyone outside to go in until he undoes the Magic. ¡°This will really hurt little Miss, better be read-¡± Bricksley could not end his sentence as part of his skull was separated from the rest of his head. The cut was going straight through both eyes horizontally until the back of his skull and fell onto the floor with a * clack * before the Body had a chance to fall itself. ¡°What¡­ Ah! Winner is Berklin! Chantler will pay the compensation.¡± ¡°Bricksley? You¡­ No, Bricksley!¡± Seeing his strongest Bodyguard being killed in front of him the Student broke in a shouting barrage. ¡°You Whore, what did you do! That is definitely impossible, she was cheating!¡± ¡°I was here all the time Sir Chantler, if you dare to dishonour my Status as Ringleader, better be ready for a thorough investigation which you have to pay, if it comes out as unfounded.¡± ¡°¡­¡± With this the Chantler Boy was shutting up, as it would not only be in a few Hundred Gold, if he made a false accusation. It would be rather costly for not only him but even the reputation of the Counts Name, which even if he were an Idiot, could only mean severe punishment from his Family. ¡°Fine! Here are the hundred Gold! Take Bricksley down and give him a proper burial, Servants!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you forget something?¡± Drak intervened in him escaping. He was not going to give him the easy way out, as he started the whole thing and even talked down not only to him but his Maid. ¡°What do you want, you eyesore!¡± ¡°One half of the Duel was paid, but there was another half, wasn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°You little¡­¡± ¡°Go up there on to the stage and apologise to my Maid. And remember to kneel for it, like promised.¡± ¡°I will beat you to death, you chubby-¡± ¡°As I, an Imperial Princess, are here as an eyewitness, I hope you will behave, for everyone already looks at you and it will be impossible to save your Family''s Name if you do what you said right now.¡± With a stern look Eleonora made it clear, she was not playing around. If he really not only were going against the Duel¡¯s reimbursement but hit the slighted Person, his own Family might disown or even kill him to erase that breach in etiquette. Grinding his teeth he had no other choice as to go on the Stage in front of so many Nobles Children and fall to his knees. ¡°I Apologise.¡± In a Monotone sound he said it while grinding the Sand of the Arena in his hands out of humiliation. ¡°Accepted. Please never try to fondle my Behind ever again.¡± And with those words, heard by so many people she left the stage and went directly to Drak. The Head of the Boy was already going from red to purple, as he was not only forced to apologise, now everyone knows why he apologised and was unable to move. He never was this emotionally abused before. ¡°You all will regret this¡­¡± Under his breath he swore his revenge, but no one heard it, and even if someone did, they would not care at all. Chapter 19 - Stop peeping on naked people ¡°I did not know, your Maid is that capable. You surprised me Drak.¡± ¡°All my Maids are capable. I feel at most secure around them.¡± Going back to the Mensa, Eleonora and Drak were doing smalltalk. They did not eat before the Duel, as it was scheduled early so there would be more time for the Duel. Drak¡¯s opponent had thought it would take longer, but was shocked by the result. ¡°With the Performance of your Maid, most will not mess with you any longer.¡± ¡°That was the plan, Princess Eleonora.¡± Seria answering Eleonora made her realise how this event was planned already. Most upperclassmen mess a bit with the Newcomers, but most only try to reduce the aloofness of the Newcomers a bit before they get seriously hurt. Those Maids used it to show their prowess for others to not mess with Drak in any way. ¡°Ah, I see. You made an impression, that is for sure. Haha.¡± ¡®This makes things even more stressful, as people might investigate him. Well no matter, they might not find anything. I hope it just does not get worse.¡¯ While Eleonora prayed in her thoughts, the fight was quickly spread though the Students grapevine of gossip, as it was surprising in outcome and resulted in a shameful play afterwards. - At night in the Garden of Drak¡¯s Mansion ¡°Keep low and make sure the threat is understood. The Pig¡¯s blood has to be put right in front of the door of the Brat.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Three people clad in black were ready to give Drak a warning to not be overly arrogant. Such a crime would be seen as ¡®just a prank¡¯ in most cases, and at worst would be punishment for the Mercenaries, while they get extra Money for this inconvenience. Of course, if they were found out and killed inside the Mansion, it would be self defence, which makes such a ¡®prank¡¯ a serious Job for people like them, but risking their lives was always a risk for underground Mercenaries. ¡°No Magic on the Window, as expected. This Brat is totally unguarded.¡± ¡°Then hurry up and keep an eye out for Servants. Keep them alive if possible, we are only paid for smearing Blood.¡± After entering the Mansion everything was quiet. Nothing was seen except later someone closing the Window from the inside. - The next Morning in a different Mansion the son of Count Chantler was awoken by a loud scream of his Maid. When he was about to scold her he saw her horrified look and followed her sight to his night table. On the table were three severed Heads and like in a Chorus both screamed in unison again. - ¡°Reports?¡± ¡°The Maid Named Raja, is still unknown. While she has beaten the person named Bricksley, she should have used some Magic, as some magical residue was traced. She did not usher a release phrase, so it can only be some kind of intrinsic Magic.¡± Intrinsic Magic unlike regular Magic is a Power that can be activated with just a thought. It is also called Bloodline Magic, as often Children of Users of a specific kind of Magic also gain this intrinsic Magic in some form. Eleonora for example is one of the Children of two Seers, especially bred to have a high chance of having this capability. ¡°This makes already two Maids with him dangerous. He also said to me all his Maids are capable, so better look into it.¡± ¡°As we have no Information about Seria we can not say anything, but Celia was confirmed to have no ability for Magic and should be the most frail. Her Family does not even want to remember her, for she was for them only a disappointment.¡± ¡°Such cruel Parents. Well whatever, keep an eye on them and maybe increase the surveillance back from minimum to the stand-¡± A messenger barged into the briefing. While it can be seen as an annoyance, Eleonora already understood the necessity of quick and accurate updates on Information in this kind of business. ¡°New Information about Count Chantler¡¯s Son!¡± ¡°What is it, did he do something?¡± ¡°As we have heard he paid some Mercenaries to make a statement. We saw them entering the Mansion but they vanished in a blind spot on our surveillance Crystals. Today their heads were found on the Night table by the Son of Count Chantler.¡± ¡°What?!¡± - While the Guards are interrogating everyone in the Chantler Estate inside the School City, they do not get many leads. The Student is not willing to say to whom those heads belong to, and also not tell on Drak, as it adheres to the unwritten Rule of not smearing another Nobles Son and also he was really terrified. If they could put three heads on his Night Stand, his head could have been draped on it too, and would rather not antagonise this crazy person any further. As Guards knew about the secret rules, they were more exasperated. Even if they told him, this ¡®prank¡¯ had gone a bit too far, he was still not willing to say anything. In the end, they stopped asking, as they all knew the internal struggles of those children. While they could identify the people as Mercenaries, their job and target was not revealed, but the Guards could still deduce that the Chantler Student hired them. This was definitely a retaliation, which was while tasteless also deserved. Those Mercenaries are always on the edge of legality, so the Guards put it down as ¡®accidental death¡¯. The irony of it being written as an accidental death by decapitation and missing bodies is not lost on the Guards, but they long stopped to care about those highly dangerous games the young Aristocrats liked playing. ¡®Just another revenge going too far. As long as he was not harmed, nothing can be done for losing a few lives of those Mercenaries.¡¯ The Imperial Spy Network had more Information, but could not disclose anything, and started already on tightening the earlier Surveillance once again. Somehow they felt being played with, as they were changing the Status of that Berklin Kid almost weekly. Different recordings were checked, the Mercenaries just vanished in a dead angle where not even a door existed. It is as if they just disappeared before they could use that leather pouch filled with some kind of Liquid, possibly Urine or Blood. ¡°Watch over the Mansion and the Maids. Drak Berklin is a secondary priority for us to see if he gets Money from the Black Merchant. Check the other Servants too, as there might be more unknown dangers.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. While Eleonora got ready for the new School day, the Spy network worked overtime to change things again. In the Meantime Drak was riding his Carriage already to the School and was resting his head on Raja¡¯s lap, as she worked hard through the night. ¡°Good work, Raja. I should be left alone for a while now.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master. I serve to the best of my abilities.¡± ¡°While the direct aggressions will be lower now, there will be a substantial increase in eyes watching us. The next meeting might need Alice again in the Mansion. Our Messenger already answered about the next Meeting place.¡± ¡°They are rather quick Seria. Fine, when do we need to visit?¡± ¡°It will be a School day, but do not worry it is at night and the day after has early in the morning practical Magic training, while History about the Empire is in the Evening.¡± ¡°Then I can nap in the Park and try not to sleep in History.¡± ¡°I will prepare a pop quiz, to see if you have paid attention in class.¡± ¡°It was a joke, please spare me!¡± ¡°...alright, but remember to work hard, as this plan was your own Idea, Master.¡± ¡°I understand¡­¡± - While the waves inside the School were not that high, the Guards heard about the dispute between Drak and the boy of the Chantlers, and asked about it. Drak obviously denied any knowledge of anything and explained the whole incident with his Maid. After understanding the reasoning they just thought of him as a rather nice, albeit not too valued Son of a Duke, who fought for the honour of his Servants. Alone for this, they were not too serious to find fault in anything, as it is rare to see a young Noble being conscious of his Servants being human beings. On the other hand, the Mansion was again infiltrated and the place where the Mercenaries vanished checked. While already inside, the Spies were ordered to readjust the Crystals, and put some more in different areas. There were some close calls with some Servants walking through the Areas, the infiltrators worked on, but nothing was noticed in the eyes of the Spies until everything was readjusted and the School was over. - Inside the Carriage on the way home ¡°New Crystals were installed. Alice, you need to modify them again. Sorry for the extra work.¡± ¡°No worries, Seria~¡± ¡°We now all have Crystals in our Rooms and even in the Bathroom.¡± ¡°Unacceptable!¡± ¡°I think so too Celia, but what can we do?¡± ¡°...That is too much. While I want to lay low, break the ones in our Rooms. I do not care about the other Rooms, but this is already below my bottom line.¡± ¡°Master, I understand you are a bit incensed, but if we remove them, the whole Plan will change again.¡± ¡°I know and I am sorry, but if they peek at your bodies, I would rather make a different plan.¡± ¡°Master, you should understand, we are already in a quite problematic situation with the new direct approach. If we change again-¡± ¡°This has got to stop. If they were decent, I would have played along, but those places are off limits. My Chamber was already stretching it, but now yours too? No, I can not accept that.¡± * sigh * ¡°That will cause a whole lot of trouble.¡± ¡°I do not care. Call the Umbra and make it look like I am under Protection. Let them guess about themselves, if it comes out I am the Merchant, then so be it. You all are my bottom line.¡± ¡°This could work. Master, while we are grateful for your feelings, please stop being so impulsive. I know you are only twelve, but it just makes more work.¡± ¡°Sorry Seria. I will work with you to make it as smooth as possible.¡± ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± - While Eleonora was bathing in her private Bath in the Estate, she was humming a song. Afterwards she took her time to brush and dry her long hair until she put on her nightgown. Finally finished, she opened the door and saw a rather pale looking Servant. ¡°What is it? Why are you standing here?¡± ¡°Miss, while we had an emergency, you also forbid me to disturb your beauty care. I was waiting for you to come out, to inform you.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I especially said, the Spymaster is the second in command, and would be taking care of everything, if there is a problem while I can not attend. I am mostly in charge only in Name, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°While¡­ while this is true, you are needed for this, as it has to do with Miss and might be a bit¡­ delicate to explain.¡± Somewhat unsure about this answer she goes to the Library and opens the door hidden behind the Bookshelf to enter the secret Outpost. Normally all of them were working on keeping track with Information gathering, but right now they were all silently looking at Eleonora. She was rather uncomfortable about their looks, as if they found out about the Contract somehow. ¡°Why are you all looking at me? This is a bit rude, don¡¯t you think?¡± The Spymaster came to the front and started to explain. ¡°Princess Eleonora, as we already talked about, we had increased the Surveillance and also installed new Crystals to spy on every corner of the Mansion, but there was a sudden problem.¡± While she knew about increasing the Manpower to watch the Mansion of Drak, it was the first time to hear about the change in Crystals to watch them through. ¡°So more Crystals were planted? Well if it was necessary, you can obviously make that decision. What is the problem?¡± ¡°Those Crystals suddenly stopped working.¡± ¡°Were they found?¡± ¡°Most likely, after a long time they started working again, but¡­¡± ¡°Why are you slowly explaining, just say it!¡± * sigh * ¡°The Surveillance Crystals were moved. While eleven of them were removed out of the Bathrooms of Drak Berklin¡¯s Mansion, the Rooms of Drak, his Maids private Rooms and the Servants Rooms they started up again after a longer while. ¡°So, if they were removed, you can see where they are?¡± ¡°...yes.¡± ¡°So, just say it. Can we retrieve them or see valuable information or Persons of interest through them? Better review the recordings thoroughly for any details.¡± ¡°Those Crystals can be received, as seven of them are right now in your private Bathroom and four are looking directly at your esteemed bedchambers from all angles.¡± Somehow those Sentences were repeating in Eleonora¡¯s mind, but could not really be processed. What did her Spymaster just say the Crystals were pointing at and recording? ¡°Princess Eleonora?¡± ¡°They¡­ they are in my Bathroom. And in my Bedchamber too. Looking at everything?¡± ¡°One of the Crystals in the bedchamber is especially looking at the wardrobe with your Underwear in it.¡± ¡°How do you know it is that specific wardrobe!¡± ¡°The Door is open. Did you close it after you were going to bathe while humming the Starshine Sonata?¡± ¡°You even know what I was humming in the Bathroom you PERVERT! How much did all of you see!?¡± ¡°We stopped the recordings, after we noticed the Person inside it and confirmed the positions.¡± ¡°WHY DID YOU NOT STOP IMMEDIATELY! YOU NEEDED TO CONFIRM POSITIONS OF WHAT, MY UNDERWEAR?! AND YOU WERE ALL RECORDING EVERYTHING!¡± * smack * The Spymaster got a heavy slap to his face and understood her dramatic outburst. Who would not freak out hearing they were recorded in the most intimate moments alone. He waited for her to become less hysterical, which luckily was quick and he did not get too many more slaps to his face. ¡°Get those Crystals out of my Rooms and make sure there are not any more anywhere! How shall I sleep if I might be watched like that! Wait, where did you say those Crystals were positioned?!¡± ¡°Bathrooms of Drak Berklin, Private Rooms and Servants bedchambers.¡± ¡°Do NOT do that EVER again! Find out who made those Crystals appear in our Mansion, but never place them there again! This is the most obvious warning I ever got, and also the most embarrassing! If any of you made a copy of what you have recorded, you will all have no Corpses for your graves! IS THAT CLEAR!?¡± ¡°Yes Princess!¡± ¡°And now get to WORK!¡± In the end they found not only the Crystals but a small note: ¡®Stop peeping on naked people¡¯ Chapter 20 - The threat of Rain While Eleonora could not sleep as she thought every Shadow in her bedchamber had lusting eyes on her, Drak and his Maids could sleep in peace, but knew there would be a great heap of trouble waiting for them. Next Week is the Meeting with the Syndicate and at that time they were now at war with the Spies of the Empire. ¡°Did you find out anything, Seria?¡± ¡°Yes, while we are seen as a Calamity situation, we are rather low on the priority. For this occasion they put Eleonora in charge to make her learn the Ropes in a controlled environment. As she also needs to go to the School to be impartial of their own People, it was already a good Idea. As of this, she was drawn back last year from School, as Master did not go right away.¡± ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t even know her back then, but I made trouble for her anyhow.¡± ¡°Master, you do not need to think about that in this way. The Empire ordered her, so the Empire is at fault, not you.¡± ¡°Thanks, it still feels somewhat bad.¡± ¡°Ahem! Next is in relation to Eleonora. Her Seer ability is flawed, and therefore made a disposable spy by the higher ups.¡± ¡°Flawed, in what way?¡± ¡°She can only see Visions of people near her and about herself. While they have a rather high clarity, the need of her being near the target makes her unusable, especially as she has to be near the target multiple times and needs to see her Visions in a dream.¡± ¡°But the one time she did not need to sleep, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°This was because she touched you, Master. You understand yourself best, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°So she is compatible. This makes all the things more problematic.¡± ¡°They are already extremely problematic. We already have to put around breadcrumbs for them to think it was an external group under Black Merchants contracts.¡± ¡°Well it is not wrong.¡± ¡°Master, you are wrong.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°I¡­ I meant you are the Black Merchant and not only Drak Berklin. We worked to have those personalities split in their minds, but it might crumble at any moment.¡± ¡°I know what you mean. It just was a bit blunt from you Seria.¡± ¡°I apologise.¡± ¡°Nothing to apologise, you are always so serious, I would love for you to be a bit more relaxed.¡± ¡°I¡­ I will work on it, but Master you know¡­¡± ¡°That time is over. You are not the City Flower any more, but can still be a bit more relaxed. I want you to be happy, like everyone around me.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master. You do not know how happy I am to have you as my Master. If we have a bit of leeway, I would love to go a bit around the City with you, if you would allow me to.¡± ¡°Of course! Um, now back to the Briefing?¡± ¡°Understood. Eleonora is fully explained. She is seen as a Spy in training from the Gracia bloodline. While she is from the direct bloodline of the Emperor, she is still just a chess piece, and maybe even happy about it.¡± ¡°Is she brainwashed?¡± ¡°No, this has no magical reasons, but might be trained on beliefs.¡± ¡°That is possible?¡± ¡°Many things are possible, but because there are easier ways through Magic, many do not think about them. For example there are wooden sticks with a small chemical drop on one side, if struck they start Fire instantly without Magic or Alchemy.¡± ¡°Woah. That I did not know, why do they not talk about this in the School?¡± ¡°Because it is not useful, as it is just a gimmick. Now, no more sidetracks. She is working for us, but can not be used as a hostage or anything else. She has no worth to the Empire itself.¡± ¡°She is in a similar Situation as me then. What is next?¡± ¡°The Spymaster itself has no direct Name. They just call him Shadow, but every Spymaster is called that. He is just a Number.¡± ¡°So someone, which does not even have a true life.¡± ¡°Exactly. His demotion is a mystery and might be through an injury or prior targets have seen his face. For this he is made observer and trainer for new recruits, but seems not really cut out for this job.¡± ¡°If he is a good spy prior to him becoming a teacher, why does he struggle? Does he not have much insight into the Job?¡± ¡°While he has experience in infiltration, assasination stealing and Intel gathering, he has no direct social skills. By his behaviour the bloodsworn have noted, he might be specialised in direct intrusion and being invisible. Also he has no experience with the other gender.¡± ¡°So, while he is capable, he is socially awkward and it goes beyond reason, if he has to work with a Girl like Eleonora.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why was he made a trainer for Eleonora?¡± ¡°...maybe, because he was available and no one really looked into it?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°And the Empire is not already in ruin because¡­?¡± ¡°Prophecies. They have Seers on their side, and the ways to block those are hard to come by.¡± ¡°Figures¡­ Anything else?¡± ¡°We do not have much Information, but I would think the next time we meet the Syndicate, there might be a visit from someone from the Empire.¡± ¡°Why would you think that?¡± ¡°Because of your blatant slight against the people that are watching us. Everyone would cry out, if someone struck them on the foot with a massive hammer.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ yeah, sorry about that, I was a bit impulsive because of them trying to watch you bathe and change clothes.¡± ¡°We appreciate your concern, but could have just made the Crystals see fake Images.¡± ¡°Even if they are fake, they would think they would see you naked, I can not bear that.¡± ¡°...I understand Master. Thank you.¡± While talking the other Maids heard Drak¡¯s words and had a warm smile on their faces. - In the School next morning Eleonora was extremely quiet and gave Drak angry looks, while also often blushing. The prank had a great effect on her, as she was rather incensed about what had happened. As the silence between them progressed and the School day progressed a small ball of paper was thrown to his side of the table from Eleonora. Sighing Drak made a mental note to find an opportunity to talk to her. After the Lunch, Drak came back into the class with his own note and something wrapped inside, putting it stealthily on her table. Inside was a small key and written: Not quite understanding what he meant, she read the Note a few times before putting both items in a secret pouch on her clothing. While not really understanding she just took it at face value and made sure if they did not meet to make the next Note more threatening. - Going into her Room Eleonora ordered to be undisturbed. All Servants and Agents are accepting her whims right now as they knew, she was still aggrieved about ¡®the incident¡¯. Everyone knew the best way was to give Eleonora space and especially not becoming the target of her wrath. Closing her door and locking it she looked out of the Window. While it was on the east side, she could see the colour of the Sky starting to vanish. Closing her curtains she goes to her door, pulls the original key out and compares it with the one Drak gave her. Drak¡¯s key was way smaller and would never be able to open that door, which means she might need to find a different door if this one does not work. With a sigh she put the small key into the door and twisted it. Shockingly the Key grabbed something and a * click * was heard. Opening the door she saw a Foyer, which should not be behind this door, as it would originally go into the Corridor of her Mansion. ¡°Miss Eleonora, please this way!¡± Celia noticed the door opening and showed her the way to the Study with a smile. In the Study Teacups and Cookies were already draped on a table while Drak was being forced to read a book about Imperial History by Seria. ¡°Master, your Guest has arrived.¡± After Seria said these words, he felt saved and smiled at Eleonora waving her to the chair on the other side of the table. Raja was already working hard on the Tea, while the daze of Eleonora started to abate and questions bubbling out of her mouth. ¡°How am I here? Why is my Room suddenly somewhere else? What is going on? Where am I?¡± ¡°Um, Elly-¡± ¡°Eleonora!¡± ¡°Wait, now back to Eleonora? Whatever, Eleonora I just made a ¡®Door¡¯ with the key you had. The one is rather unstable and we will not have much time, as it will close after being drained of all Magic or being closed again, so better make this quick.¡± ¡°A Door?¡± ¡°Yeah, Magic of the Sixth Circle. [Door] is a space distortion creating a connection between two different places, connecting them by displacement of-¡± ¡°Master, you are veering off.¡± ¡°Ah! Just think of it as a Teleport without needing to teleport.¡± ¡°Is that how you go to the Imperial City?¡± ¡°Not like that, as such an unstable Door can only work on close points. To create a long distance one, there must be way more complicated work being done. Ah! Can I get the Key back? It is one of my private Drawers. I would have problems without it.¡± Giving the Key back without thinking, Eleonora realised why she was here and got angry again. ¡°Drak! How dare you put those Crystals in my Bathroom and Bedchamber! Do you want me to die from embarrassment?!¡± ¡°Miss Eleonora, it was your side that had put them in private places first. Are you really blaming our Master for things your People have already done too?¡± The counter from Seria was unexpected and so sudden, Eleonora was shocked for a second. ¡°They¡­ I was not¡­ It was them, that¡­ ARGH! Fine, they did it first, but why did you target me?!¡± ¡°Master did not target you directly. The ¡®workers¡¯ were just told to put them where your side will understand their mistake and also in similar places.¡± ¡°So they put them inside, while I was already bathing?¡± ¡°Wait, you were bathi-¡± ¡°Master, please reign your thoughts in, she is not even that developed yet.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®not developed¡¯?!¡± ¡°Back to the topic, they were already put there before and just activated after the passphrase was ushered, that was set.¡± ¡°And what was that passphrase?¡± Eleonora was rather livid and wanted to know how she suddenly was seen by all of the Imperial Agents. ¡°The passphrase was¡­ um¡­ Alice, what did you set it to?¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense.¡± ¡°What makes sense?!¡± ¡°Miss Eleonora, did you perchance sing or make melodious noises while you were in the bathroom?¡± ¡°Even if I did that, what does it have to do with-¡± ¡°The passphrase was singing or the like, so it would activate while someone was in a relaxed state, therefore ¡®vulnerable¡¯, like we would be in our own Rooms, thinking we are secure and unseen.¡± ¡°...ah!¡± ¡°So it just so happened to start, when you were singing.¡± Drak suddenly disturbed the talk between Seria and Eleonora. ¡°Seria, can I say something too?¡± ¡°Of course Master.¡± ¡°Eleonora, I am sorry if you are angry, but see it from our side. They put Crystals first in places that were logical, like corridors, the Study or the Lounge, but suddenly they put them in more and more unreasonable places.¡± ¡°...you can call me Elly again. I was a bit oversensitive, but I hope you understand my feelings. I was seen by my Subordinates in a rather¡­ uncouth way.¡± ¡°Yeah, I understand. Both sides should understand how we feel.¡± ¡°This will make your position more troublesome again. What were you thinking?¡± ¡°I was thinking about how my Maids would be seen changing their clothes and watched in their most private moments, and I would rather make the whole Empire my Enemy than let that happen.¡± ¡°I, I understand.¡± While they were talking some more and drinking Tea, Eleonora had to go back, as the Door would not stay stable for so long. Drak wanted to bring her to the Door himself, but was shot down by Seria to read the book again. When Eleonora got through, the Maids were about to close the door as Seria said something. ¡°Miss Eleonora, this was seen as a warning. Master Drak is lenient to everything, except if it comes to us or his other underlings. So please be careful, or the next time you might need to check the toilet bowl as otherwise the best case scenario would be seeing ¡®just a bit of rain¡¯ and worst a ¡®mudslide¡¯¡± Seeing the colour drain from Eleonora¡¯s face with a look of horror, Seria closed the door with a smirk. Chapter 21 - Date with Seria The rest of the School days were rather quiet, especially as Eleonora was still distant and mostly silent. Drak thought they had already talked about all the things, but did not bother further with it and appreciated the more quiet Days. As the next Rest days came closer a bearded Man came with an invitation from the Berklin House into the School City. His eyes were whitish blue and if someone did not look closer they would think the Irises were fully white. Wearing rather cheap leather clothing, he wandered directly into the Noble District and was questioned more than three times by Guards. Noticing the approaching Person Drak¡¯s Guard in his tiny Guardhouse was waking up for once and greeted him. ¡°You want, Sir?¡± ¡°I was invited as a Coachman by the Berklin Family. Here is the Letter.¡± Scrutinising the Letter, both people gave an unnoticeable nod in the form of a greeting. While the Letter was checked, the Guard already knew the person in front of him was supposed to be here. ¡°Seems authentic. Just go in and wait for the Master to come from School. Do not walk around too much until the Son of Berklin is here, or you will get in trouble.¡± ¡°Will do.¡± After the Talk the Side Gate was opened and the scruffy Person walked inside. Sitting in the stable on a bale of hay he started to nod away, waiting for the arrival of Drak. - Drak on his way home in the Carriage ¡°Master, I got informed that Korn is here.¡± ¡°Ah, nice. With this we can change Carriages. Better to make space if the Princess wants to go shopping again. Also with him all of you can relax.¡± ¡°I understand the meaning, but to call Korn is a bit over the top. Are you thinking of making the horses Familiars?¡± ¡°You got it. Also the Carriage we are buying will be reinforced by our Carpenters secretly.¡± ¡°Are we going to war?¡± Celia asked adorably while Seria and Drak were talking. ¡°No, just a precaution for later. If someone tries to mess with the Carriage, it is better to be ready.¡± ¡°While I would have chosen other words than Celia, it is really a bit extreme. How secure do you want to make our travels?¡± ¡°Secure enough for not being able to be implicated by an attack on us or on Eleonora.¡± ¡°Okay, that could be a possibility, but might be unlikely.¡± ¡°Too much has already gone south. Better to be prepared for everything.¡± ¡°As you wish, Master. Korn will take over all the work in keeping the Familiars fed and Carriage clean. Will you write what you want for your Carriage, so we can buy it?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I will go shopping with you. Either all together or just the two of us.¡± ¡°Master and Seria are going on a date?!¡± The Carriage shook a bit. Raja on the Coach Seat seems to have disturbed the horses and made the Carriage go unsteady. ¡°How nice that must be~¡± ¡°Obviously I will not only go with Seria and forget all of you. We will go on different days to different Shops. I thought you might want to go out a bit at your own pace.¡± ¡°...and trying to leave the School work at Home?¡± ¡°Ugh! Only out of necessity!¡± A short silence made Drak sweat a bit after Seria again spoke. ¡°...that is fine. Without rest time, you might be too stressed to learn more. Also it is good for us to have a bit of relaxation. As there are three Rest days and we have four of us, we need to either do it over two Rest periods or each of us gets half a Day with Master alone.¡± ¡°Two periods!¡± ¡°Then would you not care if your Date with Master will be next Week Celia?¡± ¡°...Half a Day!¡± ¡°Seria, we can do this multiple times. Half a day should be okay. The third can then be used to rehearse the Books.¡± ¡°Master, are you fine? This is a rather good Idea and even had your School work taken into consideration.¡± ¡°Do you think of me as that lazy?¡± Drak was about to cry, but Alice soothed him with a song, while he had his head massaged by Seria as an apology. - ¡°Where do you want to go first, Seria?¡± While Korn has groomed himself and put on the clothes of a Coachman, he drove the two into the Merchant district. ¡°The best would be the purchase of the Carriage first, as it would be better to go with Alice searching for Horses. With this it would be the most efficient way to see if we need two or four Horses later.¡± ¡°I meant to know where you yourself want to go.¡± ¡°Ah, um¡­ While I appreciate your sentimentality, it is not proper for me to decid-¡± ¡°It is, as you are all my Family. Without you I would not be where I am. Now, where would you like to go first before we go purchasing the Carriage?¡± ¡°If I am allowed to ask¡­ I loved accessories the most before I was¡­ But that is long in the past.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°So an accessory shop. Let us see what we can find. Korn, find a nice Jewellery Store and stop there.¡± ¡°As Lord commands.¡± ¡°Korn, while he is our Lord, you should call him Master for the time being.¡± ¡°Yes Miss Seria. Master, I search for a good place to shop for Jewels.¡± ¡°Thank you, Korn.¡± After a small trip Korn noticed some different Stores and Stalls selling different kinds of accessories, so he stopped and helped Drak and Seria disembarking the Carriage. ¡°Thanks Korn. We message you, if we want to go home.¡± ¡°Yes Lo- Master.¡± With this Korn led the Carriage to a parking area for Carriages while tending to the Horses. Drak walked to the small Jewellery District and saw the different Items on display. Some Jewels were enchanted with different Spells, while others had natural occurring wards that disable specific spells. ¡°Rather a nice variety. So many different Gems and not even made into something to wear.¡± ¡°Yes Master. Many People buy some different Gems to have them socketed into their Accessories. Customization is often Key, as you never know what part of the Body already is being drained.¡± ¡°If I remember there is the Rule of branch?¡± ¡°Yes. One per branch with small exceptions. One on one Finger of each hand, one band per arm, one Necklace and one Boot, while boots are mostly the same to create balance.¡± ¡°One Leg each, one shoulder each and two ears.¡± ¡°Exactly. There are exceptions, as ¡®you know¡¯. Some highly adept Magician can have two Rings on the same hand. One known as the iron Wizard was known for having three Armbands on each arm for protection against different Elements. He specifically was known for his high proficiency of low level Magic because of the over drain of his powers.¡± ¡°Yeah, from them I got the Idea-¡± ¡°Master, don¡¯t you think this Gem looks quite nice? A shame for the low enchantment, it would be such a great centrepiece in any Accessory.¡± ¡°Ah- Yes, but I don¡¯t think Ruby would be a nice thing for anyone I know to present as a custom made Accessory. Or maybe Raja?¡± Realising they are in the public, Drak shut up and made small talk with Seria. Walking along they were shadowed by some people, but not hindered in any way. Seeing them strolling and looking at different Items they noted every move, but had kept a far distance and were not able to hear most of their words. While strolling Drak noticed some black teardrop shaped Obsidian pieces. ¡°Those are curious.¡± ¡°What do you mean Master?¡± ¡°They have an intrinsic Magic. But I am not sure what kind.¡± ¡°Ah, you have a great eye, Mister. These are Obsidian shards of a Meteoric Crater. These have a special magical ability of the Stars.¡± ¡°That is Fake Master. Meteoric Obsidian has a heavy contamination of external influences. They not only mess with the workings of Magic around them, some sicknesses are thought to be caused by being around them.¡± Seeing his sales pitch being seen through, the Street vendor started to sweat a bit. It is true, those ¡®gems¡¯ are seen as curse bearers, but also have a special draw, as they are rare and could bring Money from some young and unsuspecting Nobles, never been out in the World. Sadly those people in front of him have a stronger insight and could not be swindled. ¡°I take all of them. Better be honest with the price, those things are not worth what you might try to push, right?¡± ¡°Master?¡± ¡°Ah, Mister you have a rather nice demeanour. Let me give you a discount and per drop I just want twenty Go- * cough * two Gold per one. I have nine of them, so it would be eighteen Gold.¡± While he could not see the face of Seria, he could feel the icy demeanour and made a quick comeback. While two Gold were still too high a price, Drak did not care and bought them. Afterwards they moved away and the seller grinned slyly. ¡°Master, those are way less valuable than two gold per piece.¡± ¡°He will have his retribution. I have an Idea about these Obsidian pieces, that might help us in a way. Huh! Those things can not even be put in a spatial bag, how curious.¡± ¡°They interfere with Magic and can even break magical tools, if they are near them for too long.¡± Putting them away in a normal pouch, Drak strolled with Seria around a bit more before going into a store. While they were going out of sight the Stall closed up right away to leave for today. He suppressed a grin and walked out of sight into a side street when he was suddenly startled by being pincered in by four people from the front and the back. ¡°Who are you! Guards, I am being robbed!¡± Pulling out a crest the two persons in front of him came closer. ¡°We are Imperial Guards. You will come with us and explain what you sold to that boy earlier.¡± Not being able to process the twist of him being suddenly arrested by Guards in casual clothes, he asked himself where he did something wrong. While those Obsidian pieces were not illegal, it would be hard to explain how he got them. Also for how much he sold it was suspect and would be problematic if the Noble boy made a fuss. Not realising he was going into the totally wrong direction of thinking, he was put in cuffs and put into an unsuspecting Carriage, vanishing forever from inside the School City. - Arriving with Korn at the Carriage Shop, Drak came down with Seria, who was now wearing a golden necklace with an oval Emerald affixed into the middle. While her face was not being seen, she was radiating happiness like a warm summer breeze. ¡°Welcome to the shop, how can I help you?¡± It was evident the behaviour of the Merchant was a bit stiff, as he had problems connecting the person in front of him with the Duke¡¯s Insignia. While a Duke¡¯s Son might bring good Money, Drak was not looking like a favoured Child and it might be a cheap repair or maybe selling his old Carriage for an even older one to scrounge some cash. For these reasons the Merchant had not much hope for a good sale. Contrary to his thoughts Seria was right away narrowing the Carriages down to rather luxurious Versions. ¡°We need a Carriage out of sturdy and pristine materials, Should have enough space inside for at least twelve people to ride comfortably, which means spatial extension if possible. Internal heating and a place to brew tea would be beneficial, while it needs a good suspension to not shake the people inside. We would like to have Glass Windows and not wooden ones, as they should be double sided to keep warmth in and cold out. The Seat for the Coach needs to be able to have heating too, we do not want to be cheap on that. The Magic Crystal intake for Energy should also be inside for security reasons. Also no Decorations for now as we have some crafters who-¡± With the gigantic List of needed Features the Merchant had a light of Hope for a great sale in his eyes but also doubt, as he sometimes looked at the young Noble and could not think someone like him could afford that. ¡°I have a Carriage of this kind here, but needs to be adjusted for many things you want it to have. It needs two weeks at least, but the Money will be rather exorbitant. Are you sure you might want this, esteemed Son of a Duke?¡± After Drak took out three Platinum Coins, the Merchant was shocked and elated. This would be enough to not only buy this Carriage, but even a few more on top of it. ¡°This is my Limit for now. If it costs more, I might look into asking my Benefactor for more, but they might come and ask how it would be so expensive.¡± Reading between the lines the Merchant understood. The word ¡®Benefactor¡¯ did explain, he did not get this money from his Family, but from somewhere else. While this is normal in many possible circumstances, the source might not be as Noble as a Duke and be a bit rougher by asking how it became that expensive. Overcharging a Noble is easy, Overcharging an unknown Benefactor is risky, so better take a bit less profit for the sake of his two working legs. ¡°To fully evaluate the cost of refitting, I would need to have to calculate all of it over, but should not go over your Limit esteemed Sir. Please look at the Carriage, we would custom fit for you.¡± Walking through the Shop there was a black Carriage with golden inlays having a four Horse harness on front. The whole Carriage was somewhat resembling the white one of the Princess, but a bit smaller and way more inconspicuous than the driving Castle of an Imperial Princess. Trying to enter the Carriage for a look, the space distorted and made a crackling sound. ¡°Master, your Pouch.¡± ¡°Ah! I totally forgot. Korn, hold on to the pouch for a small while. I will take it back afterwards.¡± ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± Giving the Pouch with the obsidian pieces to Korn, Drak and Seria entered and inspected the whole Carriage. Chapter 22 - An evening brunch with Alice At night in the School city a small black carriage drives a second time into the shopping district for this day. ¡°It is so nice outside. The whole sky is slowly getting red like a colour changing jewel~¡± ¡°Yes, it is really a beautiful evening.¡± While admiring the Sky slowly changing colour Alice and Drak are on their way to look for Horses of their new Carriage. ¡°After we are finished, I would love to sit in an open Bistro and dine with you, Master~¡± ¡°We can do what you want to do. I will tag along and be by your side tonight.¡± ¡°Hearing this is like a dream. When was the last time it was just two of us, Master~?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember right now, but it must be while you were still adjusting to your new experiences.¡± ¡°Sometimes I still question myself if this is real or if I am still testing a new alchemical concoction~¡± ¡°This is real. I am here and so is Claire, Raja and Seria. As long as you want, we are here for you and support you.¡± ¡°This makes me so happy, I get sometimes scared over it~¡± A slightly melancholic but definitely warm feeling radiated inside the Carriage while Korn was driving slow and carefully to their destination. - ¡°While I understand you want to make your own decisions about your horses, are you sure you want these four?¡± In front of Drak was a Merchant and he was a bit incredulous about the Horses that were chosen. Drak himself did not do much and was more in the background, while Korn and Alice looked at the Horses themselves closely inspecting their demeanours and often just patted their heads before going to the next, without looking at the magnificent features like the Muscles or their immaculate fur. He rarely saw someone so eccentric choosing the Horses, especially as they chose four different kinds. One was even a workhorse that was strong, but not really appealing, as it was shaggy and had grey fur. The other ones were not quite right either, as one had a small limp and one was the worst of his breed, with low muscle strength destined to become Sausage if it were not sold the next few weeks. Only one was a black Horse that had a normal build, while having serious training issues. It was rather stubborn and would kick most people who came near it. Unexpected it let those two Servants not only near it without fuss, but had even allowed them to touch it without any issues, while it would even loathe the Merchants own trainers and kick out for no particular reason. Those Four were a strange combination. A grey worker horse, a black and white limping one, a brown weak one and a black stubborn one. Those four have no real relation and even their sizes are slightly different as they are of different breeds and the weak one even a failed mixed breed. ¡°Those four are doing fine. With the two we have already, we have six for a rotation or a small convoy of two Carriages. How much would that be?¡± Not really understanding why this overweight and stubborn Son of a Duke is wanting those, he could only conclude it is of overly trust in his Servants who might not even know anything about Horses to begin with. While checking the Money, the Horses will be delivered next day. As three were cheap and the fourth had a discount because of the personality it was not even half a Gold in total, even if there is a rather high price hike in being at the Central Domain. - Sitting in a small Bistro on the corner of the Merchant District Drak and Alice are watching the sky slowly being coloured in dark while the first stars glimmer in anticipation of the Night. ¡°...~¡± ¡°It sure is beautiful. It makes me feel relaxed by just sitting here with you and seeing the beauty of this World we take for granted.¡± Afterwards Drak bites into his small bread he had. It is a small specially made bread dish made in this bistro, a piece of bread soaked on one side in raw scrambled eggs and put on the frying plate. Afterwards, it is garnished with a bit of rock salt, herbs and a few vegetables. It is nothing special in this City, but for Commoners this would already be a specialty dish. Alice chose this specific Bistro after looking around, as it has no segregation against Commoners, Servants or Nobility. While the Server was a bit intimidated by the Crest, he found Drak to be easy to get along with and was more relaxed after serving him the dishes and iced fruit juice. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. On the open space were also to be seen different Students, who were wearing less special Uniforms and had a standard design especially ordered to be worn by Commoners. Seeing the difference at first glance, many had different emotions on their faces. Some held envy for someone like Drak being Nobility and not needing much to do, others aspired to become themselves higher status. Some girls try to weigh the positives and negatives to try to become a plaything with such an overweight Noble, as he has a nice demeanour, even if he was rather ugly. While those looks and thoughts were prevalent for the first few Minutes, everyone got back to their own work on their Study papers or thought of different things unnaturally fast and nearly at the same time. ¡°It is so relaxing. No worries and no pressure. I want this for all of us, being free like a bird.¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Ah that dream. She is curious, I was close to ending this farce and just using force, but she was so willing to just bow down. I feel sorry for her, she does not even know how caged she is and thinks of it as a matter of course. But enough about her, this is ¡®our¡¯ time. Better not think about someone else while we are here, right?¡± Putting his chubby hand on Alice¡¯s white one made her blush a bit. Alone the sentence of it being their own time was an arrow to her heart and the touch was quite the finisher, while Drak did not notice it and just marveled at the sky, now overtaken by stars shimmering like Jewels in the light. - ¡°Did you have a fun Night you two?¡± ¡°It was heavenly Seria~¡± ¡°Like Alice said. Such a tranquil time, just watching the Moon slowly appearing while drinking chilled fruit juice was an event I didn''t think would make me so relaxed like it did. How was your evening everyone?¡± ¡°Seeing the Horses was at first a small headache, but then we understood with Korn explaining. The turning of them into Familiars will be made at night while Korn tends to them. I hope you will comply, Master.¡± ¡°It was boring without you Master! Seria just told us to dust this and polish that, while everything was already clean to begin with. She missed you too and used it to order us around!¡± ¡°While I was feeling lonely, I persevered as I know the next day brings personal time with you too Master. Please look forward to it.¡± ¡°Sorry for that. You both can sleep with me tonight in the same bed. Seria, I will make the dilution ready for the Horses. Korn said half should work, but they might need time to adjust. For this I will do it tomorrow night for him to be free to be our Driver for the next dates, okay?¡± ¡°As you wish, Master. You get more and more dependable with your plans.¡± ¡°I am starting to understand that not everything can be forced like I used to. It feels weird to calculate and make decisions like that.¡± ¡°That is the feeling of growing up Master!¡± ¡°Like Celia said Master, it is a sign of you understanding the finer details and becoming sharper not only in mind but in actions.¡± ¡°Raja, our Master is no Knife he is more like a bud starting to bloom into adulthood~¡± ¡°Stop it! You make me blush! I know I am still a bit naive but I try my best, not only for me but also for you all!¡± Seeing the smiling faces of his Maids, Drak¡¯s face was tinted in a pink blush and hurried into the bathroom to make himself ready for bed. - ¡°The horses bought were unconventional. Nothing really made sense and we can not find the true reason for them being chosen. Also the Bistro was a rather niche establishment with no background. The original Owner was the Grandfather of the current owner and is a family run Establishment having slight troubles to make profits. Without having a Patreon, still being in the business is not easy, but is known for not looking down on anyone and therefore mostly being visited by Commoners to dine while working on their studies.¡± Running down the List of findings or better said ¡®non findings¡¯ the Spymaster looks at Eleonora to know what to do next. In his head he already knows there is nothing to find, as even the Jeweller they interrogated had not even an iota of worthwhile Information. ¡°¡­ Keep an eye on the Bistro, but only sparsely. It should not be a connection point to the Merchant, but there is never a thing as being too cautious. The horses have nothing to do with us, as he is somewhat eccentric in his own way, so just let him be.¡± Nodding the Spymaster understood the thoughts and could somewhat agree with her reasoning. Teaching her the ropes is somewhat strained since the surveillance crystal incident, but starts to become more smooth with more days passed. Still Eleonora uses unneeded manpower to scurry her personal bath and bedroom at least once a day for being sure to not being watched. While the Spymaster does not really approve of this unneeded work on their resources, he also can not complain, as a maidens heart is one thing he never can understand and most likely never will in his whole life. ¡°Are there any more movements I should be informed of?¡± ¡°Yes, your Uncle has called out to the Syndicate. He will likely move the next time there will be a meeting between the Target and the Syndicate.¡± ¡°Uncle, huh? Did he tell you to tell me?¡± ¡°Perceptive of you, Princess. Yes, he wanted to let you know he is not trying to work against you, but help out in his own ways. Directly connecting with the Merchant might be a better way to at least have him work with the Gracia Branch, than trying to endear the scapegoat. His message to you is:¡¯If it works, you will have a fun and relaxing School time. If it fails I take the blame, be assured¡¯.¡± ¡°Stupid Uncle, how can I be assured, if he is being punished for his digression? Our Gracia Family branch is already low, how can I let someone like that happen to him? ¡­ I can only hope he succeeds.¡± ¡®Better ask him for help. If this is going on I am more and more indebted to him, what should I do?¡¯ Thinking about what to do, Eleonora dismisses the Spymaster and starts to ponder her Options. While trying to find ways, the only choice she can reliably think of is asking for help from Drak. As she is already doomed of being executed for her crimes hiding valuable Informations she might as well take the plunge and scheme for a better outcome of her Gracia Family branch. It can not be worse than what she already has to shoulder in her mind. What will the Emperor do, behead her twice? Chapter 23 - A shopping spree with Celia ¡°Master, look! They are making sweets right in front of the shop, so you know what you get!¡± Celia was dragging Drak through the shopping district, especially through the sweets section. She was fascinated by all the colourful candies and cakes. In her hands were already heavy looking bags and she still walked around like there was nothing in her arms. Drak himself was walking behind her and had a smile on his face seeing how innocent and lively Celia was behaving. ¡°Woah! That fruit is in a crystal!¡± ¡°You have good eyes. This is our specialty we have in our shop. The clear Candy is made specially to see the fruit. All edible and sweet. Your Masters will be delighted, especially if they are a woman.¡± As it is normal for people in Maid outfits, the phrases were aimed at the ones who are behind the Maid. As she was wearing a very expensive looking Maid outfit the Candy artist pulls no stops in his sales pitch. ¡°I take six! I want to taste them together with our Master and my Sisters!¡± ¡°Okay six, I will carefully¡­ Wait, they are also for Servants?¡± At that Moment Drak came in front of the Stall noticing how demeaning the last sentence was formulated. As it looks, the vendor is a lower Noble who does not think of Servants as equal citizens. ¡°A moment please, I will pack six in the shop and bring them out.¡± ¡°We want them from the front.¡± Seeing the chubby Body the Clerk wanted to sneer, but stopped at seeing the golden Insignia. ¡°Of course Sir, I will just make the order of this Maid ready and be there right away. Please understand the small waiting time.¡± ¡°You misunderstand. I am her Master and want you to pack six from the stall.¡± Realising the son of a Duke in front of him is the Master of this Maid he was unable to go inside and had to pack in front of them. ¡°Of course, Sir. Let me just pack¡­¡± ¡°My Maid will choose which to buy, do you have something against my decision?¡± ¡°...no Sir. Young Maid, please choose the ones you want to like.¡± ¡°Then I will take that one, that, that and the two on that side¡­ Oh, this one too, it looks marvellous!¡± Packing under the scrutiny of the watchful eye of Drak, the clerk started to carefully pack the sweets and gave them over. ¡°Twelve Silver, please¡­¡± The price was reasonable for Noble offspring. A commoner would be able to eat for that amount for three Months if he was careful, but for Nobles it is supposed to be that high. While Celia carefully put away the sweets, Drak gave the Money to the clerk. Starting to walk away the Clerk reorganised his stall to make it more appealing for the higher born again. ¡°Not a nice guy?¡± ¡°No Celia, he looked down on you. You might need to learn how to read faces more carefully.¡± ¡°I still have a hard time with that. Better be cheery all the time and infect the people with a smile.¡± ¡°Yes, without you we would be a bit too serious all the time. Will we eat all those sweets today?¡± ¡°Not all, even I can not eat that much! But Tomorrow is a nice day with all of us together again, I want to make a nice side table with them for us to relax.¡± ¡°Seria will make me suffer with studying while we eat though.¡± ¡°She is just worried about you making your dreams come true. All of us are. Although Magic and Ingredient Studies are your strong parts, History and Law are your vices, Master. Please bear with it for now.¡± ¡°With you all on my side I can bear with anything.¡± ¡°How sweet of you Master!¡± Smiling, the two are walking around some more and at the end a mountain of sweets were crammed into the Carriage before being sent to their Mansion by Korn. - ¡°Welcome to our Supply Store, we have a variety of tools and materials, how can I help you, our esteemed Guest?¡± Arriving at the Supply Store Celia and Drak were greeted by a burly Person. While other beautiful clerks were also around, they mostly ignored Drak for his looks, while still being torn, as he had rather expensive looking clothes on him. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Thank you! We need some Materials, as we want to customise a Carriage in two weeks. Can you please show us some reference Materials for my Master and me to look at?¡± ¡°As you wish. We have here some nice magical wood and some rare metals, which are of superior quality.¡± Examining the Materials Celia took them in her hands and scrutinised them. Seeing the small maid checking them as if she wanted to bend the Materials, the clerk chuckled a bit but wondered if his eyes played a trick on him as he could swear the Adamantite and Elder wood were bending a bit under her dainty fingers. ¡®Did I eat something wrong or am I still a bit drunk from yesterday?¡¯ After the look over the Materials, Celia was satisfied and nodded to Drak. Checking the Materials by her was needed, as many sell third tier Materials in their Kingdom and had either other metals melted into or were of bad quality plants. While it rarely happens in the Imperial Domain directly, Noble people from other Kingdoms were never trustworthy, so the Supply Stores were already used to it for some to ask to see samples. Most just touched them or looked at their sheen, Celia was the first to ¡®stress test¡¯ them, as those Materials were in the eyes of most people unbendable and indestructible if not under specific manufacturing processes made plyable. ¡°The quality is pristine! Never had such materials that good in my hands, Master. We can use them directly and not even worry about impurities being a problem.¡± ¡°Ha, little miss knows much about Materials it seems. It is true, we have high quality Materials, but it also means we are not cheap, so please be wary about it.¡± ¡°No sweat! Master has coin, right Master?¡± Taking out a Platinum coin the Clerk was suprised and elated, while the other clerks were staring increduledly at the chubby child. If they had known, they could have made a great bonus, but now they are out of luck. They swore to remember the Face and chubby body for next time. Noticing the looks like vultures seeing prey, Drak started a bit of small talk with the clerk while explaining their material need. ¡°We need a half bar of Adamantite, but make it a full one, as it is always necessary for something, Oricalcum we need three bars and Mithril at least five so better make it eight to have reserves. Elder Wood in both board and tile form for engravings and an Arcon Crystal as source for Magic. By the way, what is your Name?¡± ¡°Arcon Crystal? Someone loading that per hand? Those things are hard to fit and always have a hard time to hold Magic for long. How about magic Crystals, we have a special one, which has recently appeared en masse on the imperial market. And my Name is Warren, Sir.¡± ¡°No, an Arcon crystal is needed. It is just for emergencies, but should be a big one. You never know, when you are in an emergency and want to store all you have just in case.¡± ¡°Huh, never thought about it as an emergency, but you are right. If the Magic crystal runs out you can at least hold the wards up, just don¡¯t understand why you would force so much Magic inside in an emergency, but okay.¡± ¡°Here are the dimensions of the Crystal needed. We need it in two weeks. And if all is satisfactory, I will always ask for your help later.¡± ¡°Th¡­ that big is a bit too much, won¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Do not worry it needs the size for fitting into the Furnace to run, the bigger the longer it can hold Magic, right?¡± ¡°Well, you are not wrong, but it would cost ten platinum alone for that one, plus the carving¡­¡± ¡°We carve them ourselves, Duke¡¯s secret methods you understand.¡± Everyone has their own secrets, and every Kingdom has their hidden alchemical and runic recipes. Even if they are all the same Empire, everyone tries to be higher in the pecking order in their own ways. If School knowledge is the basic bread, secret Methods are the secret spice combinations to make it unique for every Bakery. ¡°Of course, if you say so much, but for such a high order I need the half up front.¡± ¡°Here are ten Platinum, the rest will be paid in full by delivery. Drak Berklin is the Name. Celia our address card, if you please.¡± ¡°Of course! Here, I am happy to make your acquaintance, I am Celia! We will definitely become regular customers, if everything is to our liking!¡± ¡°I''m also happy to make your acquaintance. Warren, like I said.¡± Shaking hands, Celia and Warren finished the transaction. Drak was just handing out the ten Platinum and left with Celia, while Warren was working on the procurement documents for all the items ordered. All in all it was a Transaction of Fourteen Platinum and Drak paid more than half in advance, which made the whole sale already profitable as direct pay to the supplier always made them give a better discount. Better discount means more Money for the Store, which means a bigger Bonus for Warren. The envy aimed at Warren was already starting to manifest into physical form, but he ignored all of it, as they made their bed themselves and he just did what he was supposed to do: Every customer should be handled with dignity and no Customer is lower than the other. - ¡°Drak Berklin has again paid a huge sum. He definitely has a hidden income. The question is from where.¡± ¡°It is already highly plausible, there is a connection more than using his likeness with the black Merchant. Next Week we will have more information.¡± ¡°I need to talk to my Uncle, is it possible or do I need to write a Letter?¡± ¡°Right now there are high clouds over the Imperial castle, so better would be a Letter. It might be close to thunder, just hoping for no lightning.¡± To School Eleonora in Code the Spymaster often talks in special phrases, which help her in remembering the way to communicate in public. This weather based code is made to explain the current activities of her distant family branches. Cloudy means there are undercurrents working while Thunder means fights are being fought behind the curtains. Lightning is meant to symbolise a ¡®strike¡¯ which means an assassination attempt. Incredibly, while the Imperial Family is in a blood feud, they would come together, if their own Rule would be in danger. Even helping each other out to become Emperor as long as the Family Blood is not tainted. Otherwise bloody culling is the norm to keep the Empire from breaking into separate Kingdoms. ¡°So better writing to him directly. Send the Letter per Person, who knows who could peek at it otherwise.¡± ¡°As you wish Princess.¡± Undercurrents in the Family means fights for the throne. As nearly all Families have their own Seer, the fights are not only being fought over the current Seat, but over Generations. When the Bloodline of their own Branch benefits, sacrifices of oneself are often made without remorse. ¡®If I could only warn my Uncle, but this would be too dangerous. Aunt must have seen something in her Ritual, that makes them try to help me somehow.¡¯ While Eleonora worried about her Uncle, she herself thought about multiple plans to help the Empire but foremost her own Family. Side Story - Raja I¡¯m called¡­ Raja¡­ I was an illegal slave and¡­ knife girl. Knife people are slaves that are used in the¡­ underground markets to¡­ test knives¡­ on us. Noble Aristocrats and people who have¡­ strange tastes came often to test the special made daggers and knives. Some used us as target practice for¡­ throwing knives. Others just wanted to see how good they cut¡­ they always cut good and it was always painful¡­ At the end I was numb¡­ could no longer scream and out of that reason¡­ a ¡®guest¡¯ got angry with me and slashed me¡­ through my face. That was a taboo, as knife people must be¡­ pretty. The fault was blamed on me, as I did not make¡­ satisfactory noises¡­ In the end¡­ I was discarded. The weak and spoiled healing potions could not fix my face. They never did good work¡­ It just closes the wounds and left scars. My face¡­ regenerated slightly wrong and my eye¡­ gone. Remembering the pain, the slash was going through my jawbone and skull. I also lost teeth, but that did not matter to me at that time. I was already destined to die¡­ That was when he came. He gave me what I never had and I was scared. He gave me a¡­ choice. ¡°Do you want to come with me? If not, I can heal your wounds and let you free. I can not take away what you already suffered, but you can have a future.¡± A black cloak and wearing a black mask¡­ Only Nobility hides their faces, not¡­ ordinary criminals. As I saw him I was scared, he looked like a devil telling me sweet words. But I was already numb¡­ so I took his hand and¡­ that was when all of it changed. In his hideout he called me out. ¡°First we heal your scars. You have suffered so much, do not worry.¡± That was when I said that word¡­ The word I was banned from using, as it would only make me suffer more. I thought I would never say it again. ¡°...no¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Something¡¯s not right?¡± He said gently. Was he¡­ worrying about me? At this time I did not really understand but¡­ If I really have a choice, let me be selfish for once¡­ This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Scars are¡­ me. The only thing I was ever given. Please¡­ don¡¯t make me someone else.¡± I was broken¡­ I already knew, but¡­ the scars made me¡­ myself. If possible, I want to keep them. They were part of me and¡­ if they vanish¡­ wouldn¡¯t I vanish too? I was scared. ¡°...alright, I will not go against your will, but the internal scars are too deep. I need to at least heal them. Your organs are way too damaged.¡± Internal¡­ I do not know what he means, but if he does not take my scars, then I am content. ¡°You want¡­ to sleep with me in¡­ the same bed?¡± No one wanted to do that since I was a knife girl. Does he want my¡­ body? I heard it would hurt at first but¡­ only knives were put in¡­ there, so it could never hurt more than this¡­ right? In the end I was mistaken¡­ He only wanted to sleep and hug me¡­ Strange¡­ I was never hugged. It was scary at first. I understood later more, but¡­ instead of pain I first felt something different¡­ it felt¡­ nice¡­ --- My Name is Raja. I am the personal Maidservant and Bloodsworn of my Master. With my close Sisters we work hard and keep everything in his vicinity tidy and do our best to make our Master smile. There are many Bloodsworn, but only a few personal Maids, so I am extremely proud to be at his side at all times. The common Servants of his Family¡¯s Mansion ignore our Master and if they see me they often have a look of disgust. It does not bother me, as every time I ask our Master if he thinks I am ugly, he says I am beautiful and strong in my own way. I think Master is more beautiful. He is the most beautiful Person I know, but he somehow seems to not really think that way. Because of his Family, he has low self esteem, but we Maids work hard to make him see how great of a person he is. Not only is he powerful and kind, but also has silky skin, shining black hair, deep beautiful eyes and a rough but subtle smell. When I first met him I mistook him for a Devil, but he is definitely an Angel! ¡°Raja, could you brew me some tea?¡± ¡°Of course, Master.¡± Master loves my tea the most. I am taking utmost care of brewing it to perfection and he loves it. Sometimes he even says that he can¡¯t relax without my tea, I am so happy! While I am his Maid, sometimes I work different Missions too. There is not much I can say but he took away my pain and resentment. He gave me powers and also the satisfaction to take revenge on my former Owners. That one Night was also the night I got a horrible Nickname in the Underworld, but I do not care, as I am glad to be at the service of my Master. Right now Master works on a secret plan, and he is close to finishing it, but, although he was able to go smoothly through the phase of laying low in his Mansion without being noticed, in the Imperial Academy, there are some¡­ roadblocks. Either way, we will all serve our Master and if the Plan changes, we will follow suit and if someone wants to stop his ambition we will cut through all obstacles to make our Master smile brightly. ...I am rather good at cutting. Chapter 24 - A *** with Raja ¡°Everything is ready Raja, you can have your evening like you dreamt of.¡± ¡°Thank you Seria, I never thought it would be possible for me to ever have a chance to do this.¡± ¡°You seem nervous, don¡¯t be, you will be fine~¡± While Drak was still underway with Celia, Seria and Alice were working on encouraging Raja to her special evening. For her the other three had worked extra hard, as she had always wished for something, she would normally never be able to do otherwise. A chance for her dream was finally there and all of them worked hard to not only support her but to encourage her to really go through with it. ¡°Are you sure, I should wear such a beautiful thing? I feel out of place.¡± ¡°This will be sent to the location. Of course you can first travel with our Master through the City in your regular Maid clothes.¡± ¡°Even our Maid clothes are over the top. The seams are made by hand and embroidered with magical gold thread to make it repair itself. There is even an engraving of heat regulation for Summer and winter to make it comfortable enough in a Snowstorm or a Desert.¡± ¡°Yes, Master did a ridiculous thing and reinforced the circles before giving them to us~¡± ¡°I felt it too you two. It is like he embraces us always. Be happy and don¡¯t reject it.¡± ¡°You can talk big, we never wore such beautiful fabrics unlike you, Seria~¡± ¡°I agree with Alice.¡± ¡°As Maids we have a duty to be presentable for the honor of our Master.¡± ¡°...I also agree with your opinion, Seria.¡± ¡ª In the Evening Drak and Raja were walking through the Merchant district and looked at engravings of special magical properties. Those engravings were meticulous and either be used as an object for studying or for enchanting different magical resources. The differences are rather easy to find, as learning engravings were simple while the enchantment ones were harder to decipher. ¡°Welcome, what do you need, esteemed sir?¡± A rather scrawny guy with two protruding teeth asked in an enthusiastic manner. ¡°My Master and I are here for special engraving plates to secure a recently bought carriage. The engravings we need should be at least half efficient and subject to overcharge in an emergency.¡± Close to no Magic is fully efficient and can only hold onto its power in special degrees. Engravings are even worse, as they use natural occurring patterns in Nature to force Magic into an effect. If used this way the efficiency is always lower but can be used by anyone or anything that has the capabilities of channeling Magic into the engravings. A half efficient engraving is in the higher tier engravings, for the highest percent ever being done was 82 percent by an engraver as his magnum opus to prove his superiority. The engraving itself was although just an engraving for a lumination spell, which in itself is one of the lowest Magic possible and made for only bragging rights. The used materials for making the engravings and even the materials it was engraved to were rather expensive and meticulously chosen. ¡°With half efficiency? This will be possible, but also needs good materials to be engraved onto.¡± Engravings are first etched on a magical source paper. This Paper holds the engraving and will be transferred by loading this magical paper until it burns away. The ¡®ink¡¯ itself holds the Magic better and etches the outlines into the materials below the paper while vaporizing. In a sense a magical ¡®circuit¡¯ gets etched into the materials below the surface, which enables the Magic to freely flow into a pattern. The better the materials the more precise the etching. Afterwards it can be reinforced with other magical ingredients to make them more efficient, but if the precise etchings are not up to par no amount of precious materials will improve the results. ¡°Here are some warding examples we have. As you can see the thickness of the lines vary to improve the flow in crucial parts without neglecting the overall flow.¡± Scrutinizing the wards, Drak and Raja were immersed in the lines for a while. ¡®Just what are you two messing around? This ward is not only highly complex, it is also protected from being copied.¡¯ By using not visible magical ink some lines can be hidden while with normal ink wrong lines can be made for tricking someone who wants to copy their own products. Magical copy Protection. ¡°This one makes no sense¡­¡± ¡°Normal ink, the original is below that ink Master. The use of different kinds of conduits makes it a bit more unstable, but only a few percent. It should still be around sixty percent quality if used with Materials Celia brought back as samples.¡± ¡®They understand that complicated maze of lines?!¡¯ "...Acceptable. Our Master needs wards against intrusion, surveillance, magical attacks and heavy kinetic forces. Also a few augmentations to improve¡­¡± As Raja called down the list of engravings, the clerk quickly wrote down the requests while noticing how he had caught a big fish. ¡®One platinum¡­ No two and a half Platinum should be the full price, my Bonus this week will make me finally able to propose to Illiana!¡¯ ¡ª ¡°Master, please have a nice time!¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Have fun~¡± ¡°Please board the Carriage, Korn knows where to drive to, Raja is waiting. It would be bad to let her wait too long.¡± ¡°I still do not understand why¡­ whatever, I will know what is going on when I am where you all are guiding me to.¡± Entering the Carriage, Drak sat down. He was wearing his school uniform and wondered why they helped him to make sure he is well groomed. As he knew his maids, he was less worried, but had more questions. After a long drive the Carriage stopped in the entertainment District in front of a small Venue for lower Nobles to rent. When Korn opened the door Drak was wondering what was going on, but just went with the flow and entered the door into the small ballroom. Entering the venue the cheap magical orchestra started to play a melody and in the middle of the room Raja in an azure dress was standing nervously looking in Drak¡¯s direction. Drak had never seen Raja in a dress other than a Maid outfit before and she was fidgeting like crazy. Understanding what is going on, Drak was getting slightly red, but used all his courage for the walk to Raja holding out a hand. ¡°Beautiful Lady, may I be graced with a dance?¡± While Raja was getting even more red as she already was, she slightly nodded and took the outstretched hand of Drak. Slowly starting to dance, both of them were quiet for a while. As the embarrassment of Raja was fading a genuine smile was stretching over her face. She always dreamed of dancing in a romantic ambience. The other Maids sometimes caught her dancing with herself and practicing different dances the Nobility were adept in. Hidden between different Books in her shelf was a rather well used book about Dances and Etiquette. For her, who was being outward rather stoic and curt, she has behind all those scars and hard shell a tender maiden heart, which wants to be spoiled and tended to. Dancing like a Princess in one of her Novels she sometimes read made her heart flutter and feel surreal. Side step, back step, front step, spin; all of it was trained in secret, but thought to be of no use forever, but now she felt more alive than ever. The next song and the next, she danced like her heart wanted for so long and had the time of her life. Even the spies watching in the hidden outlooks were forgotten by Raja, as she was for one time neither a Maid nor a Servant but a Maiden dancing in her own small World. A World with one more Person in right now. Looking at Drak she smiled before getting a bit sad. Seeing her mood changing Drak took her closer and silently cast a noise ward to be not overheard if she wants to talk. Raja appreciated his caring demeanor and held on him tight while still dancing in a slow pace. ¡°Master-¡± ¡°Right now I am just Drak. Call me that, just for a while, okay?¡± ¡°Mas¡­ M¡­ Drak¡­ It is hard to call you that, but it is also nice, I feel somewhat strange.¡± ¡°What is it dear Raja?¡± ¡°Oh my, ¡®dear¡¯? Please stop, I''m getting weak knees¡­¡± A small silence was falling between the two before Raja got her courage together. ¡°Thank you, for all you do for us. Without you I would be dead and even if there is a heaven or other Elysium after death, it could not be better than how I am feeling right now.¡± Drak was silently listening to her. Albeit young, he knew how needed it can be to just say what is sitting on the heart of someone. He often talked with his Maids about everything he had sorrows about and this he does sometimes multiple times a week while lying in bed. ¡°Mast¡­ I mean Drak, can I ask you honestly about something?¡± ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°I just want to really know the truth. Am¡­ Am I ugly?¡± ¡°No, you are not.¡± ¡°Master-¡± ¡°Just Drak.¡± ¡°Drak, are you really truthful? People often look at me and they¡­ they recoil. I often ask you about it, but I really¡­ Really want to know: Am I ugly?¡± ¡°Raja, the thing they are recoiling is because they first don¡¯t know you and second about how much pain those scars must have caused you. You are beautiful, not only on the inside, but the outside too. I like your hair, your smooth white skin, your eye color, both of them, your voice, your steadfastness, your tea, the side of you that is strong and also the side of you which is in front of me right now. You are Raja not only I but also the Maids and the rest of our Family adores and loves. I am glad you are with us and happy to be near you daily. There is nothing on you that I would find ugly, as everything on you is lovable and pretty in their own specific way.¡± Hearing this, Raja''s eyes got moist. She always knew he would never say she was ugly, but always feared he just said it without meaning it. But right now she understood he not only meant it, but was sure of it with all his heart and body. Holding close to him she was shivering out of the tumultuous feelings inside her. Drak held onto her as long as he had to, he knew her more than most and also knew she had this complex of her looks but never wanted to change it nevertheless. Time passed and her shivers got less and less while they slowly danced to the silent melody of the self playing instruments. Time flew and while in their own world more than an hour passed just silently dancing. At one of the last songs finally Raja said something again. ¡°Drak?¡± ¡°Yes Raja? ¡­ Mmm!¡± The answer Drak got was a kiss from Raja, long and tender. While Drak was shocked at first, he stopped caring and held onto her after a while. Both were not practiced in the art of kissing so it was somewhat awkward, but sweet in their own way. A while later Raja let go of his lips and took a deep breath. ¡°Drak, I love you. We all love you. All four of us already lost our hearts to you. Just talking about it my own heart is beating like a drum, but if I confess not today, I would regret it my whole life. You are still young and are a Noble, so our love will never be returned, so we will always watch over you and help you in any way y¡­ Mmmm!¡± A return kiss was made by Drak. While he was still dazed by the confession, he could not bear to hear he could not respond to their hearts. In his mind he never took his Nobility any heed and just because he is only twelve does not mean he can¡¯t grow up. Some Noble kids were in danger to be engaged at eight years and wed at fourteen. What is being in love at twelve and waiting until the end of School to marry one of the four most dear People he had by his side in comparison? ¡°Raja I love you too. The problem is, I love Celia, Seria and Alice equally like you and can not decide right now, as I fear to hurt the other three by doing so. My Nobility is only a tool for me and nothing else and you all are worth more to me than any girl with some kind of peerage. Can you wait for me to understand who I should marry? It might be hard, but I am suffering too. I had long thought of one of you being my wife.¡± Raja¡¯s face was now completely red and she understood how Drak was already thinking of marrying one of them while they were still thinking he would not understand their feelings. Somehow she felt silly, as he is already twelve and might have his own thoughts not of them as only friends but as Women. To hide her embarrassment a little bit she clung back to Drak and danced to the last dance with him in silence for a while. ¡°Silly Master.¡± ¡°I might be silly, but if you say your feelings I have to response, don¡¯t I?¡± Drak felt Raja nod while dancing. Under her breath she said silently: ¡°Polygamy is legal under Nobles, silly.¡± ¡°Eh, did you say something Raja?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Chapter 25 - Reactions to a kiss everywhere ¡°You kissed him?!¡± Raja was nodding to the extreme question she got from Celia after recounting the date. ¡°Then you are ahead of us by a large margin~¡± ¡°While I understand that Master was with each of us on dates, by going so far, you made me slightly regret the work we did to make your dance with Master possible.¡± ¡°I am sorry Seria, it came over me without being able to resist, I needed to tell him about my¡­ our feelings.¡± ¡°Hah, don¡¯t sweat it! But I wish I had told him myself while we bought sweets, hah¡­¡± Celia was a bit down, unlike her usual demeanor. Alice was rather calm and Seria was still a bit miffed. ¡°Raja, as compensation you will be taking Masters side in bed only after three days again, is that clear?¡± ¡°...understood Seria.¡± ¡°Ah, how cruel Seria! I am angry too, but she is our sister is she not?¡± ¡°It is a bit harsh~¡± ¡°...two days then.¡± ¡°Thank you Seria. Thank you Celia and Alice for speaking up for me.¡± ¡°So, did something else happen?¡± ¡°He¡­ wants to marry us.¡± ¡°I see, he¡­ huh?¡± ¡°Ara~¡± ¡°Merr¡­ Mama¡­ MARRY US!?¡± Explaining his words and feelings all were shocked and had chaotic feelings in their hearts while comprehending what this means. Their girl talk was long and loud, but no one was listening in or were there any working surveillance devices. Meanwhile Drak was in the Bath thinking about how impulsive he laid bare his heart to Raja and could imagine her to tell the others about his plans he thought in his mind. ¡°What should I do¡­ Why did I tell her the truth just like that?¡± His own mind was in chaos. His feelings for them were slowly and steadily changing as he got into puberty and now he did the unthinkable and just told one of them, he still had no idea how to work with those feelings. ¡ª ¡°So did he go out with his fourth maid too?¡± ¡°Yes, and apparently she is rather versed in engraving Methods, as she could find out about some of the tricks a store used to keep their own works of special engravings secure.¡± ¡°Oh, not only is she adept in sword and some kind of Magic, she is knowledgeable about laying mystic line work? She could be one of his tutors for his rather stellar theoretical work in Magic.¡± ¡°We will update her Dossier. After the shopping they went different routes-¡± ¡°Not staying together? The other three had some kind of outing with him, no?¡± ¡°Well they also had, but it was more elaborate, which made it necessary for special attention to detail.¡± ¡°Ho? Can you elaborate?¡± While Eleonora was rather bored about the going ons in Drak¡¯s life, this seems to have some kind of gossiping flair, and her interest lied more on this aspect, as most other things were rather dry and tedious work of keeping simple Information sorted. When he first was going out with one of them she was rather bored, but came to like some of the more private aspects, for they hold room for speculation and also might show some kind of ¡®hidden love¡¯ between him and one of his Maids. As she had not much to do in the Imperial Palace, she often listened to the whispers of the maids about some maybe true, often false rumors about different Stewards getting closer to different Maids or special maids cleaning the bedchambers of her cousins ¡®at night¡¯. While she did not understand at first, she got the gist later and overheard many things just to not get too bored until she was designated as a potential spy in training. ¡®Something special? Maybe he has a deeper connection to her? The smaller one was only out for sweets and while he bought his rather strict maid a pendant it could not be seen as too much appreciation. That black haired one, um¡­ Alice was it! That one he was going on an evening dinner, and might be his petal to a rose¡­ But that Raja one had something even more special might be changing it again! Do not let it show how giddy you are and keep composure!¡¯ ¡°As you wish Princess. Her private time was disbanded at the end of the shopping for the specific engravings. It is as expected for enchanting the previously bought carriage. This carriage has been already studied, but it will be impossible to secretly insert some devices, as we do not know what will be modified. If it were to be found out, it could start another retaliation like the bathroo-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remember me! Skip the failure of surveillance devices, I want to not remember right now!¡± ¡®And stop with the boring stuff, where is the MEAT!?¡¯ ¡°Ah, of course Princess. The wards can be seen to only be defensive and in regulation of Imperial Norms. Nothing to worry about. It is now obvious, the Money is not from his Ducal family, as all the spendings are now way over budget for being reasoned with ¡®high pocket money¡¯. He would have to get one platinum a Month for over four years to be able to buy all of this. If we include how he was traveling to school before, he is obviously not one to spend so much money normally. This can not be out of miserly thoughts, but lack of money.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Eleonora nodded and tried her best to not scream her inner voice out to get to the next topic. She felt like her willpower got a hard workout. ¡°After the purchase both parties went their own ways for a time, where the Maid named Raja was heading for the entertainment district and Drak Berklin went directly back home.¡± ¡®So he went home, but why is Raja going to the entertainment district? Don¡¯t tell me she is going to those kinds of establishments with oiled muscled dancers? No, that is not possible, is it?¡¯ ¡°Drak Berklin was made ready for the rest of the evening by his other maids, while Maid Raja went into a previous rented small event venue to change into different clothes, prepared in advance.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t say the spies did what I fear!¡± ¡°Your orders were heeded, and after she went into the changing room no personnel had surveilled her until she came out herself.¡± * sigh * ¡®Please do not do dangerous things, my heart can¡¯t take it! ¡­She changed, in what exactly?¡¯ ¡°Um, what kind of clothing did she change into? Some kind of venue staff uniform for a meeting?¡± ¡°No, she put herself in a rather simple but still stylish azure dress. The pattern was on the left side of vines with flowers, but that is not really a needed detail, I believe.¡± ¡®For me it is!!!¡¯ ¡°A¡­ a dress, interesting. Did she accompany him to the gathering?¡± ¡°There was no gathering.¡± ¡®But you said VENUE! Do I have to pull your teeth before all Information comes out in one go?!¡¯ Noticing the rather heavy atmosphere around the Princess the Spymaster started to continue quicker. He might not understand why she is too interested in such low value information, but he also knows he has some defects in his assessment as he was just a low infiltrator in the most direct way, prior. ¡°There was no gathering, the whole venue was for her and Drak Berklin, who was after a short while being driven by his new Coach to the Venue. When he entered the Maid started the Music and danced.¡± ¡°Danced?¡± ¡°Yes, it seems either practice or for personal gratification. Either way it was only dancing for a few hours until the¡­ oh.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡®Someone, bring me some tongs to remove his teeth!¡¯ ¡°At the end a spell was cast for voice inhibition and they talked about some things. After a short while they kissed.¡± ¡°Kissed¡­?¡± ¡®KISSED! HIDDEN LOVE! SECRET DATE! BLOOMING FEELINGS BEHIND THE SHADOWS! YAHOO!¡¯ ¡°The Maid kissed her Master. She was rather flustered and while the Magic was still working the inhibition wavered as the emotions were in turmoil maybe.¡± ¡®Of course they would be in turmoil, you unfeeling piece of rock! Never had a love in¡­ oh, right he was trained since birth, poor guy¡­¡¯ While the Spymaster did not notice the mixed feelings boiling inside Eleonora, he continued. ¡°There were keywords that could be understood through the wavering ward. ¡®love¡¯, ¡®heart¡¯, ¡®regret¡¯ and ¡®help¡¯. Afterwards Drak Berklin had taken the initiative and kissed his Maid back. The ward was getting back to normal but we could ascertain two words from him too which were ¡®too¡¯ and ¡®marry¡¯, but as we have no connection to other things, we can not deduct if he meant to requite her love or if he told her he would marry into nobility and it was just a pipe dream. Afterwards they danced a short while after and went home directly. She did not change but took her maid outfit with her on Drak¡¯s order.¡± ¡®Love, Regret, Marriage¡­ Does he want to elope and flee the clutches of his Nobility? Would he throw away everything just for her? My mind is going to explode! What should I do? I know, I can write my ideas down and review their possibilities later!¡¯ ¡°Ahem! Anything else to report about this evening?¡± ¡°These are the direct ongoings. A review was made of the engravings and possible weak points and counterattack possibilities for later, if there might be a reason to break his security on the Carriage to either apprehend him or rescue the Princess from a Situation. An emergency Signal is already in manufacture which circumvents all common and those specific wards on his future carriage. Please look over those Documents and tell us, if you are having some queries or things to change in them.¡± ¡®Don¡¯t wanna read, I wanna write!¡¯ ¡°I will look over them tomorrow, as it is the last rest day. Is the Letter to my Uncle being delivered?¡± ¡°The Letter was delivered and we already have an answer.¡± ¡°Why did you not say so? That is important to me! Give me the letter.¡± ¡°At Once." Giving over the sealed envelope, the wardings are pristine and show no tampering. Also the Gracia seal was genuine by checking it with her Magic. Using her own Magic she opens the seal which otherwise would disintegrate the message and harm the one who tampered with it. - Dear Dough Bread As you know, the Imperial Castle is right now working on special events and can not be disturbed. I have read your Letter and will greet your friend when I go to the Market. If you need something out of your drawers from home, I can send a Maid to deliver you some different clothes. Do remember to be happy and if someone bullies you, do not forget to tell me, so I can talk to their parents about it. Your Uncle Anderson - Reading the Letter she deciphers the Text for the hidden meanings. ¡®Special events¡¯ are the undercurrents working against each other, and would be too dangerous to meddle in them, as they are on the bottom of the food chain in the Castle. ¡®Friend on the Market¡¯ was deducted as the black Merchant and he will greet him, which means her Uncle takes her warnings and opinions to heart in the upcoming discussion. If she needed something, he would send her stuff in secret, as maids are meant to be invisible. If he had written ¡®Servant¡¯ it would be open, but he specified Maid. Drawers are meant to be locked and closed, so things that are not public and maybe even some illegal stuff for her to keep her safe. Clothes are also a code word. ¡®Keep everything you get on your person, like your clothes¡¯ was the meaning. Bullies are Oppositions and talking to their Parents meant he would take care of the ones behind the scenes, if she needs support. The last thing she looked at was the first line. ¡®Dough Bread¡¯ meant¡­ exactly what he said. He had this Nickname since she was born, as her cheeks were so puffy like dough and he never stopped to call her that. She was always embarrassed about it, and even after trying to change it, he never did. ¡®He just wrote that for me to destroy this Letter right? How can he embarrass me so much!¡¯ ¡°You can go. I need to work on a few things. Please inform me if something happens. Otherwise I will go to sleep after a bit of Study.¡± ¡°As you wish Princess.¡± With this the Spymaster left the Room and Eleonora was alone. After disintegrating the Letter, she sat a few seconds silent on the Sofa until she jumped up and ran to her study desk to grab paper and a pencil to hurriedly write down every single Idea of Drak¡¯s love affair with his maid in full detail. Drak would never have believed to have fanfiction about him and his Maids being written by Eleonora in such passion. She was up all night and went through a lot of paper before finally being at ease and sorting it into a hidden compartment of her desk. Chapter 26 - New Business Partners and branding A new Day in School and in the middle of the lesson a small piece of Paper lands from his right on his Desk. Seeing how Eleonora wants something from him he took it and read it in an idle moment. - Can we please talk in private during recess? Drak found it curious how Eleonora was including ¡®please¡¯, as she was normally more authoritative, towards him but seems to have something on her mind. Throwing the piece of paper back with an ¡®okay¡¯ written on it Eleonora had a more relaxed demeanor. Curious about the meaning of it, Drak was hardly taking attention fearing the wrath of Seria, if she would knew he could not concentrate on his studies. - Walking through the hallways Drak and Eleonora were surrounded by their Stewards and maids, leisurely going in different directions to stretch their legs before eating their lunch. ¡°...~¡± ¡°We can talk, everyone hears something different than we talk about.¡± ¡°Still unsettling how you can just change the words on the fly. You will be shipping a new charge of Magic Crystals into the Imperial City, right?¡± ¡°Yes, what of it? You want me to stop making income? No dice in doing that.¡± ¡°No no, I just want to tell you someone from my family is invading the talks and I would like to be¡­ be nice to him.¡± ¡°Your Family? The Imperial Family?¡± ¡°No, my direct Family branch. He is my Uncle and one of the ones I care deeply about. Could you please be nice to him? At least do him no harm, he just wants to help me.¡± ¡°...Should be doable. We already had a hunch an Imperial Envoy would come, but did not think it would be one of your Family.¡± ¡°Our Family is dedicated to inviting you as a Calamity. Our Branch has not much Power and we got you to handle, as not much Information could be scryed from the Seers. As an unknown variable, we were ordered to ascertain your allegiance and find ways to invite you to work for the Empire.¡± ¡°And if I would not align to the Empire?¡± ¡°...removal of dangerous individuals.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Falling silent a bit, Drak was in thoughts for a short while, until he came to a conclusion. ¡°It will be possible. I will think about making it more convenient for me through him, also maybe I can strengthen your Position with it a bit. You are rather badly treated right now as a disposable piece.¡± ¡°I was always ready for it, do not worry about me, but I do not want to see my Uncle or anyone in my direct Family get hurt. Can you please do this for me?¡± ¡°As I said, it will be possible.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After talking for a while Drak took his leave to eat his meal before going back to class. Eleonora was walking a bit more and was thinking about many things. ¡°What do you think about this talk? Anything you can ascertain?¡± Asking her Maids this, the Maids looked at each other to see who wants to go first. ¡°Princess, his grasp of history is a bit lacking.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Not quite understanding, she wants to see what they were hearing, while Drak and her had a conversation. The answer was interesting, as she does not understand what they were insinuating. ¡°While he asks such simple questions about the Timeline of historical events, you could perfectly point the different Years out, while he even had some Events mixed up. For you to help your Classmate in this way is admirable, but maybe a bit of a waste, as he will not be in any high position in the future, if he is not the person we are thinking of.¡± ¡®So they just heard questions about School topics? Those powers are frightening.¡¯ - The next Night Drak was donning his black Buddha mask to meet the Syndicate again. As he has no need to let the Ripper make an appearance all four and another Maid were coming with him. This Maid also had a Mask out of porcelain and a black rose on it. Otherwise she was dressed similar in dark leather and with a cloak over her whole body. ¡°Complications might happen. Be ready, all of you.¡± ¡°Yes Boss.¡± With this affirmation, the whole troupe is going to the meeting place. This time the place was a cemetery with a small mausoleum in the eastern part. This part was slightly overgrown but had otherwise be tended to quite meticulously. Going deeper into the Mausoleum, the middle altar was already moved to the side showing another stairs going deeper. ¡°Why always down? No one is thinking of having the place further up? Whatever, at least it is not the sewers.¡± Grumbling to himself Drak is walking down with Celia and Raja at the Front while on the back were the other three. Entering the place a table with some drinks already put down . On the other end was someone masked while on his right an elderly man with platinum blonde hair and Mustache. ¡®Should be already her Uncle. I thought he would come out after the meeting.¡¯ ¡°Greetings Black Merchant. My Name is Anderson Gracia Imperia, please be at ease, this is not a setup or anything, but a genuine request for cooperation. You might be already aware of us looking into you from the specifics of a certain person we had been watching.¡± ¡°You mean the kid? Yes, I had to put a stop to it, as he helps me without even asking for much in return. So you stop harassing him?¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°If you wish so, we would consider it thoroughly, but for this there is a need for a small cooperation from your side. You see the Crystals you sell the Syndicate have more worth than just being a black commodity. We would like to buy them openly in the name of the Gracia household of the Imperial Family.¡± ¡°Hard to do after the ¡®incident¡¯.¡± ¡°What incident are you referring to?¡± ¡°My last official sale of the Crystals on the open Market. I was rather blunt and just sold them, when the Guards were surrounding us to force our source of the commodity.¡± ¡°Ah, I have read the Documents. Six dead Guards and a destroyed side street at Galesville. You had wanted posters for you ever since and made clear in the Underworld not to try and cash this Bounty.¡± ¡°Since then I kept my customer circle close to similar people who are being chased.¡± ¡°This misunderstanding can be cleared with a small donation and a contract to sell to a Merchant affiliated to our own Family. With this the whole selling would become a legal affair and can be worked out more at ease. If you want, we can also officially put a bounty on this ¡®ripper¡¯ person.¡± ¡°No need for the Bounty, I am more interested in understanding why you want to just make me a supplier for the Empire.¡± ¡°You see, my Niece is right now working with a special mission to watch over your Scapegoat. With this she would be able to instead be clear of this task and just live a happy School life.¡± ¡°So for Family, huh?¡± ¡°I was asked by my Niece to be as open and forthcoming as possible for some reason. While I do not understand why, I trust her the most in such affairs, so this is where we are.¡± ¡°...There are some conditions.¡± ¡°We are listening and considering them, if they are not over the top.¡± ¡°First I would like to create a brand. Giving the Crystals have a stable quality, those who will try to forge my artificial Crystals with wild ones will appear.¡± ¡°This could be possible, but for this the Crystals need a common characteristic. Otherwise it would be impossible to keep counterfeits at bay.¡± Pulling out something Drak had already manufactured himself, he put it on the table. On the table was lying a crystal bar around the size of a palm with an engraving on top. Seeing this, Anderson took it for scrutiny. ¡°This is rather interesting. You made a crystal into a bar? How?¡± ¡°Trade secret.¡± ¡°I understand. The engraving is a mountain with ten long mountains? Has it a special meaning?¡± ¡°Just something I came up with, by happenstance of an acquaintance of mine.¡± ¡°And what is the hollow part in the middle for?¡± ¡°It was supposed to be the Berklin seal formerly. To be honest he can not get the seal himself unless I help him take over the Family business, but had already found some ways to let the Family not disown him for good. While he is unloved, he is a rather smart child and even came up with the Idea of me disguising myself by emulating his body shape in part.¡± ¡°So, you already knew him before?¡± ¡°Long Story, but yes. Poor kid, but honest and I took a liking to his honesty, so we work together. He takes the dangerous part out of his own accord, so I take him seriously in seeing him as a partner. If someone kills him, I will make sure he will not be buried alone.¡± Saying this, the Mausoleum which was already cold felt like freezing over. All the female guards behind him emit a rather intimidating Aura, but being released by this rather chubby looking Person was a kind of pressure of another level. Everyone was sure he was not kidding in any way. If there is a mishap, he would bring down who had made that Berklin kid suffer. A Note was being made by all listening to him, that this was a fully set trap for people to show themselves. Attacking a Noble and then having an unknown Figure like the Black Merchant also on their tail would destroy most hidden Powers with ease. Some wondered how the Ripper survived for so long, if the Black Merchant was that crafty, but forgot about it for some unknown reason after a slight thought. ¡°So¡­ You want to say it would be Okay for the Gracia Seal to be there?¡± ¡°Or the affiliated Merchant store, if it is not good enough. At least until Drak is finished with his Studies and can become a true Business Partner of mine.¡± ¡°And afterwards?¡± ¡°We will see what he wants to do. I already decided to make him the official face of my wholesale. A Duke''s Son can do way more than any other Merchant Cologremate. Showing him the ropes in being a Merchant will be a chore, but his honesty and stubbornness had already convinced me to let him grow.¡± ¡°That is some rather dedicated trust you have in him. Did something happen between you two?¡± ¡°Not a trade but a private secret. You better not ask things that might get you put on a List.¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± While Anderson is a Prince in the Empire, he knows right now in front of him is a Calamity class Individual, which can break Duchies by himself and for now is a loose cannon. If he can make him happy, he would benefit greatly for himself and especially for his Branch of the Family, if not he will lose out on the maybe only chance to rise in the Food chain. Gracia does not have a Calamity under their Wing like many other Families, and with at least one, it would make an enormous difference. ¡°Nah, it is fine. I am rather in a good mood, as I heard from the boy he has made a friend in the School. You are the uncle of the Friend, so why should I be angry about something like that?¡± ¡®Eleonora is still a key part. Sorry Dough Bread, but it seems you have to still be sacrificed. It is just so vexing she might only marry a mouthpiece and not the Calamity itself.¡¯ ¡°...~¡± ¡°...the whole Family.¡± ¡°What is it Black Merchant?¡± Noticing the shift in emotion to some kind of disappointment Anderson asked concerned. ¡°Nothing, I just thought about the Family of the Kid. If the Family had been so nice like that girl, he would have not suffered so much.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. So what do you need?¡± ¡°Take this bar for now and if you are fine with me making this a commodity for your Branch bring me a stamp to engrave the bars with it. Ah, I have an idea! Talk through that kid with me, you know he needs some practice in handling such tasks. Make your Niece bring him the Information, so he can be relaying to me.¡± ¡°That is too convoluted, would that not hinder our supposed partnership?¡± ¡°The more lines between me and the main party the less dangerous it is for me and someone to clash. I vaporized a few Organizations which were trying to backstab me, you know?¡± ¡°...So for both of our safety, he will be in charge?¡± ¡°And for his growth as a Middleman. I will not easily change my mind about him.¡± ¡°If this is what you wish for, we will adapt to it.¡± ¡°And now to you.¡± Drak turned to the silent masked man. He did not say even one Word from the beginning, and was close to invisible. ¡°You know, if I make a connection to the Imperial Family directly, there will be no further sale to the black Market. Are you fine with it?¡± ¡°While it is regretful, the merits outvalue the demerits. The Syndicate has many dealings in the Nobility, and while we have dealings with the Imperial family once in a while, another connection can help in further stabilizing our position in the City. Also it helps to keep balance inside the Empire for us to not only do business, but also keep the status quo.¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Figures. Then we will work with the Gracia Branch and call again, if they are deemed untrustworthy.¡± ¡°We will demand next time at least a small reduction of costs.¡± ¡°Maybe. Five, put the stuff down, One count the coins.¡± The last sale was easily completed, albeit Anderson had a headache explaining this to his Niece while continuous haggling with Drak over the pricing. The smile on the masked Syndicate Member was visibly shown as he noticed the price had become forty two Gold per Kilo. Unlike the Syndicate the Imperial Family got ripped off way more, even if it still was rather dirt cheap for high quality Magic Crystals. Chapter 27 - Dropping a Bombshell all of a sudden and the fragile boy In a private Tea room Eleonora sat in front of Drak. They silently watched each other and were awkwardly silent for a while. Breaking the silence Eleonora sighed and started the Discussion. ¡°The Imperial Castle gave me the order to mediate between us.¡± ¡®Rather it is our Branch that is doing this, but whatever.¡¯ ¡°Yes, I heard from my Benefactor to be the negotiator for our work together.¡± ¡®Well, the Benefactor is also me, but whatever.¡¯ ¡°For this I am approved of accepting the proposal of the Merchant. When can we ask for the first delivery and how much can we buy in bulk?¡± ¡°Seria?¡± ¡°Yes Master.¡± Taking out a stack of paper Seria looked over the details of the Documents before explaining. ¡°Our Benefactor has established a small place for Business in the Imperial Capital for such occasions. While it has no way to store large quantities for a long time, it has possibilities to be used as an exchange place. The manufacturing of the specified ¡®shape¡¯, needs only the necessary sign from your side. The last part we can not understand, but were told to just deliver in those words, for you to understand. Also the manufacturing would start after the ¡®sign¡¯ is given to us and would take one week per four tons. I hope you can understand the words, as we seem to be not trusted enough to get an explanation of the true meaning of these phrases.¡± ¡°Seria, I trust my Benefactor, so it is fine. Right now I am too young to be working fully with him, it is understandable.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± While hearing the Dialogue between Drak and his Maid Eleonora¡¯s corner of the eye twitches a slight bit. ¡®Such a farce. You are your own Benefactor you dolt! Geez, he can play innocent rather good, I hope he does not fake his love for Raja, or the hidden marriage might not happen.¡¯ ¡°...~¡± * pffft! cough cough * Drak suddenly had a coughing fit right when he was drinking from the Tea in front of him. Celia got big eyes, while Raja was turning red like a tomato. Alice was grinning wide and Seria was shaking slightly, crumpling the papers in her hand by holding them too hard. ¡°Everything Okay? Did you burn your tongue?¡± ¡°No, all is fine¡± * cough cough * ¡®Wait, Alice could¡­! What could Alice? ¡­huh, can¡¯t remember for now, must not be important¡¯ As Eleonora was a second before a panic attack suddenly she calmed down and forgot something suddenly. Not being perturbed by suddenly forgetting something making her panic she continued. ¡°We have been informed. The¡­ um, ¡®sign¡¯ needs a week to be made, as it is rather complex. I hope you can deliver it after I have it sent to me from the Palace.¡± ¡°Sure, I will make sure he gets it the fastest way.¡± Both sides were eating their Cake in silence before excusing themselves to go their own ways. When Drak was finally alone with his Maids he slumped down. ¡°That was a rather deep blow, how could you just tell me what she was thinking that nonchalantly?¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Like Master I also were close to dying from embarrassment, Alice. You are not fair being so blunt.¡± ¡°My eyeballs nearly popped out of my head! What a shocker!¡± ¡°Master, it seems your relationship status might be in question right now. Could you please take more time with us, so Raja might not be seen as the only candidate for your wife?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®only candidate¡¯ Seria?¡± ¡°I misspoke, Master. I meant to say you should avoid any suspicions of favorites, so no one would speculate about you being in a relationship. ¡­¡± A silent ¡®for now¡¯ was uttered by Seria at the end, but Drak did not hear it. In Drak¡¯s mind were still the words from Eleonora and made him a bit woozy. ¡°Master, maybe we can talk about it later? I want a chance too to tell you my feelings!¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°While I already told you mine, could we talk about it again?¡± ¡°Please, I feel like I want to burrow through the earth right now, all of you!¡± ¡°Sisters, please do not pressure our Master too much. But when you are ready, I would like you to make a bit of time for me too, Master.¡± ¡°You too, Seria?!¡± ¡ª At home Seria was watching over Drak¡¯s studies while pondering something. After a long while she got the courage to finally ask her doubts and broke the silence of her overseeing drak reading the massive empirical Law book in his hands. ¡°Master, why did you make Eleonora the contact person?¡± ¡°Partly on a whim, but partly because of the problems she would have if she were pulled from the Black Merchant Calamity mission.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I do not understand. What do you mean, she would just be a schoolgirl and maybe make some more friends further away from you.¡± ¡°Further away from me? Are you that protective of me?¡± ¡°...Yes, I admit it would be nice if that girl would not flaunt herself in front of you so much, but I still do not understand why it would be problematic for her to be distant.¡± ¡°The Chessboard.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°Her vision Alice shared with us. I remembered it and thought about it. She was not a player but a piece. Tell me, if you keep a dangerous enemy piece in check with a piece on your side, would you move it?¡± ¡°It would be situational and depends on the factor of how the Board is right now sitting, but you want a more simple answer, right? Then I would not move it.¡± ¡°...your heavy calculations can be scary if you say how you want to know a hundred moves in advance, but whatever. Now, if this piece is moving to another place, the piece is not needed on this place anymore, right?¡± ¡°...It is the¡­ Ah, yes I understand your thoughts for now. What are you talking about?¡± ¡°If she can be moved, you would give her another goal and not let her just ¡®have fun¡¯. Although the Imperial Family makes rather strange moves as they rely too much on their Precognition abilities, they would not let something stand like that. She was set up to meet me last year and pulled back like that right after they noticed I did not enroll. They could as well take her out for ¡®special reasons¡¯ or set her up to analyze or even hook up with some other dangerous person in the School to get benefits.¡± ¡°So you want to protect her?¡± ¡°Kinda, but also not. We have already her understood, if she were pulled, we had to find out who is the next one surveying us again-¡± ¡°Master, be honest.¡± ¡°...She reminds me of myself. Pulled and pushed where she needs to be and if not needed be put back in the dark cellar room and forgotten until needed again. For me it was their stress relief and showing magnanimity on diverse parties for caring about something like me. For her she only has worth working as she is on the bottom of the deepest moat to dig their damn channels through the sludge of society. If she is alive she can work, if she dies they can leverage this as a reason to be outraged and push slight unreasonableness through some hard walls in the Nobility scene. Sacrificial pawn, that is what she really is, like the whole Gracia family. They are the footmen to be in dangerous situations they can not ascertain through their magic balls and thrown chicken bones.¡± ¡°...You empathize with her so much?¡± Drak clenches the book harder while trying to read. ¡°While I was already knowing I was just a pawn she does not even notice and is even proud of it. Her Uncle too, they are just mind controlled, not like the one in the Syndicate, who has some deep sitting mind control burrowed so deep it is near invisible, but mental manipulation to be proud to sacrifice themselves for a Family who does not care if they die as long as it makes them some profit.¡± ¡°To be honest, it sounds similar in your wording, Master. I understand, so long as you do not abandon us for a budding love, we will be always happy to be standing behind you even if someone else is at your side.¡± ¡°I have no feelings for her like¡­ I mean I do not have some kind of love for her, I just feel¡­ sorry. I would never abandon you. I would rather be tortured by my father for a whole year non stop than wanting to lose any one of you, as I know which of those two would hurt me way more.¡± ¡°I understand and thank you, Master.¡± ¡°...all of you give me some time. I am not understanding anything I feel right now. To be honest I feel scared about my own feelings.¡± ¡°If you want to talk about it we would always-¡± ¡°That is the problem.¡± Drak began to shiver slightly. ¡°I cannot, as it matters to you four. I can not say anything without¡­ without feeling scared like¡­ like I never felt before. Please¡­ I cannot¡­¡± Seria quickly put him in a hug. * shh * ¡°You do not need to say anything. Do not think about it, when the time comes maybe you can understand. You are going through a lot right now. If you can not talk about it, just remember, we will always wait with open arms. Do not rush anything. Breath¡­ breath¡­¡± * hah¡­ hah¡­ * Drak did not notice what was going on, but Seria noticed the symptoms and was maybe even more scared than Drak at the moment, but needed to be strong. Drak was on the brink of a panic attack. She could not see in his mind and even Alice was not able to get a single thought out of it, so the only thing she could do is give him what he always desired most. A hug. The other Maids noticed the emergency signal rarely sent from Serias talisman and rushed into the Study from their work. Not understanding what was going on Alice started to inquire mentally and shared the results with the other two. Slowly they came closer and placed themselves close to Drak to make him realize he is not alone. As of right now Drak held still on the book but broke the cover with his fingers and his thumb ripped a hole into the paper by clenching too hard. He gave his all to do what Seria talked about. Breathing, stopping to think and relax, but it was harder than he had imagined to get back to normal. Minutes passed and finally Drak let go of the book and fell in a quiet trance. He heard a soothing song in his dream. Something warm enveloped him. Delicate but strong hands rubbed carefully over his back up and down while the aroma of a strong tea is coming from somewhere close. He remembered, he was home and safe. Nothing to worry and nothing to fear. What he was thinking before is already forgotten and impossible to remember. Right now he would love to just enjoy and take a nap, but did he not need to study? ¡®Yes, I was in the study, wasn¡¯t I?¡¯ Slowly opening his eyes again he noticed sitting in the sturdy chair of the Study. ¡°Huh? Did I just fall asleep? Seria, why are you hugging me? Celia and Alice are here too? Oh Raja is brewing new tea?¡± ¡°Master, are you all better?¡± ¡°Better? What happened?¡± ¡°...Nothing to think about. Just relax for now.¡± ¡°Um, if you say so? Huh?! What happened to the book?¡± ¡°We were duped and it was a rather poor quality one. I will purchase a new one tomorrow~¡± ¡°Poor quality? But this would not explain-¡± ¡°Master! Can you please move a bit forward from the chair? I can not reach the bottom part of your back to massage!¡± ¡°Of course Celia, but why are you even massaging me?¡± ¡°You worked hard! All cramped up already, so relax a bit. Shall I stomp a bit on your back later?¡± ¡°That would be nice, as I feel really sore somehow.¡± ¡°Tea, Master. Please drink it while it is hot, the last one had already gotten cold. A bit stronger this time as you seem a bit under the weather.¡± ¡°Thank you Raja. If I had you four not with me, I do not know what I would do. Thank all of you.¡± ¡°We are here to serve, Master.¡± Relaxing with a strong hot tea and a massage, Drak relaxed while Alice sang an enchanting tune. Seria herself started to clean up the Table, starting with the mangled Law book first to remove it quickly out of sight. ¡°Don¡¯t I need to study a bit more?¡± ¡°Not necessary today. You are already rather over your stress limit with us taking your rest days like that and multiple sale meetings. For this week the study will be halved, but you have to seriously pay attention in class as compensation. Do you agree with this, Master?¡± ¡°Oh, a bit more rest? Of course I agree. I will study hard in the School, as you wish Seria.¡± Drak smiled and relaxed more, while the Maids also smiled but were a bit worried. This was the first time they had seen Drak so¡­ vulnerable. He was often scared and talked about it with them. They knew his fragile heart but this panic attack was new for them. Also the sudden loss of memory about what happened was not normal, but for now a blessing in disguise. All four felt a sudden feeling they had discarded after meeting and living with Drak for such a long time: Helplessness. Chapter 28 - Worries and Battle of Words While Nobles are in the Classrooms Servants have their resting places across the main part of the School. In such a resting place four Maids were sitting down and waiting for being needed again. ¡°Alice, silence please.¡± ¡°...~ ¡­finished. You want to talk about yesterday?~¡± ¡°Yes. I need to apologize for my behavior. It was my fault to trigger our Masters attack.¡± ¡°Nonsense! No one could think it would happen, chin up!¡± ¡°Seria, can I inquire what might be the cause of it, as I can not fathom how he would react in this manner for anything.¡± ¡°I just¡­ told him we will be there for him forever¡­ He talked about how he can not explain his feelings right now and I just said he can talk to us to alleviate his worries. I can not fathom why this was so problematic.¡± ¡°I can maybe say why it happened~¡± ¡°You can?¡± ¡°Yes Celia, I remember Seria telling us how he said he could not talk to us because it is about us. It might have broken one of his worst fears open again~¡± ¡°Could you tell us?¡± ¡°As he had something he was not able to comprehend and no one to talk to, he was alone. Alone in his own mind and alone in his feelings~¡± ¡°Alone, with his scars no one can see unlike mine.¡± ¡°I was in such a state for a time too liquid to know how long it really was, but it is a horrible feeling. He might have felt losing his grip on his most precious anchor in his storm of emotions~¡± ¡°Which anchor are you talking about?¡± ¡°She means us Celia. We hold him steady by being with him, but could not talk to us about something tearing him apart.¡± ¡°Seria, do you think we can help him in any way?¡± ¡°Not unless he can open up about what is going on in his heart right now.¡± ¡°His feelings are blooming and cracking the hard soil in his heart made by his Families burning sun of disregard~¡± ¡°No potion can be applied to emotional scars, we need to silently stay by his side until it stops seeping bad blood and later help him heal it.¡± ¡°We need to show him how to be happy! The more we smile the more he smiles!¡± ¡°Then it is approved, we will support him for now until he is ready to talk. While it is heartwarming to know how he feels about us, it makes it painful to know it tears him apart internally.¡± Between unknowing Servants and Maids the four Maids of Drak are working hard to think about how to alleviate his stress in different ways. ¡ª ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed to be a Noble like this?¡± ¡°Hey, leave him be. Did you not hear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care! It is shameful for someone like him to be here!¡± While eating his lunch, Drak was heckled by another son of a Duke. His table was originally in the corner so not many were annoying him. This time someone came to make trouble all on their own. ¡°And I don¡¯t care about what you think about me, so just go away.¡± Still relaxed and eating his lunch, Drak countered with a remark of his own. The Noble¡¯s son was shocked to be talked to by someone he thought would duck down right away. Getting even more angry he continued his barrage. ¡°Even if you are a waste, you should at least work on your figure to show your Family Name the minimum respect, and why are you eating with your Servants on the same table? Go into the Barn and eat with the horses, if you do not know etiquette!¡± ¡°To like your own Servants as livestock shows how much disregard you have for people you reign over. I hope you have some siblings to take over the Duchy or it will be suffering.¡± ¡°You damn Bastard, think you are better than me?!¡± ¡°A Cockroach is better than you, there is no contest.¡± Hearing the comments of Drak, the Maids notice how incensed and pent up their Master still is. For now they can only silently watch, as discussions of Nobility are not allowed to be disturbed without being spoken to. ¡°That¡¯s it, you vermin are begging for a Duel! Weapons are fists, until first blood!¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Sure, I need to use a representative, as I am barred from any kind of Battle Studies.¡± ¡°Of course you are. Hans! You will go in for me.¡± A burly Servant was coming forth and stood tall. His muscles were showing even through his Uniform. ¡°Then let¡¯s go right now!¡± ¡°Do you not even know the etiquette of a Duel? Not only did you call the weapon and the rules but also the time? What kind of uncultured Noble are you?¡± ¡°I am a true Noble and not some dreg like you. You think you have any option?¡± ¡°Then at least I will put up the reward and punishment.¡± ¡°Punishment should be you leaving this School!¡± ¡°INSOLENT!¡± Screaming out was Eleonora who came after being notified. Other Nobles would not voice their opinion in favor of Drak so stayed silent, but Eleonora would speak for Drak. ¡°Princess, please do not demean yourself by protecting someone like him. I know you are going to the same class, but courtesy was already given.¡± ¡°This is not a case about courtesy but the dignity of Nobles! You, a Duke''s son are talking down to a PEER! Even if you are not accepting it yourself, by demeaning and ignoring his rights you are spitting on every Noble in this Empire!¡± By voicing out the fact how this defiled the honor the looks around were getting colder and colder. Noticing the sudden shift in favorability the boy tried to rescue the situation. ¡°While I understand your concern the truth is, he is himself spitting on the dignity of Nobles by his act. If I did something that could be seen as dishonor, I would like someone other than you to call out for righteousness, as I feel you are only honorbound to protect a Classmate, dear Princess.¡± Thinking he had the upper hand as only herself was ever seen to communicate with Drak, he tried to nullify the only opposition. While it sounded logical, it was just a small trick to make her be seen as the only one who had a real problem with this slight of etiquette. ¡°I object too! How dare you slander the Name of Berklin!¡± ¡°Me too, you better not mock my Brother in public and think you can get away with it.¡± Hearing sudden voices all of the people looking turned around. From the other side of the Mensa were coming over two people who Drak and the others did not think would show up. Luke and Elizabeth Berklin made their stands clear to be on the side of their brother, and glared at the youth. ¡°Who the hell¡­ Berklin? So it is his siblings, just because you are blood related-¡± ¡°Are you telling us now too we are not qualified to speak up about your blatant disrespect towards all what nobility stands for? You better shut up and understand your position right now, not only did you disrespect your peer but a princess and the whole Berklin Family within Minutes. Do you really want your Family to get multiple inquiries if your casual disrespect against all we Nobles stand for is the whole Family''s stance?¡± While he is rather prideful, he knew what it meant in the long run. It is no deal to slight an unfavored Child, as it might only bring up a letter of notice about the bullying without even saying anything more, but if a true heir like those two were to ask about it, there might be more repercussions. Pushing more could even bring a Letter of the Imperial Family to ask for an answer which would mean the Family would need another cane, as the old one would be broken by beating his back until it is no more. This is no normal kind of daily slight either, as not only did he not care about Nobility in the long run, he demeaned and did not care about how he smeared the rules of Nobility. Quarrels can be had and even killings would not be unusual between Nobles, but if Honor was disregarded, it would be a serious problem later on. Of course it can be augmented, Drak was also in the wrong to let his Servants eat on the same table, but this slight is more of a private matter inside the Family and can only be used as mockery, but the difference in severity of Disrespect is clear even for the most simple minded Noble around. ¡°...fine! I apologize for my rude behavior to the Family of Berklin. The Duel still stands and I want that barrel of Lard gone, if he is defeated. The weapons are still fists and no Magic. If he wants time to prepare and a counter proposal for if I lose he can say it.¡± ¡°Well you already said first Blood, so I am willing to do it and ¡®now¡¯ is also fine by me.¡± Drak was rather torn. At first he was still feeling a bit strange, but when Eleonora came it somehow got a little bit better, while the appearance of his Siblings made everything in his head turbulent again, not knowing how he really felt right now. ¡°You were so eager, I do not want to make you wait for so long. So we go with what you ordered me to accept.¡± Telling it in this way made clear how he did not accept the apology and made the problem not immediately disappear, which made the face of the Youth turn ugly. Also while he apologized to the Berklin Family he was obviously just apologizing to Luke and Elizabeth. ¡°The compensation should be a compensation of fair value, so I want you to choose between three possibilities. You can chose to leave the School yourself if you lose.¡± ¡°What!? Never!¡± ¡°Second would be a compensation of a written apology with a monetary addition of a hundred Platinum.¡± ¡°Are you insane!¡± ¡°Third would be your left arm to be taken from you.¡± ¡°These are ridiculous! I refuse any of them!¡± ¡°I Princess Eleonora see these three choices as a good bargain. While you only gave him one choice he gave you three to choose and one is the same you demanded from him. Drak Berklin gave your Family¡¯s Name already so much face by accepting your ridiculous demands outright and now you can not even choose one bargain?¡± Gnashing his teeth he was in a dilemma. It was true he was the instigator, too overbearing and was given more face anyone would give someone who made such remarks by accepting all his terms without too much fuss, but those three terms were all horrible. Leaving the School would be a Disaster in the off chance of losing. The Money would break not only his own budget, but would sting his Parents coffers. An arm would not be that bad, as there are high restoration Elixirs. If he can retrieve his arm a medium would even be enough to reattach it. The Problem is the pain. While all of the young Noble Youths are prideful, just thinking about losing a body part sent shivers down everyone''s spine. ¡°Can¡¯t decide? Then we go with the similar compensation of you being expelled from-¡± ¡°I wager my left arm!¡± Not letting Drak end his speech, he decided quickly to reduce the possible Suffering, if he would really lose. While knowing about Drak¡¯s battle Maid, she seems only versed in a fast blade style. Hans on the other hand is a reinforcement User which uses internal Magic, that has no restriction even in non magical duels. One of the cheap tricks Noble Children came up with over the Centuries of bending the rules. ¡°Fine, your Left arm will be taken if you lose. Better be prepared.¡± ¡°You should rather start to pack your things, trash!¡± Chapter 29 - Taking some time The smell of blood in the Battlefields was still as permeated as before. Challenges were all around to be seen in the different Arenas and the search for a free one was a bit more complicated at such a short notice. For this special event even some of the Mensa did decide to walk with them by hurrying their meals. Although it was just a small thing, the whole mockery was blown out of proportion by multiple factions speaking up for someone who looked and felt like he did not really belong to true Nobility at all. Inside these different Noble Children was one particular girl. She seems to be getting admonished about something by her Servants which seems really out of place, like her needing to wear glasses, but many ignored such things as private matters and just ignored a lowly baron¡¯s Daughter being unable to keep her servants in check. ¡°You came with an immediate duel request? Fine, I need the rules, wager and if one of you is sending a substitute.¡± While it is normally needed to make a writ for the Duel to be official, short notice Duels were possible, if an Arena Master was found to accept being witness of this Duel. The reason it is rarely used on short notice is, almost always the hands of the Arena Master must be greased by both parties before he would accept. This time both Drak and the Youth had to hand over ten Gold for being able to duel in such a short notice. ¡°Elliot Dragonson, of the House of Duke Dragonson. The Rules are Fistfight and no Magic. I demand that he be expelled from the School if I win. My substitute will be Hans, Servant of my House¡± ¡°Drak Berklin, born in the House of Duke Berklin. The Rules are accepted by me. If I win I want to completely take his left Arm. My substitute will be¡­ Celia, are you alright fighting for me?¡± ¡°Of course, Master!¡± ¡°Celia will be my substitute. So he was named Elliot.¡± ¡°Do you not even know my Name you waste?¡± ¡°You never had shown courtesy of telling me your Name, it is laughable to demean me because you forgot to say who you even are.¡± ¡°You¡­ Forget it, tomorrow you are gone!¡± Seeing the quarrel, the Arena Master was a bit taken back. This was no light matter, while the Arm could be reattached or even regrown, the dispelling was rather heavy. ¡°Are you sure you want to go through with it young boy?¡± Asking Drak for another confirmation, he was trying to give him an out. Such unreasonable Duels are not common and even ¡®to the death¡¯ Duels are only being fought by only Substitutes. Also he knew about Hans'' performance. He was a rather often seen brawler in the Arena court and had rarely lost a Fight of bare fists. ¡°I am aware of the weight of this wager. Also please remember all Rules and Punishments to the letter. I do not want to see someone claim something that was not being agreed upon later or weasel himself out of repercussions.¡± ¡®He might be a first classer, so does he mean to re-enroll next year? ¡­Wait, the rules and wager? I see, he is more ruthless than I anticipated.¡¯ Nodding the Arena Master prepared the Seals to notice the first blood to be the Victory conditions of the Arena. While he did it Drak was going to Celia and talked to her. ¡°I am sorry Celia.¡± ¡°What is it? Sorry?¡± ¡°I am right now rather incensed, could you please play a little more to vent a bit for me?¡± ¡°Ah, I understand! Leave it to me!¡± While Celia was getting ready Seria came to Drak to confirm something. ¡°You want to-¡± ¡°Yes, tell Raja to use that knife when Celia has won. I don¡¯t know why, but the whole thing right now feels like ants under my skin. I am in a really bad mood right now for some reason, I can not explain.¡± ¡°Understood Master. Please just relax and enjoy the show. It might be a bit too much Stress about School and Business at the moment, we will review the Schedule plans and make arrangements for more entertainment in the future to alleviate those feelings.¡± ¡°This could be it. A bit of rest and a hot bath might change my mood later. Thank you, Seria.¡± ¡°It is our job to see your needs, Master. We will add some sweet fruits to the dinner tonight while the water will be ready afterwards for you to relax.¡± ¡°What would I do without you all.¡± ¡°...Um¡­¡± Noticing Eleonora standing close they notice her worried look. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Drak, you will send Celia into the Ring? She should not be very powerful, isn¡¯t she? Why would you do something like that?¡± ¡°She is rather tenacious and has a mean left hook.¡± ¡°No, I mean¡­ You should know, we looked into your Maids a bit¡­ From Information the Merchant has given you¡­ We know her lack of magical aptitude and how she is rather frail. This is no game, you will be expelled if she just gets slapped once and has a nosebleed from it.¡± ¡°While you looked into her, you should at least know I trust all of my Maids and they are all strong.¡± ¡°How can she be¡­ wait¡­ the ring?¡± ¡°Ring? Ah, that one time. You should remember, I trust my woodpecker.¡± ¡°Of course! I forgot¡­ but¡­¡± ¡®Why did I forget something so obvious? She was the little Woodpecker in my Vision, so why did I¡­¡¯ Looking back to a different maid with long black Hair, the Maid smiled and further helped Celia bandaging her little hands.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Drak, we are friends¡­ right?¡± ¡°Maybe? What is it about?¡± ¡°I just want to be sure. As friends I just don¡¯t want to forget some things between us lately. That is why I just wanted to be sure we are on the same page.¡± Noticing her special tone he knew what she was asking for. Eleonora does not like it to be manipulated and forget things she would never forget normally. ¡°I see. I was somehow still on the fence even after we went shopping, but you made a point. Let us both remember, we are friends and start to be open about more things.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Her Servants were not right understanding what their Master was talking with Drak, but they understood or better misunderstood Eleonora trying to be friends with Drak for the Missions sake. As long as Drak and Eleonora have a bond of trust, they might be better off in negotiations with the Black Merchant later on. IF Drak Berklin would be in the school after today. ¡ª ¡°Finished? Can we finally end this? I do not understand you sending that little Maid to be broken. Why not your Battle Maid?¡± ¡°I have my reasons, and you are rather relaxed for someone who bet their arm for something silly.¡± ¡°Why should I be worried? You send the worst kind of opponent. It is like you want to lose. So be it, next time just vanish without degrading yourself maybe?¡± All the boasting was heard by the Audience. They were mostly on the side of Elliot, but kept appearance. For them seeing who is fighting who, they were all disappointed by the quick end this would be. ¡°Contestants, get ready. The rules are Fistfight only. This includes Grappling, kicks and even biting. The winner is the one who draws the first Blood of the opponent. Are the rules understood and accepted?¡± ¡°I accept.¡± ¡°Of course I agree!¡± ¡°Then this duel is officially agreed upon. You can now¡­ FIGHT!¡± Getting in a stance Hans looks at the small Maid with pity. ¡°Blame your Master. I''ll make this quick.¡± ¡°That is my line! But I have other orders, sorry!¡± Punching out Hans was sure to just bash her against the Shield and let her bleed out a bit but noticed how he missed and only hit an afterimage. A slight sting came from his abdomen and saw a small fist print on his pectoral muscles. On his left was Celia standing and looking at Hans. ¡°So you are fast and you have rather strong fists. Sorry, but I am too sturdy to even flinch with such kind of strength.¡± ¡°Good!¡± ¡°As you can see, it is a futile struggle. Just let me punch-¡± ¡°That means I can hit harder!¡± Seeing how the Maid just charged right at him Hans punched again, but this time this Punch was a feint to see where she would move to. What he did not expect is her punching out countering his fist. Because he did not put much strength into it and had most of his arm relaxed it was swatted away like a branch. The next attack from Celia was a kick to his small rib, stinging even more than the first punch. Incensed Hans threw a haymaker to end this with the intent to not hold back anymore. Like a grasshopper Celia jumped up over the haymaker and gave an ax kick on the right shoulder. This time it really hurt Hans and he winced a bit. From the recoil Celia made a somersault backwards, landed on the floor with her two feet and charged again. ¡®Her hits are getting heavier? Is she also a reinforcement magic user? But she needs too long to charge. Better use all I have and finish it now!¡¯ Hans¡¯ Muscles expanded and his Body became a metallic sheen. While it might be seen by some as Magic it did not exit his body and was seen as ¡®legal¡¯. Outside of the Ring Elliot sneered at the sight. ¡°So your little Maid is also a battle Maid. No wonder you thought she could win. But Hans is faster in reinforcement. You might know the exception to the Magic rule, but still lost.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Seeing how Drak was unperturbed Elliot was even more angry. ¡°Hans, finish her finally! Do not play so much!¡± Hearing the words of his Master, Hans started to punch and kick with all his might. Noticing the increase in power Celia smiled even more and countered every single one of the attacks. At first she was thrown back rather far, then it got less severe and she started to hold her ground. ¡°What are you doing! Finish her!¡± While understanding how his Master wants it finished, Hans had his own problems, as he could not understand why such a petite Maid suddenly could hold onto his full might. ¡°Finished pumping? Then I can start!¡± Evading one of his punches Celia dove deep and gave his left side a punch. * crack * While no one except the two fighting could hear the sound a rib was broken and Hans felt a searing pain. Trying to defend, he put distance between him and her to reassess the Situation, but Celia gave him no time. She came at him again and threw more punches. * crack crunch * The arm he tried to defend with was heard breaking multiple times even by the bystanders this time. ¡°What is going on!¡± Elliot was in panic, but could do nothing. Celia was aiming for the elbow and dislocated the arm fully by breaking the cartilage between the bones with a kick. Hans¡¯ right arm was only hanging and useless when Celia gave a hammerfist to the left kneecap and shattered it in pieces. ¡°Arena Master! Stop it!¡± While shouting the Arena Master just ignored the Youth and watched for the end of the Battle, but shivered internally for how ruthless this little Maid is. A punch to the guts made Hans throw up, and while the Arena Master looked shortly to intervene he just sighed and stood by watching. Hans finally realized the Problem, there was neither an open wound nor any blood in his vomit. Quickly he tried to bite his own tongue to just spit out some blood but the last kick from Celia was aimed directly at his jaw. With a sickening * crack * not only did his Jaw break, his tip of the tongue was severed by his own teeth and the recoil broke his upper vertebrae. ¡°Stop! Duel ends with the winner being the Berklin Household!¡± Finally ending the Battle the Shield disappeared and Elliot ran to his Servant. ¡°Hans! Hans! How dare you not stop it earlier! This was not a battle to the Death!¡± ¡°The Rule was first Blood. The first Blood shed was the bitten of Tongue, so it was not over until then.¡± ¡®If Hans did not realize it so soon, he might be in even worse condition. This will need a rather high Elixir, as Potions will not work on those severe injuries. That means if he survives until being administered.¡¯ ¡°Finished! Sorry, it was so short, but he wanted to cheat by injuring himself.¡± ¡°You did fine Celia. Thank you for your work.¡± Patting the head of the small Maid, she smiled by being praised. While they might look like a big brother praising his smaller sister, the audience found it a bit surreal. This little girl just crippled a fully grown man who was known as a veteran fighter in the Pit, and was right now in a ¡®praise me, praise me¡¯ pink bubble savoring the head pats she gets from her rather fat Master. ¡°The Battle is over. Drak Berklin is now allowed to retrieve the left arm of Elliot Dragonson.¡± Hearing the sentence of the Arena Master Eliot stiffens a bit and stops worrying about his Servant. He remembered what needs to happen now and was regretting it. ¡®This will hurt and the Elixir I need to regrow an arm is also rather expensive. Damn it!¡¯ Standing up Elliot shivered a bit, but put on a brave face. Taking off his Jacket and Shirt he grit his teeth and extended his left arm. ¡°Come on, make it quick! You will regret making an enemy of the Dragonsons!¡± ¡°Raja, retrieve my price.¡± Pulling out a black shortsword, Raja was walking to Elliot who noticed something wrong. ¡°What kind of Sword-¡± * slice * Chapter 30 - Things that are lost and things that are growing * slice * The arm was cut and fell down. A cry of agony was coming out of Elliot¡¯s mouth falling to his knees. Raja pulled out a long piece of fabric and enveloped the Arm before bringing it to Drak. ¡°You! What was that Sword! Answer me!¡± Taking the Arm from Raja, Drak stored the bundle in his magic pouch. ¡°What do you mean? It is a sword of severing. I took your arm, and that is that.¡± ¡°What kind of sword is that?!¡± Noticing the murmurs around him he knew something was wrong. It must be a magical sword, but because of the pain he could not remember right now where he heard the Name from. ¡°Sword of severing. What is being cut will stay cut. The sword is made to not let magical mending repair magic armor or cut off limbs regrow.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°As stated you agreed for me to take your left arm completely. This arm is now mine and you will not grow another one back.¡± ¡°You bastard! You! Do you know what you have done?!¡± ¡°I took my price and with this the Duel is over. No revenge is being allowed for something we already settled in a Duel, even the price is included. Did you not remember Nobility lessons?¡± Elliot wanted to shout, curse at him and even order his Servants to attack him, but he could not. If he does that a dozen Nobles would be a witness to an ¡®unprovoked attack¡¯. While the meaning of ¡®no revenge¡¯ is always being bent, it can not be so blatantly broken in front of all of those around. If Elliot could think straight, he would notice he had endless possibilities to later get even with Drak, but the pain in his left shoulder made it impossible for him to even make simple connections in his mind. Glaring at Drak and keeping his emotion in check he suddenly fell over and fainted. Blood Loss, pain and the chaotic mindset made him finally break down. His Servants came after being dragged out of their stupor and closed the wound while also treating Hans. ¡ª The School day was rather silent for Drak, as everyone else was keeping their distance. Seeing he was not below using vicious means makes him not a target for any bullying attempt anymore. The performance of one of his Maids made him already a bit of a gamble, but as he now showed how another one had rather overbearing strength, no one wanted to make him a target for the meantime. Many inquiries and orders to dig up Information were made by different kinds of Nobles, but had low hope of finding out anything at all. Drak¡¯s Brother and Sister were suddenly spoken to by different kinds of Youths to find a reason for their younger Brother to be so protected by such high level battle Maids, but were all dismissed right after the name ¡®Drak¡¯ was mentioned and their true purpose revealed. Some interesting Gossip churned through the School, as Noble Children all love a good Secret to be uncovered and speculated about. At the end of the Day, Drak was walking to his Carriage, as he heard a female voice behind him. ¡°Brother?¡± Turning around he saw Elizabeth clenching her hands, seemingly trying to ask something. ¡°What is it?¡± While being annoyed by the sudden visit of his blood relative, he tried his best to keep his emotions from bursting out. Sadly he could not hold all of it in and his response was rather ice cold. Noticing this Elizabeth flinched a bit, but after a few breaths got her courage back to finally speak. ¡°I¡­ We would like you to meet us again. I know we¡­ are not close, but please let us try to close that chasm between us, even a little bit.¡± Hearing those words, Drak felt weird. He felt painful, but also hateful. The mix in itself was rather poisonous and traveled through his body like magma making the Volcano named Drak more unstable by the second. Suddenly feeling a hand rubbing his back he noticed how Seria soothed him and made him come to his senses. Unbeknownst to him all four of his Maids came closer and were touching him by proximity. Realizing how warm and secure he was, Drak could finally keep all the emotions in check. ¡°Not right now, as I need to study for a specific topic. We will send a request for a get together as soon as my schedule is free. Please send my regards to Brother. If you please excuse me, I have evening Studies to attend.¡± ¡°I understand¡­ Sorry for taking your time. I will be waiting for your letter, dear Brother.¡± Turning around, Drak did not say much more and just went to his Carriage. Korn already opened the door and extended the step for Drak and his entourage. Afterwards Korn closed the door and looked back at Elizabeth. Feeling his look, Elizabeth noticed him and looked in his eyes. She felt like looking into the eyes of a Wolf or rather something much more dangerous for a split second. Her heart skipped a beat, but afterwards Korn just made a courtesy bow and entered his seat on the front and ordered the Horses to start the journey.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Elizabeth¡¯s heart was beating hard but the blood inside felt somewhat cold. Not only because of Korn¡¯s stare but also Drak¡¯s demeanor. She noticed how hard it was for him to keep from exploding and if the Maids did not help, he might have even lashed out. ¡°I might have deserved it¡­¡± Being rather melancholic Elizabeth turned around and went to her own stagecoach, where her carriage and her elder Brother were waiting for her. ¡ª ¡°Information about Celia and her Family is not consistent. This will be reviewed and we will make sure to find out more about what is the truth.¡± ¡°You can relax your search. It is of no immediate concern.¡± Eleonora was more relaxed than her Spymaster in front of him. Hearing how his Information was faulty at that degree seems to make him ashamed of being duped along the way. ¡°Princess? It would be problematic if we do not know our enemy fully, therefore we need to-¡± ¡°And that is the wrong mindset right now. We are no enemies. We are right now in a mutually beneficial contract and need to be on our good behavior.¡± ¡°But our orders are clear, we need to¡­ No, you are right. We have opened up our cards in hand and are right now in an equal position of trade. While it is right now different than our original order, because of the direct influence of Sir Anderson Gracia Imperia the whole Mission needs to adjust.¡± ¡°Did you never had such an occasion?¡± ¡°I had, but every time this order came I was just extracted right away before I was noticed. I am not good in social interactions and rather in direct approaches like extraction of Documents, collecting evidence and direct assassination. I wish to ask for a replacement, as I can not help you in these aspects.¡± ¡°Denied. While you are not able to have the social interactions in your mind, your work is otherwise perfect. The whole time we were already being watched by the Mastermind behind our Target and still you could keep your composure and hold the organization stable. When I was a bit¡­ shaken by the Bathroom incident, you kept everything under control and even made sure to not overreact. Others would have become paranoid of having double spies between our men, but you found right away no sign of doubt in our men and could see the traces of professionals.¡± ¡°While I thank you for your compliment Princess, I am not able to-¡± ¡°That is my part. I am in front and have all the social skills of Nobility trained into my bones since I was three. What I do not have is a cold calculating mindset, perfectly honed skills of intrusion detection and infiltration and especially not the ability to keep the spy network in my full grasp. If I change you out to a socialite Spymaster I do not learn new things but might even be replaced completely and do not learn anything for my later work. I need you as Teacher and second hand, not someone who takes all my work from me.¡± ¡°...I understand and thank you for your full trust in me.¡± ¡®Sorry Spymaster, only half of it is trust, the other is the feeling of having more leeway with you here instead of someone who can read the room.¡¯ ¡ª The next day came and Drak was getting ready for his School day by his daily washing routine. Where other Noble Children would have their Servants do this, Drak made all of it on his own and even the former washing of his back was now done by him, out of his own order. For this his head Maids were busy making breakfast as they were awake earlier and already did their preparations for the day. ¡°Master gets a bit more irritated in the recent days.¡± ¡°He is still shaken Raja, even if he did not know about what~¡± ¡°While I was with him in bed tonight with Celia he was still shivering rather hard until he was asleep. Rest days now include two full rests and only the problematic lessons are focused. Also two of us must be with the Master to give him the feeling of more security.¡± ¡°While he might have bad thoughts trying to fall asleep, he had a rather nice dream I believe.¡± ¡°What makes you believe that?¡± ¡°Um¡­ You did not notice because of you being on his back, so maybe I am wrong but¡­ you know there were some signs of him having a good dream¡­ In a kind of way.¡± Celia¡¯s voice got a bit more silent at every single sentence and her face was already flushed. Seria who was right now working on making a nutritional salad was not noticing it. ¡°What are you stuttering about? I asked why you know about his dreams. I just want to know what you mean.¡± The others noticed Celia being a bit strange already saw her face and were trying to connect things when Celia finally said something that made their minds click into place. ¡°I got poked¡­ in the stomach¡­ by something¡­¡± Hearing this Seria stopped making the Salad and froze a bit. Naturally she understood the facts now. If she had not tried to work out a good schedule for Drak to find more inner peace, she might have noticed it already and would not have dug so deep to want to jump in that hole out of embarrassment herself now. ¡°Ah¡­ I see. Maybe we should stop thinking of our Master as just a child? He has grown and I forgot. No wonder he does not want us to help with the baths anymore.¡± ¡°He sees us as Women, so it is understandable~¡± ¡°Even me with all my scars. I feel strange but it feels good.¡± ¡°So being close to him might be problematic? No, we keep the status quo, but all of you need to have in the back of the head to see if he gets uncomfortable and needs to further your distance by then. Otherwise always be at his side. We might be the only thing which keeps him from breaking.¡± ¡°As you say Seria!¡± ¡°Understood~¡± ¡°Keeping Master¡¯s heart in mind, as always.¡± ¡°Good, and if it is your night at the front if you¡­ um¡­ get poked, do not startle Master awake but give him room.¡± ¡°You need to give him a lot of room!¡± ¡°Celia!¡± ¡°Oh my~¡± ¡°Will do, Celia.¡± Shortly after Drak was entering the dining hall freshly groomed and ready for the next school day. While he wondered what it was about his Maids were slightly pink in the face and also made a rather opulent breakfast. Also the talk on the Table where all of them ate together was more relaxed. No talk about the Study Schedule, what the status of the fight between the slowly dying out gangs in the Imperial City was or what troubles the small hidden Villages Drak made for the rescued slaves had. Rather than that there was more lighthearted talk about the Gardener starting a flowerbed, Celia finding a new book about baking and her eagerness to try some new Cake recipes and the Market having a sale on some exotic Produces they could not procure about their own Villages. While Drak could not put his finger on the difference in atmosphere he subconsciously felt it. He felt warmer and at ease. A smile was slowly creeping on his face and he felt more at home right now, as he ever felt before in this new Mansion far away from the Duchy he grew up in. Chapter 31 - New Carriage and another Date While Drak was aware his Maids being on the same Table as him was the trigger for last time battle, he did not change his habit. Although people still watched him with his Maids, they do not anymore out of mockery but slight curiosity. They could not fathom where he got such good battle Maids and how he could even pay their salary, while others with more background Information could not understand how he could have so much Money as they heard of his shopping spree on his last rest Days. The whole thing was surreal, as now they notice he might not be discarded, but rather treasured by his Family. If the reactions of his elder Siblings is to go by he is not only protected but might also be favored in his Family out of some unfathomable reasons. Although their thoughts were that right now, they were rather fluid in opinion as Children''s and Teenager''s thoughts always were. Seeing someone today as someone worthy of attention, if he does nothing in a few weeks he will be forgotten and ignored again. The only ones who are more mature and have more insight in things were noticing Drak as a Variable they need to assess. Having one hidden Card is normal for a Noble, even if not favored, but two Battle Maids, a positive Relationship to an Imperial Princess and a rather large lump sum of Money makes him someone who should be looked at seriously. ¡ª Days passed and after two Weeks finally all Items arrived that were bought by Merchants. The magical Metals and Materials came before the Carriage and even earlier than thought. This was not overlooked by Drak and saw how the Clerk was working hard. After the delivery man got a full Silver for bringing the Items his demeanor also changed, as before he thought of the young Noble as unsightly, now he saw him as a Money bag and was more courteous to him. After the Carriage was arriving Drak finally started to get ready with the assembly of his Carriage. Without any decoration the Carriage was rather simple, even if the sister Carriage was the one Eleonora was riding this one was way smaller. The Design and also the outline was similar, but instead of the eight Horse driven Castle this one was a four Horse Carriage. As it was out of Dark wood it did not catch the eye and without any decorations as Drak wished for it it was extremely mundane. ¡°So the Carpenters need to come. Is Wicket already here?¡± ¡°Yes, he came through official means and is seen as our contracted Carpenter. Some people tried to query his Information, but was fully signed as a Carpenter of the Berklin Family being sent here on your request.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With a Carpenter officially in his Mansion, Drak was able to start reinforcing the Carriage without suspicion. Through the Gate came four other Carpenters under Drak and started the Work right away. Under Illusions all people outside heard just one Hammer clunking while inside the whole Carriage was overhauled by different Workers. The Engraving patterns were looked at and changed at different places where Drak¡¯s own engraver thought improvements were needed. Also the Materials got scrutinized but unlike the Engravings the Materials were all seen as pristine and good to go, which made Drak reevaluate the Clerk again. Not one of the ingots were of bad quality, which shows honesty and a great dedication to his Clients. ¡°Korn?¡± ¡°Yes Master?¡± Calling Korn he came into the study and waited for orders. ¡°How are the Horses? Are they ready for the process?¡± ¡°I have talked with them a whole length and they understand what will happen to them. They are willing to work with you as they would be proud to be strong and work under someone who can give them more dignity than they had until now.¡± ¡°All said that?¡± ¡°The one seen as defective was glad to be working under you under any circumstances. It was neglected and being here with us made it feel useful. Its demeanor just looks gentle on the surface, it is more feisty below as it was not able to have a true Master. The thinking is more like a guard dog, honorbound and would fight to the death for your sake.¡± ¡°Nice. We chose the best horses it seems. I make the enhancer ready. What do you think about the dosage?¡± ¡°Half for four of them. The Black horse needs two separate doses of one third, as its body was being bred too aggressive into a kind of idealistic type, causing the irritation of not caring for the mental stability. The weak one¡­ well.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It can maybe take it unfiltered. It is compatible, which is strange as it is a horse.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°A compatible horse¡­ Might become the leader of the group of six then.¡± ¡°As you wish Lord.¡± ¡ª In the Cellar behind a secret door Drak is being helped by a red headed woman in Maid outfit with brewing something. Before him is an alchemy table with different vials and a multitude of herbs. ¡°Everything is ready Lord.¡± ¡°You need to call me Master, Rose. You might be more often in this Mansion from now on.¡± ¡°As you wish, Master. We now need the main Ingredient for the concoction. Could you please?¡± Sighing, Drak took out a dagger with a wave pattern of gold and black. This Dagger was made out of Adamantite and Oricalcum. Its blade was extremely sharp looking and gave off a menacing gleam. Without further ado Drak sliced into his own palm and extracted a few drops of blood which dripped into a vial. The Blood itself was red as normal but its fall into the vial made it sound like it was Mercury as how heavy it felt hitting the bottom of the glass. After only a few seconds the cut on Drak¡¯s palm was already starting to heal and stop dripping blood. Putting back the Dagger into its special sheath Rose and Drak started to mix different herbs together with different liquids while after the Potion flask was filled with a green sludge a drop of blood was dropped into it. With a loud bloop it fell directly through the concoction to the bottom where it started to sizzle and boil. The blood itself was being attacked by the specially made potion slowly becoming less heavy and permeating the whole liquid. After a while the green sludge became a red liquid which can be seen through like a fine red tea. ¡°One down, three more to go. Oh and one drop can be just mixed in distilled water. One of the horses can take it.¡± ¡°Unfiltered? Even some of the former people had¡­¡± ¡°I know, but Korn said it was safe. I don¡¯t want to create an abomination, but it seems safe for one of them.¡± ¡°...If Korn says so. A Horse taking human Blood like its own. Curious.¡± ¡ª ¡°Is this your new Carriage Drak?¡± Right before School starts Eleonora was already at Drak¡¯s Stagecoach seeing the new Carriage. Drak himself did not even mention it, but Eleonora was already aware of him being in his new Carriage first in the Morning. ¡°...Good Morning, Eleono-¡± ¡°Elly!¡± ¡°Good Morning, Elly. Would it kill you not to see my new Carriage, at a later time?¡± ¡°Yes, it would. By the way, could we go shopping again someday? Now you have a Carriage I can ride in, so I do not need to invite you into my own.¡± ¡°It is still a bit smaller than your own, so it might get cramped.¡± ¡°You are fibbing me. I know it has spacial extension. My own has just a slight extension, as it needs more Energy for security. I would love to look at yours while we go shopping.¡± ¡°While it is a nice Idea, I have studies-¡± ¡°Master, you have studied hard the last few weeks, you should really think of relaxing more. A small respite is fully agreable.¡± ¡°Seria??¡± ¡°Then it is settled. Can you tell me which day would be best? I can move my Schedule rather freely during the next rest days.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± * sigh * ¡°I understand. I will see to it that I have a good time at the latest tomorrow. Do you wish to go somewhere special?¡± ¡°Actually yes, I would. You might know about the new theater play about the boy who fought a Dragon and became a King to marry his love the Princess. I heard so much about it and wanted to see it myself, as it is such a romantic plot while also has so much action. While I do not know all of the scenes, I know the neighboring Prince might be a second evil, which makes it more interesting. A peasant becoming King and fighting for love in a great battle, should be-¡± Eleonora kept talking all the way to Class about how interested she is over this plot. In Drak¡¯s mind Eleonora loves Stories with Love, that has impossible odds. At the same time he blushed, remembering what she was thinking a few weeks before about him and Raja. ¡ª ¡°Seria, why did you set Eleonora and Master on a Date?¡± ¡°She is the only Friend he has in School. While I understand your discontent Raja, I think it would stabilize his Emotions better than only being with us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the two being together either. Are you sure it will help?¡± ¡°At the time where that rude Kid was making a fuss, I noticed Drak relax, after Eleonora came into the discussion. He seems to see her as a genuine School friend instead of a Spy to keep an eye on him.¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Yes, his Siblings are really problematic. While he was a bit happy about them being on his side, his body tensed too. Maybe if they would talk more, it could become a more friendly relationship with each other, but if he ever takes away those shackles, I do not believe in it.¡± ¡°Then first making him happy in any way, afterwards seeing what we do with the two buggers!¡± ¡°That would be the Plan Celia. In studies Master is already good enough to at least get Eighty points. I can only hope to redo the schedule in a way he can get five more points before the exams are due.¡± ¡°He will also have good grades in theoretical Magic! Way to compensate for the bad grades, right?¡± ¡°While it is true, his knowledge can not be too over the top, otherwise¡­ I believe our Master does not care anymore about being found out, so it might be a good compensation later on. Still at least we need to pull him up two to three points to be on the safe side.¡± ¡°I believe in our Master.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°...~¡± ¡°Then we will make the Schedule a bit more open, but Studies still come first, remember.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Understood¡±¡±~¡± Chapter 32 - Inviting Eleonora to a carriage drive ¡°Why did you accept the Invitation to the theater without asking me?¡± ¡°Because you need to relax more. While School is important, you need to build social skills for your goal to be achieved. Merchants need to talk to different kinds of People and therefore need to also be adept in being around different kinds of people.¡± ¡°Makes sense, but aren''t I the Master?¡± ¡°Yes you are, Master.¡± ¡°Then how come you can decide for me?¡± ¡°Because we care about you, and want to make sure you go the right way.¡± ¡°But I am the Master¡­ Nevermind, I start to get a headache. Can you please ask me before accepting any other invitation to any event?¡± ¡°I will think about it, Master.¡± ¡°That was not a ¡®yes¡¯, Seria. I wanted a ¡®yes¡¯.¡± ¡°Yes, I will think about it, Master.¡± Drak was groomed in front of a Mirror. His hair was combed by Raja to not be too much everywhere like it always is, while Celia works on accentuation like cufflinks, while not really understanding which would fit better. Alice helps Celia with the decisions and leaves it to Celia to accomplish. Seria herself goes over every seam of the Uniform to make sure no dust or other dandruff was somewhere on his person. ¡°I feel nervous. What if I do not like the theater? I do not want to just nod off in the middle of it.¡± ¡°That should not happen, but if there is a part to get bored you can silently talk to us or maybe Princess Eleonora.¡± Drak felt a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time nervous about being on another Date with Eleonora. While she is a spy she is also one of his only friends he has in the School. ¡®No, not only one of my friends, the only friend¡­¡¯ Drak was a bit melancholic, but was pepped up again by his Maids, who quickly put in some good words and started to distract him from his bad thoughts. The time to depart got close, as it was already midday. Albeit the play was in a few hours, an invitation to a meal was also being put before it, of course by Seria also. The breakfast was light, as he would be eating together with a Princess in a minute and might need to keep in place for a longer time afterwards in the Theater, so better not incite some later bowel movements before the meetup. ¡ª Arriving at the Mansion of Eleonora, Drak was in awe of how gigantic and fashionable it was. It was close to a palace, than a Mansion and had more estate than his own by at least three times. The door was opened right away and did not even need to halt after the eight Guards on the front saw the Insignia. Traveling unimpeded the Carriage went through the road between the forest which was the front yard before stopping at the main Door. After Drak disembarked from the Carriage with his Maids the door already opened and out came Eleonora with two Maids. She was in an azure blue ballroom dress with white accentuations. The Dress accentuated her platinum hair, which was inundated with some flowers in her braids on the side of her temples. White gloves up to the elbows were embroidered with golden thread and made her hands look like delicate porcelain. Seeing her in this attire, Drak was for more than three seconds stunned and could not say anything. His brain had a hard time to explain to him that what he sees is real. Eleonora was normally already looking like a Princess, but right now she looked like one out of a Fairy tale. As Eleonora was slowly walking down the stairs of her Mansion, Drak was able to come back to reality and meet her at the bottom of the stairs. ¡°Eleonora, you look incredible. I do not believe I deserve to be your partner at the theater tonight.¡± ¡°Silly Drak, of course you are. But you always keep your School Uniform on you. Maybe we should go shopping again to find a few more Outfits for different occasions for you?¡± ¡°Um¡­ maybe, but this time I pay for myself. The money I get from Benefactor is enough to buy me two or maybe even three different outfits that might suit me to go out with you.¡± ¡°So, you want to go out with me more in the future?¡± ¡°That was not really what I-¡± ¡°It is a promise then.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°It is a promise then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°Promise!¡± ¡°I¡­ I promise?¡± ¡°Good! I am happy to go out a bit more with you. We need to work together from now on, so it is better to know more about each other by meeting outside of the School.¡± ¡°...Do I have a veto?¡± ¡°Do you think you have a veto?¡± ¡°...No? Fine, let us depart. I have asked my Maids to book a private Room in a specific Restaurant. I do not know if it would suit your Taste, but I was thinking I will show you what I believe to be good cuisine.¡± ¡°Sounds fun! I never thought about how different Nobles eat, as I was always surrounded by other princes or princesses in the Imperial Castle.¡±Stolen story; please report. Without further ado, Eleonora and Drak entered the Carriage with their specific Maids. Inside Eleonora was rather interested in the great build quality of the Carriage as it has a rather large spacial extension and also a more simplistic design she was used to. The whole Carriage had practicality and comfort as main aspects while all furnishing had simplicity and robustness as specialty. It was different than what she was accustomed to, but felt a warmth she was only having close to her most dearest Family. It was homely and felt snuggly. Sitting around the table, hot tea and small fancy cakes were made ready for the trip to the Restaurant. The hot tea and cold fancy cake made a sweet combination while the two Maids accompanying Eleonora were refusing the Tea and just sat behind her on the referred seats looking distracted but in reality analyzing every single detail they could find. ¡°How are your historical studies, Drak?¡± ¡°To be honest, I am still not quite sure about it. The whole dates and events are rather monotonous. Battle of Lake Ardens in 324-¡± ¡°Fall of 342 and end in Spring 343.¡± ¡°Ugh, how can you remember all these facts like that, Eleonora?¡± ¡°It is quite easy to see the Noble fight against the war of the red Antqueen which broke from the earth to gain territory in our Empire as something fascinating and thrilling, don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°...No?¡± ¡°Maybe that is the difference between us in view of the world. I think history shows the path into the future, like the Future is a mirror of our History. There is so much to learn about our mistakes. The reason it came to such a prolonged fight was the greed of the Count at that time thinking he would have a monopoly on Monster parts, but Ants are not some other Monster in a Nest but a steeled Army for conquest. Keeping low made it such a dramatic event!¡± ¡°In the end it was a Monster eradication that was prolonged just by trying to preserve as much gain as possible. People died needlessly just to preserve the Materials.¡± ¡°...true, the fight would have been easier if they used large scale Magic, but would have destroyed the topography too.¡± ¡°Unlike the prolonged fight making the place barren?¡± ¡°It became a good resource for biological plates of armor, which in extent made it a good thing.¡± Keeping the Queen alive and breeding sub par Ants to be slaughtered right away? I heard the place had a serious decline in quality.¡± ¡°The Ant Queen got old-¡± ¡°And no new Queen will be born, as she is in captivity and would never lay eggs without being stimulated.¡± ¡°It is just a Monster.¡± ¡°Like us?¡± ¡°Us?!¡± ¡°You two can talk freely, the two Maids are hearing you discuss History while Drak is severely lacking~¡± ¡°Huh? What voice¡­ You can talk? I thought you were mute. such a beautiful voice.¡± ¡°She let you hear her? Alice, why did you let her hear your voice all of a sudden?¡± ¡°She is contracted with you and also she is your friend, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Well yes she is contracted, but friend¡­ I believe this is also true, it is just shocking for you to let your Voice out for not bloodsworn.¡± ¡°Bloodsworn?¡± ¡°Forget that Eleonora. Ah, darn it I promised you not to meddle with your head, so just keep that word a secret, okay?¡± ¡°Still I am curious, but for one right now, why does your Maid with such a beautiful voice not speak more often?¡± ¡°Trauma, quirk and she does not want anyone to hear her voice who is a stranger after I complimented her beautiful voice. For that reason I kept my comments about her beautiful face to myself.¡± ¡°Should I wear a veil like Seria?~¡± ¡°That is why I do not want to say too many things to you and keep them to myself.¡± ¡°My, I wish I could look into your head and see what else you think of me~¡± ¡°Remember last time.¡± ¡°I would not dare try again, Master~¡± ¡°Um, I am still here?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry Eleo¡­ Elly, I was a bit distracted. Where were we?¡± ¡°Why do you think we are like Monsters?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I am like one, because I am abnormal. My whole being is abnormal and should not exist. You call me a ¡®Calamity¡¯.¡± ¡°No, that is just a Name for an unknown which has more power than normally seen.¡± ¡°And what do you do, if you find one of them?¡± ¡°We inquire of their allegiance and afterwards take them under the umbrella of the Imperium.¡± ¡°So capture them with sweet words or send someone to eliminate them.¡± ¡°N¡­ yes.¡± ¡°And you are the same. As long as you are useful they will use your powers of precognition. If you go astray you will be eliminated.¡± ¡°I am not going astray from something I believe!¡± ¡°I know. You would die right the second I am not useful for the Empire anymore and tell someone everything about me and the Contract you signed.¡± Drak was a bit melancholic. He knew how Eleonora was thinking and also knew he already said too much. ¡®Maybe it would be better to change the subject as she would not understand my view anyway.¡¯ ¡°I believe you are not a Monster, and just because they use the word ¡®Calamity¡¯ does not make you one. I also believe in you and even if you go against the Empire I¡­ I might just be disappointed but not sell you out¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Looking at Alice she nodded and Drak knew she meant what Eleonora said. Albeit it is not much, as only Eleonora sees him not as a Monster being used, it filled him with something warm. ¡°Elly, I am sorry for my words. I know you like the Empire, but I see it more from a neutral perspective as I have traveled the underworld since I was seven.¡± ¡°You must have had a hard life.¡± ¡°Not really, but it was¡­ bloody. Many thought of me as an easy target and died to make a Name for myself, others died just because I saw how they had used illegal slaves and had to save them from fates worse than I had experienced.¡± ¡°Yes, the Underworld is a necessary evil, that I do not like myself, but it must be there to keep the balance between the Kingdoms. Otherwise this Empire might break into its Kingdoms again.¡± Drak swallowed his words for how Eleonora just justified sacrifices of poor people to keep a simple Rule in place. In Drak¡¯s mind there should be no Rule which needed to wield such a dirty tool to keep everything working and he saw how dirty this tool really is in the treatments of his former Maids and other family Members. A small silence was entering the Carriage, before stopping at the Bistro Drak was visiting last time with Alice. As a Bistro inside the School City they also have private Rooms for different occasions and a Meal before Theater is nothing out of the ordinary for this small Bistro. The only thing it was not ready for was the rather large Carriage stopping at the side entrance, as at most Viscounts came to this place to rest and normally only Merchants or rich Families who were close to a title. Making everything ready they saw Drak exiting the Carriage and one of the waiters remembered his face as he was once here before and had a positive impact in his mind. The second he saw the crest of the Maids from Eleonora however sweat was flowing down his brow, as he doubted the cuisine they had would be the right palate for an actual Imperial Princess. Noticing the slight panic, Drak reassured the Waiter. ¡°I brought her here to taste the great cuisine of this establishment. If she is dissatisfied I take full responsibility. "Don''t worry.¡± While hearing those words the Waiter smiled, but was still worried, as it was just words for now, would he really jump in front of the Guillotine if she doesn''t like it? He had his doubts. Chapter 33 - Exploring the different Worlds of different Classes ¡°And the ¡®daily special¡¯ is something made out of things they have still lying around?¡± ¡°To be honest, yes. It is made with most ingredients they have too much, as they would go bad otherwise.¡± ¡°Why not just throw them away and just make everything, so the customer can take what they like?¡± ¡°This would be a serious waste on Food. Also the price would be way too high for most people to pay.¡± ¡°Aha¡­ So the people of a lower standard eat only what they directly ask for and not what is getting brought?¡± ¡°Yes, and this is for the People still on the richer side. Do you understand Elly?¡± ¡°I really never had thought about things in this kind of perspective. It sure keeps the resources needed way lower. An ingenious Idea, I never thought of. But what do the People with even less Money?¡± ¡°They¡­ either starve for a day or two or eat what is mixed together in food shacks. While it is filling the stomach, it rarely has meat in it and if, they mostly do not know of which animal.¡± ¡°That is horrifying.¡± ¡°You do not know the half of it. Don¡¯t ask what Slaves get to eat or you might lose your appetite.¡± ¡°So bad?¡± ¡°Worse.¡± Scrutinizing the Menu, Eleonora was the first time shocked on how lower Nobles eat. While Drak was a Duke and should eat like her in a way, he had his own quirk and ate like a lower Noble. This intrigued Eleonora, as she never had contact with someone of the lower Class and Drak¡¯s invite was the first taste of an establishment not made for the elite. ¡°Drak, how is it that you do eat like that? You are a son of a Duke, so why does it look like you are of a lower class?¡± ¡°I¡­ I was not allowed on the dining table for a long time. When I was hungry I needed to go myself into the kitchen and take some things laying around. The problem was to learn which I was allowed to take and which not. To be honest I was dining even lower as a Servant until I got Celia on my side.¡± ¡°I am sorry, I did not want to touch a wound.¡± ¡°You did not. I am already over the happenings in my Family.¡± ¡°Is that the reason you always eat with your Maids inside the Mensa?¡± ¡°They are more of a Family to me than those people having the same last Name as me. I trust them and always care for them.¡± ¡°What about the other People in your Mansion?¡± ¡°All people I trust and call Family. While some are closer and some are further apart, they are all people I believe in.¡± ¡°You have a rather trustworthy personality, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Maybe, but it feels so much better to be around people you can trust.¡± ¡°It must be nice¡­¡± Eleonora thought about it. She herself could not say the same to the people around her. Not only is she under a Contract that threatens her Soul, but her own Spies were not only watching Drak for her but herself for the Empire. It is logical for the Empire to look over their people, but trust could only be put in her Uncle and maybe some of her Gracia family at most. The Words of her Uncle is still in the Mind of her: ¡®Be faithful to the Empire in front of everyone, as all eyes and ears of the Servants are also the eyes and ears of the Empire. Nothing stays hidden and Trust is the most valuable thing you can give someone.¡¯ ¡®Trust, huh? Who can I really trust? Uncle I feel somewhat lonely without you around.¡¯ ¡°Drak?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I would like to ask, can I trust you?¡± Hearing those words Drak was a bit shocked, but had to think about it a while before answering. ¡°I have your life and death in my palm and maybe I sound silly to say it like that but¡­ Yes, you can trust me. If you need help I can lend you a hand, but please do not use it too often, as it might skew my Plans a bit. From the side a snarky remark came from Seria. ¡°Is something of your plan still as it was when we came here, Master?¡± ¡°Ugh. Please do not remind me, everything has gone awry, but I still need to keep going through! We are already three Months in this School just another five years and three quarters before I have that damn Document!¡± * giggle * ¡°Drak you are somewhat silly. If you need it you can make a bargain through me to the Empire and you might get something similar or a written exemption for border checks.¡± ¡°I wanna earn it myself, Elly!¡± ¡°Haha! Yes you will. I am sure of it! Can I ask you to take me with you once or twice? I want to see the World to make my own picture and not only out of books.¡± ¡°Huh? Sure, there are many places I want to see myself, so if you want to come too, I just take you with me to see them.¡± A genuine smile was seen on Eleonora¡¯s face. She was sure this could only work if she either married him or made other connections to be needed to be at the black merchants side, but this was not what she was caring about. The immediate answer of Drak showed he was genuine thinking of taking her with him, without thinking of how she might be a Spy or might betray him. He seems to really trust her.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡®He seems to trust me. It feels warm, but still I have no way to trust him. Maybe there is a way, but how can I trust my Target fully? I really want a true friend¡­¡¯ ¡ª ¡°The taste is¡­ rough? But it is not bad. I notice the lack of multiple spices but the spices that are there are more abundant.¡± ¡°That is Salt and Pepper. Those two are heavily used. Also fat is being mixed into the dishes in different forms to permeate the taste better.¡± ¡°I see. The taste is really strange. The bread is not as fluffy and needs to be chewed harder. Somewhat old?¡± ¡°The bread is not made especially for the guest but given by Bakers in the morning.¡± ¡°So it is older? Why so?¡± ¡°It is easier to transport ten loaves of bread at once than transporting ten loaves separately when needed and being baked at the specific time.¡± ¡°So money again?¡± ¡°And lowering resources. A baker can put more bread into a bigger oven to make them all at once. With that some might be a bit darker while others a bit lighter, but they are finished quicker and less people are needed to feed more citizens.¡± ¡°The school does not explain such things. It is interesting how different people live. While I do not like the taste of the¡­ ¡®special Soup¡¯, the other things are rather palpable and have only a harder chewiness to them.¡± ¡°Yeah, the Soup is made out of many old roots. While it is nourishing and cheap the taste is something you need to stomach. Those roots have something inside that makes people be awake a bit more and work harder, so they are often asked for by common Students.¡± ¡°I see. And they had too much right now.¡± ¡°Yes, so it was made into the special. Before those Roots dry out they make something cheap out of it for people to eat, who have not that much money.¡± ¡°And the Roots itself are eaten even if they taste horrible, because common Students work six days in School instead of our four. So more common folk come here?¡± ¡°Also some nobles who need a bit of energy to ¡®socialize¡¯ more. If you want to party through the night, you need enough energy and potions cost a fortune for lower class nobles.¡± ¡°So instead of drinking potions you eat the ingredients?¡± ¡°In some cases it works. Mercenaries always have some numbing grass with them to chew and put on their wounds to reduce the pain.¡± ¡°Drak?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How are you knowing so much and still can¡¯t learn history?¡± ¡°Because the things in books are so dry and boring?¡± ¡°...You are lazy in reading books?¡± ¡°...No?¡± ¡°Yes, Master is a bit tardy in reading and has a hard time keeping things in his head.¡± ¡°Seria!¡± * giggle * ¡°I see, how about I help you a bit in those aspects? In exchange you explain to me things I do not know about the lower caste and things that are outside of my expertise.¡± ¡°Please spare me! Seria tortures me already with all those books.¡± The two of them discussed things in a light tone and the Maids were looking warmly at Drak, as he was back to his original self like nothing happened. Seeing their Master having a fun conversation and meal with his first Friend in the Imperial School gave them also the opportunity to see him being silly without any care and made all the work they did worth it. ¡ª As the sun slowly set the time for the Theater was close. The Carriage came to a halt in front of the Venue where already many Nobles and Merchants were starting to file into the Theater. Exiting the Carriage were Drak and Eleonora with their attendants and the unlikely pair made some heads turn. While many knew about Eleonora they only heard about her being close to some strange character from hearsay, seeing Drak made them realize those rumors were rather true and made them question what was going on. Entering the venue some came to greet Eleonora and gave a court hello to Drak on her side. The most they were aware of Drak was this greeting and afterwards tried to start a talk with Eleonora, who curtly denied their approaches. While going through the masses, it was clear how people showed their favorability towards Eleonora and disgust against Drak. But somehow both parties were reacting to it rather differently. While Drak was not caring a single bit about this, Eleonora was seriously annoyed by the trouble being caused by just talking to her and outright ignoring her Partner, which is obviously at her side. Entering the private Balcony Eleonora had full right to use as a member of the Imperial Family she led Drak to the private seats. There were four of these Balconies being at the uppermost part of the Theatre for Imperial visitors and one had been made ready on her request. Seeing how two others of the Balconies are occupied as well, some cousins of her seem to be here too. ¡°I bet they are Langley and Marianne, who also are here.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Drak was not really up to date with Names inside the School and never took care about remembering people he never even met. The fact of how many Princes and Princesses really are inside the School from the Imperial Bloodline, he had no idea. ¡°Langley is in the fifth Year and close to finishing the School. He himself is more of a Romance fanatic. If told bluntly, he likes women, plural. Marianne is¡­ weird? She has an interest in fairytales and has an incredible mathematical mind. You do not need to care about them, as both are rather distant.¡± ¡°You know all your Cousins?¡± ¡°It is a necessity to know who is in the family and what they might do. The Imperial Castle is not a tame place most of the time.¡± ¡°Sounds strange. How can there be so much infighting?¡± ¡°While we work on keeping the Empire together we also vie for personal power. Our Gracia Family is third from below in Power, so we get often delegated into different kind of jobs and can not refuse.¡± ¡°This sounds like a rather toxic family relationship. It sounds quite like my own, in different ways. How are you handling it?¡± Looking at the Maids of her, Eleonora looked to Alice, as she understood her being the one who can change what people perceive. ¡°I never stopped the misleading, you can tell all you want and no one will know except us~¡± Eleonora felt somewhat strange. She felt opening up can be helpful, but Drak was an outsider and she was torn between telling and not. Making a decision she started to talk silently. ¡°Not so well. My Uncle is there but it can be sometimes hard. My Father and Mother are already gone. My Mother died at birth like prophesied but as it was also told I have a connection to Fate and can see through it they bore the price for the Empire. Who would have known I was a failure as my Magic only works on my surroundings and not over long distance? My Father himself took hard and dangerous Missions to make the Empire not abandon me, as I was a failure but also a risk. The Seers had a hard time to fathom my future and it made me a liability. As my Father died in duty I am now one of the last hopes of the Gracia household.¡± ¡°That is rather¡­ sad. And you hope through me to get more Power?¡± ¡°Yes, as Branches no matter how small, if they have a C¡­ a powerful person under their wing, they are seen as indispensable and have more leeway, if the necessity of this Person is needed.¡± ¡°So my Crystals are what might improve your standing in the Empire, as they could support Magic tools easier and cheaper?¡± ¡°I am sorry, I do not see you as a tool, but you might be really our last resort to not be eliminated by the pruning process of the Family Tree.¡± ¡°Killing the branch that can not fight or support the Imperial Family to make the power more firm. How ruthless. And you see the Empire still as good?¡± ¡°Of course! While we keep the strength in the Family high, the Empire prospers and can be at ease. No large wars need to be fought and except for the small skirmishes only Wars against Monster Nests are being fought.¡± Drak was a bit torn. He would love to retort, but knew Eleonora would never understand it, as she sees the Empire as perfect. For now he just accepted her being that way, as he can not change her just because he wants her to change. He just wants to see how their friendship develops and if they someday stop being friends, making him internally a bit sad to think that this could be a possibility. Chapter 34 - Battle of the Maids and the Ring The Theater spiel began, Eleonora and Drak sat in their prime seats while the Maids worked hard on refreshments. Eleonora¡¯s Maids worked on an iced fruit drink with exotic fruits already being sent to the small tray beforehand. Even Ice was already brought in and was being carefully crushed without a noise being made by the Maids themselves. Raja had it harder as on their side was albeit water, there were no utensils to heat the water up. Maybe it was out of spite of the other Maids or they did not care about Drak¡¯s Maids being able to perform, either way Seria was already in the supporting role with holding the pot in her hands to use Magic to heat the water, while Raja started her dedicated ritual for the Tea. Alice and Celia decorated a table with cookies and small tarts to be presentable. Celia pulled out of her bag the pieces of sweets to put them down to create her cookie art while Alice adjusted them on the table just a little bit, making the sweets look way fresher than before she was touching them. It was just to cater to their respective Masters, but right now behind Eleonora and Drak without their knowing a silent battle was fought of who can cater better. If Outsiders would see it they would think it silly, but scary in how much dedication and willpower was thrown through the air. ¡ª ¡°Fighting against a Dragon to become King of the lands it holds as its own is so fascinating!¡± ¡°You sure? Dragons normally live on Mountainous regions. While there might be minerals, most of the time the Mountains have dormant Magma veins, as Dragons love the heat from below.¡± ¡°Shush! It is a great endeavor to beat a Dragon and for the sole reason of Love, it shows dedication!¡± ¡°Yes, for Love some people would pluck stars from the sky or go to hell and back just to see their significant other smile.¡± ¡°So you do understand!¡± ¡°I am not an idiot, just thinking of where I would do more logical steps to court the Princess. The rivals Kingdom is rather bleak and liberating them from that King might be a good Idea.¡± ¡°He would be an usurper then.¡± ¡°In the eyes of the Dragon he is one now. Also that Rival is not treating his people well. He had it coming.¡± ¡°Sure, but it should be by the law and not by regicide. Otherwise it would be bad for the justification of keeping him in power.¡± ¡°We are talking about a Fantasy right now. A commoner who beat a Dragon to become King is already a bit over the top, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°It shows the possibilities of working hard to achieve their goal.¡± ¡°But still letting that corrupt King run unimpeded does not sit well with me.¡± ¡°Well¡­ you have a point. Oh! He finally is at the Entrance of the cave! Will he directly ask for a Duel or maybe give him a request for its land first?¡± ¡°He would be stupid to announce himself to a being with so much pow-¡± * groan * Drak could not believe the show. He knew tactics would be needed for an enemy stronger than the person himself, but drak just started to shut down his brain lest he lose some intellect on the silly reasoning of honor against a fire breathing multiton scaled beast with more smarts than most humans. ¡°Do you want to taste my fruit juice? My Maids use exceptionally good fruits and ice from the frozen tundra for it.¡± Giving some of the Juice in a glass made out of crystal Drak tasted it. It was not only sweet but permeated through the whole body with an icy shiver. ¡°Extremely refreshing. The taste is also great, I believe some of the fruits must be rather rare, am I right?¡± ¡°You are, but they are also hard to process. My Maids needed to study hard to peel them without injuring the flesh as it would otherwise make the taste bitter.¡± ¡°I see, they are really good at their jobs.¡± Standing proud the two Maids radiated victory while raja noted down the specific Fruits used and conjectures the specific mix of which part of Fruit Juice is needed for a perfect combination. ¡°Do you want a tart? Celia has studied baking in more than cookies since coming to School, as she noticed variety is needed in Noble circles.¡± The small tart topped with radiant fruits was decorated like a smiling kid''s face. It already had a rather playful and uplifting effect before even biting into it. As Eleonora bit into it she noticed the sweet and sourness of the fruits combine with the mellow of the tart itself giving her a feeling of the tastes taking their turn to dance on her tongue. ¡°This is really a great cake. Ah, I meant tart. Obviously the decoration and combination of the different ingredients was well thought of. It feels like I am not eating something sweet but pure joy instead.¡± ¡°Yes, sometimes I believe Celia has some Magic she does not tell me about. Her baking gets better by the day and I already gave up to gauge how far she might still rise in perfection.¡± Behind Drak Celia started to grin like the sun is shining through herself. Also the other Maids were proud of being with Drak and stood straight. Meanwhile the two maids were vexed and tried to conjure the specific recipe and used fruits on the look and smell they could glimpse at from their position.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Drak and Eleonora did not even notice the rivalry behind their backs and enjoyed the refreshments while down on the Theater stage a boy was fighting against a rather realistic looking mockup of a dragon. If not for the strings, people might believe it to be one, albeit only for a small moment before realizing. ¡ª ¡°Drak, can I ask you something?¡± ¡°What is it, Elly?¡± ¡°You remember the day we were shopping? I suddenly had a vision. I never had a vision right then and there. Why was that. I just touched you, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡­ You see there is something that being in touch with me does to some people. Not all have this possibility for it, but it seems you are one of them.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Touching me enhanced your ability for a bit. Being in touch with me heightens the Magic inside some people and sometimes even lets them transform into something completely different.¡± ¡°Is that so? But why are you telling me that so openly, isn¡¯t that a rather precious secret? I just thought I broke through some kind of barrier that stops scrying and got all at once.¡± ¡°Well we have countermeasures against scrying, but those are still bad for now. Why did I tell you that is because I trust you, as you are a Friend of mine, aren¡¯t you?¡± Drak looked at Eleonora and she slightly blushed. She remembered, she opened up to Drak and now Drak opened up to her. It is true, they are friends and seeing how he really believes this, she was moved and thought it was right to be honest with him. ¡°Yes, we are friends. I hope our Friendship will stay even after the School, as you are really interesting. If people knew you better, they would see how nice and fun you are, those guys ignoring you don¡¯t understand at all.¡± ¡°Thank you Elly. I really am glad, you see me as a friend. You are the first friend I have outside the people I rescued.¡± ¡°Um, can I ask you for something?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Can I¡­ Can I touch you and see how it improves my abilities? Maybe I can become someone the Empire can be proud of.¡± ¡°You can, but¡­ No, it is fine. To explain, this only makes a temporary boost, so better not thinking you can get stronger without working hard and sacrifices.¡± ¡°Understood, I just want to really know about it. The last Visions were so strange I was rather perplexed. But with you here and me knowing about it, this time should be¡­ Easier to fathom.¡± ¡°Just be careful, wielding stronger powers can be strenuous and sometimes have drawbacks.¡± Slowly pulling off her long glove she was a bit hesitant. This would mean she had to hold hands with Drak and while she looked forward to seeing what would happen, she knew it was the hand of Drak and they were right now on something you can call a ¡®date¡¯. Now even touching might be seen as intimacy, where she just did it out of reflex the other day. Her cheeks did not stop to have a pink hue, as she was preparing to lay her own hand onto Draks. Behind Drak the four Maids now looked at Eleonora with a look of rivalry and were not quite keen on seeing her holding their Master¡¯s Hand. Celia even pouted and would jump right between those two if Seria were not holding her shoulder to keep her cool. With a last breath Eleonora let her hand sink onto the back of Drak¡¯s which was rather warm and a bit rough before she noticed everything going dark. ¡ª Dreams were always fickle things, being what they are, while visionary dreams are even more strange. Still what Eleonora saw in front of her made her feel like a deja vu. Maybe her mind could not come up with a better analogy, maybe she was influenced by Drak¡¯s Magic or maybe this is the only way to show their forms for her to understand. Eleonora sat in her golden cage again. Seeing outside a slumbering mountain range of a Behemoth being surrounded by so many different and colorful birds. Some sang, some landed on the mountain like horns and groomed them by removing dirt, some scoured the grassy fields for scorpions and other dangerous beings and eliminated them but most of them (the most weak looking ones) surrounded the behemoths foot and lived a happy life like they were in some kind of shelter. ¡°Eight legs¡­ Does he have eight hideouts to keep people safe?¡± Noticing Eleonora the Behemoth opened halfheartedly one of his eyes and looked into her direction. More lazily as hostile, more like a warm greeting before closing his one eye again to sleep in the warm sunlight. ¡°No hostility like last time. More like¡­ acceptance of me. He accepted me in his domain and made no moves to even hide anything. Rather trusting isn¡¯t he?¡± Seeing his warm demeanor she noticed the birds scouring and grooming the Mountain. Often their eyes land on her and watch her carefully. ¡°The birds on the other hand see me vigilantly. They seem to want to keep him safe, but if he is so powerful¡­ No, I see it wrongly, they want to keep his peace. If someone knew about him they would harass him incessantly, and who knows how far it would escalate.¡± While sitting in her golden cage she was a bit bored. Yes, she wanted to see a vision, but she was restrained and could not see anything else. It was as if something was heavily restraining her from seeing all of it. Looking around she finally saw something glittering outside the cage. Not quite close but reachable, if she stretches her arm far out to grab it. It had a red hue and some glow to it, but as it was hidden in the grass she could not quite see it. ¡°Is this my tool to further my Vision? But those always lie closer, why is it so far away?¡± Reaching out she could barely touch it, and the touch of the golden bars made her really uncomfortable for some reason. In her hand was finally a red ring, being like it was made for her. This red ring had a beautiful sheen to it where she can see the reflection of herself in it, but must be a bit less elaborate as she first thought as she could swear the golden bars in the reflection of the sheen were somewhat moving while looking at them with her own eyes, they were pristine and engraved with words of valor like always. ¡°A ring, and it looks like one of the ones the birds all have on their feet like an owner tag. Does the Vision want me to sacrifice myself to the Behemoth? I am ready for it, but that does not feel like it, rather it feels like I¡­ I would betray something if I would really put it on my finger.¡± She was pondering and somehow unsure what to do. Her feeling said she could trust the Ring and should put it on, but for some reason she heard a hissing like a voice in her mind telling her to uphold her integrity and honor as an imperial Princess. ¡°Isn¡¯t my role being with the Behemoth? Why is it different if I have this Ring or not? What is the meaning of this? It feels like I am not allowed to use it but to just keep my distance and not even question me being in the cage. Last time the eyes were disappointed with me agreeing to the Cage. Is there something wrong with my thinking, maybe?¡± While the hissing in her mind was getting louder and she got a headache she made her final decision and put the ring on one of her fingers, unaware how she put it subconsciously on the left ring finger, being watched by four rather envious looking mighty birds. The sudden change was imminent, her clothes transformed into platinum blond feathers, her form was getting into an elegant swan-like shape and she was growing¡­ a beak. ¡°I transform into one of the birds?!¡± Shocked with her sudden transformation she was shocked for a second before noticing another change. Her Vision of the world also changed and she saw the Cage in a totally different form as it was earlier. Those bars of gold beautifully encasing her like a precious thing were now golden snakes entangled with each other and looking at her like their next meal. Chapter 35 - Years in seconds and kids stay kids Seeing the Snakes getting ready to lunge at her she was scared and confused. Weren¡¯t she protected by the cage, why did it turn into a snake''s den all of a sudden? Is she going to die in the Vision as a reminder to not accept any offer Drak might make? But then she is already dead, she made herself ready to die on the chopping block for the betterment of the Empire, but not like this! Before the Snakes could launch an attack crows came down and heavily attacked the snakes. While most snakes were distracted some still attacked and bit Eleonora in the bird form into the throat, ripping it out. ¡®If I had stood a bit more right it would have missed¡­ me?¡¯ Noticing suddenly herself standing in the place she was talking about, the Eleonora which was bitten by the snake and close to dying suddenly vanished, startling the snake into a stupor. Crows came down and killed the snake before it could even understand what was going on. Eleonora herself finally opened her wings and escaped this deathtrap which was now open thanks to the crows. ¡°Those crows are without rings. They are definitely not from the Behemoth, but from where do they hail?¡± Killing the last of the snakes from the far side an infinite chessboard manifested and something hovering over it was slowly noticing the chaos, when the crows started to change into golden bars themselves and imitated the cage. One of the Crows even transformed with a *poof* in a crudely made doll barely resembling Eleonora and was taking her place inside the cage. The Look from the Chessboard was intense but lost interest after a while and resumed what sounded like placing different pieces on the board, moving them or removing debris from destroyed ones. ¡°I do not understand anything anymore, but¡­ am I free? Can I now mingle with the other birds?¡± Not even realizing she already saw herself like the other birds. Flying around she saw the place they called home and the grassy fields. Everything was rather beautiful, when she noticed the Behemoth finally waking up and starting to move. On his head was a small golden piece of paper with a key printed on it. A rather silly look, as for what does something that grand need a key, but she did not question it and followed the Behemoth. ¡ª She did not know how long she already was in the Vision, and does not even know if this was the real World or not. Everything was so vivid. Dancing in the air, when exhausted perching on one of the horns and even sometimes helping with finding vermin to exterminate. It was rather blissful and especially peaceful. She saw the Behemoth do silly things and was always amused while marveling at the World they were wandering around in. Once the Behemoth suddenly stopped with one of his legs up as if frozen. When looking at the reason they saw a small wildflower under the foot nearly trampled and he pulled the leg back. As the Behemoth was looking at the wildflower he inhaled through the nose as if to smell it. A petal got loose and flew into the cave-like nostril making the Behemoth do an adorable careful sneeze to not further disturb the Flower. Afterwards he carefully walked around it. But there were also scary times. Once the birds found an Ants nest. Those ants were all diseased and came in hordes. The birds could not stop them and one got even heavily injured. The cry for help was heard by the Behemoth and came directly over stomping on the Nest, not only destroying it but creating a crater, a gigantic ravine and an earthquake. ¡°So much power for such a small problem. That is not only overkill, it changed the topography!¡± After a long long time, the bird named Eleonora perched again on one of the horns and closed her eyes. It was a strange Life, but also an adventurous and fulfilling life. Closing the eyes like she often did, she opened her eyes to a totally strange place, she was having a hard time remembering from long time ago. ¡ª ¡°Finished?¡± ¡°How¡­ How long was I away? It felt like years. Decades maybe.¡± ¡°Only five seconds. Had a Vision?¡± ¡°She did, Master. It was the one with the Birds again~¡± ¡°Um, Alice? Could you please not read my Mind?¡± ¡°I do not, as you are warded against it~¡± ¡°Then how do you know¡­ Nevermind. I was also a bird and we traveled¡­ far. I can not understand the dream right now, but I will do my best to understand it and will tell you my conjectures.¡± ¡°So you trust me that much, you will tell me your Visions?¡± Drak was a bit surprised. He knew Eleonora trusted him a bit, but her giving him Information like that could even be seen as treasonous in the eyes of the Empire. She is a Seer of the Empire after all. ¡°I am already on death row, what are they gonna do? Execute me twice?¡± Hearing her words not only Drak but the Maids made a rather pained expression. She was collaborating with them and did hide Information, but how can the Empire be so cruel and kill someone just for such small reasons, if they were made to benefit the Empire itself? Eleonora did not notice the looks of the others and her Maids did not even notice them talking but interestingly watching the Theater show, Eleonora¡¯s attention was still on the realization she had no feathers or a beak anymore and was fully human again. ¡°Elly?¡± ¡°What is it Drak?¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Just asking, but when do you want to stop holding my Hand? The Vision is over, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Huh? ¡­ Ah!¡± Finally looking down on her own hand she was holding the back of Drak¡¯s with her own. Feeling the rough skin and the small chains rubbing gently against her palm she began to get red as a tomato and pulled her hand away lightning fast. ¡°Ah, I, I wasn¡¯t¡­ I just forgot to notice¡­ It was not my¡­ Drak do not make me so embarrassed and just forget it!¡± ¡°Sure Elly. Just wanted to make you aware of it. Ah, the soon to be King has beaten the Dragon.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh! Yes, Theater! The Dragon is beaten, but why does he not kill it? Oh! It was protecting an Egg!¡± ¡°While I can not fathom why he would duel it fair and square I can approve of the leniency. It is just a Mother protecting her child. ¡­ So he lets the Dragon live and even tell everyone the Dragon is slain to protect it from further Dragonslayers for it to have time to hatch her Egg? Nice one!¡± ¡°But it is rather dangerous, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Dragons are intelligent beings, not Monsters. They should be treated as such and not seen with hostility to begin with.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say, those beings are close to ruling this Continent if they would procreate faster.¡± The talk was again about the Theater, which showed the dramatic twists of life before them. Eleonora was carefully putting on her glove again, but still felt the warmth of Drak¡¯s Hand on her own. While slightly pink in the face she tried to play it off as well as she could by talking about the scene being played out right now. ¡ª ¡°Thank you for inviting me Elly. It was a fun day.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I was likewise entertained with the meal and your company. We should do this again someday. I am very interested in seeing this new perspective the day opened up for me.¡± Drak could not decipher, if she meant the food lower class Nobles eat or the Vision, she saw through his help. Either way she would pester him again for a meetup, maybe even in the near future. ¡°Shall I bring you home, or do you want to ask someone here in the Theater to drive you?¡± ¡°What a silly question, you brought me here, you will bring me back, no?¡± It was a bit awkward for Drak to tell what he was thinking, but tried to explain as delicately as possible. ¡°Yes, this is obvious common courtesy, but I feel the Image of me being with you would tarnish your reputation, so I thought you might ask someone who we met to maybe bring you to a nice night meal before ending the day.¡± ¡°You think my reputation would be damaged by being seen too much with you? I never cared about that. While I was originally only interested in doing my job, I am rather fond of you, as you unlike most others are genuine and truthful. You do not scheme and use the most direct ways, if something does not work.¡± ¡°...Is that a compliment or a rebuke?¡± ¡°Why not both? I am rather glad to not need to scheme or need to fake anything, it feels refreshing to be relaxed. While it is entertaining I also feel scared to see what happens next with you.¡± ¡°Still not seeing if it is a compliment or a rebuke.¡± ¡°It is both, dummy! I mean you are too direct in your approaches while I like to not have to play games of deceptions around you!¡± Eleonora became exasperated while getting ready to exit the balcony. She bided her time as she knew people would be waiting for her cousins and her. The more time she took the less of the other Nobles would stick around for her to visit. The Maids had already cleaned the tables and everything was spotless. They were just waiting for their respective Masters to stop bickering. While the etiquette of Nobles needs to be held in public, all were glad to see those two who were still young act their age once in a while. ¡°And now I ORDER you to bring me safely home! Do not think you can just throw me at those scheming piranhas outside!¡± ¡°I never thought that!¡± ¡°But I do! Do you know how many of them stick to me like leeches, while you are not around? Those people really only see my Status and nothing else. You, who is a high Noble, looking like a discarded heir, having a deadly battle Maid, living close to the outskirts of the Noble district, dressing your Maids like Elites and then even eating with them at the same table confuse the hell out of those ¡®my nose is higher than the clouds¡¯ brats who want to ride my coattail as some kind of yes ma''am Minion wannabes! Only when I am with you can I feel secure and at ease¡­ wait, did I say that out loud?! FORGET THAT!¡± Drak was never so confused in his life, as he had no Idea what was Eleonora even saying right now, but it seems like she felt more safe with him around, as the most would not go too far if there is someone they can not accept but is accepted by herself. ¡°Okay, okay! Geez, Elly if you talk even more we are here until deep in the night. I will bring you home safe and sound.¡± While Eleonora was again getting red in the face Drak just scratched his head exasperated. The Maid of Drak were holding their laughter as best as they could about that strange quarrel and even the Maids of Eleonora were shaking a slight bit and forced their facial muscles to not respond inappropriately. Taking a deep breath Eleonora calmed down and got her serious face back. Drak himself became also the non perturbed looking waste he was with no emotions being seen. Noticing the two taking on their serious faces, the Maids got ready. One Maid of each party got to the door and opened one of the double doors simultaneously like already trained together a thousand times in the past. Walking out were one of the most elegant princesses the World has seen and next to her a waste of a Duke¡¯s Son which, while could be mocked and ignored, was still dangerous as he was an oddity no one could read through fully. ¡ª Exiting the Theater most Nobles were already gone or began orbiting two other places not noticing Eleonora and Partner. Eleonora was albeit elated but also sad it was only ¡®most¡¯ Nobles and not all. Some still came to her and tried to tangle her up into a conversation. Drak was now aware of his role and noticed all the boys and girls rebound on Eleonora¡¯s shield which was being right now walking with Drak. While being hard pressed on short notice to engage Drak in something even after the long Theater session they all still could not come up with anything to talk with Drak and made them stop without it being awkward or insulting. Shall they ask about his Maids? Which one? The one looking like a jigsaw, the one looking like a manifested mute Ghost, the cheery one which does not seem to know what ¡®Maid¡¯ even means or the most mysterious one which does not even show her face to anyone? Shall they ask about fashion? He doesn''t even look like he would know the Cities mentioned in that aspect. Jewelry? He has his totally ugly iron Rings, could he tell them which dumpster he foraged them out? Cuisine? Seriously, there might not be one thing that this fat pig would not eat, including human flesh. Insult him? That would be inadvisable as everyone knows how Eleonora liked him somehow and would not want to become the duel''s hattrick by sacrificing a Warrior to his crazy Maids. The best thing would be not even saying a word to him and just ignoring his existence, but Eleonora pointed alway on him being right here and made their try totally moot. Being restrained by this chaotic ward named Drak, they came directly to the black Carriage waiting already like called beforehand magically. Entering the Carriage most could only click their tongue and would try their best next time they saw each other in the School. Chapter 36 - Worst Nightmare ¡°Thank you for the great Night. The Meal and the Theater afterwards were so delightful.¡± ¡°Um, the Theater was your plan. Only the Meal would be my doing, Elly.¡± ¡°... take the hint and just say ¡®you¡¯re welcome¡¯ sometimes. To be honest it was great to see what I want to see myself and you were accompanying me. I am having so much work most of the time, I have a hard time to relax. I will tell you when I have the time for another meetup for the clothes we were discussing.¡± Drak deflated a bit like someone punctured a ball. ¡°You could not forget that, did you? I was really hoping you would.¡± ¡°No. I will keep your promise and you should be prepared for it. As you get Money from your Benefactor, you should be able to pay yourself, right? He made my Uncle bleed quite a lot of coins the last time I heard of him.¡± ¡°But that was¡­ Um, I heard it was because of the taxes there needed to be included. There is no way to keep the prices, if there had to be paid taxes on them, right?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it already good to let it not be illegal anymore? What a greedy bunch, hmpf!¡± Taxes must now be included as it was an officially signed contract with the law-abiding Imperial Family. While it made the whole thing harder and also prone to taxation the whole enterprise was now secure as the official Guards oversee the transport and exchange place. Small parts of the ingots vanishing might be fine, but if there is a full robbery, then it would be like beating a hornets nest while naked. Underground Organizations like the Syndicate would never try to harm an official business like that, as it would be going to war with the black Merchant, the City Guards and the full might of the Imperial Decree, as it cuts into the flesh of the Empire directly without remorse. ¡°Yeah, I get it. Still not my problem as it is my Benefactor¡¯s doing.¡± While saying it so nonchalantly Eleonora was pouting and glaring daggers at him. She knew everything but could not say anything as Alice stopped the strange spell which changes the words already. ¡°AND you will pay for a nice Meal before and after the fitting! Better prepare your Wallet!¡± ¡°Sure, there are some Restaurants I¡¯ve heard about, which have a good atmosphere and Family cooking that I want to visit at least once before the end of School. So why not visit them together?¡± ¡°Family? Whose House?¡± ¡°It is not a Noble House, rather a homemade standard in cooking. Food made with regular ingredients but processed and cooked with care and love has the moniker of ¡®Family cooking¡¯. Something tasting like it was made by a Wife who wants to put a smile on her Husband and Children.¡± ¡°Is that so? Now I am interested in it.¡± ¡°Then it is decided. I will ask my Servants to look into the best places for a first visit and should hopefully be ready, when you have needed free time.¡± While still about a bit miffed over the trick of pushing the blame on a fictitious Benefactor, Eleonora was now a bit more appeased after hearing how Drak seriously thought about their next date in advance. ¡ª ¡°How was the meeting, Princess?¡± ¡°While I got no good Information about anything, the fact of how Drak Berklin knows about the heightened price shows him to be a valuable asset with background Information about the Merchant¡¯s business. I can connect with these Information, that the plan of making Drak his front Merchant while our target hides in the back is highly plausible.¡± ¡°Information could be pulled out of him with more direct methods, what do you think about those plans?¡± ¡°Impossible. Torture or Magic could be found out easily and also the possibility of more hidden Guardians than those two or maybe all four Maids is close to certain.¡± ¡°Good. Ascertaining possibilities and calculating risks is more than acceptable already. Helping in subtle interrogation through smalltalk, leading the discussion or honey trap are impossible for my knowledge and need a different tutor though.¡± ¡°I do not need those for now. Better to focus on one part before the next. Also a honey trap¡­ I do not think it would be right for this Mission¡­ And I rather not think about what kind of ¡®training¡¯ this pertains, so please do not talk about that again.¡± ¡°As you wish Princess. The Imperial Envoy had questions about our success rate and progress. The latest report was also taken for review. Mostly everything pro forma, but better be diligent in writing those, as they can be referenced if something goes wrong. It saved my life twice in my career I am allowed to talk about.¡± ¡°Thank you Spymaster. I would like to rest and recollect my thoughts before making a written statement.¡± ¡°As you wish, Princess.¡± The Spymaster left the lounge after the dismissal while Eleonora was only glancing on his back but noticed something strange. She thought she saw something in the Spymaster, but was not sure, if it was just a play of the light and her sleepiness playing tricks on her or if there really was something poking out of his hair. ¡°I must be rather tired. Maybe it''s better to write the recollection tomorrow and go to sleep early.¡± Eleonora was tired and just took a quick bath before her daily routine of brushing her platinum hair. After being satisfied with the feeling of her hair she got into her nightgown and drifted into an early sleep. ¡ª ¡°Here again? I remember I fell asleep right on this horn of our Behemoth. Wait, ¡®our¡¯? Am I already thinking of myself as one of them?¡± Realizing she was back in her Vision she rethought many things she held as a given. While she was right now in the form of a Bird she was a Princess of the Empire. Obviously her life was so much livelier right now as a free bird in a vast world, but she also had her duty. ¡°No, I can not have that duty like that. The red ring around my left leg is a total given of how I am now with them. I wonder what would have happened, if I did not have taken the ring.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡®if I did not have taken the ring¡­ not have taken the ring¡­ the ring¡­ ring¡¯ An echo was heard all around her and it was her own voice. Like some kind of mantra echoing through the whole world rewriting fate like a woolen tapestry unraveled to be knitted anew with a different design. Feeling her left leg growing cold she looked down to see the ring slowly vanishing in a wave of frost freeing her from being connected to all of them. The birds she called her friends for so long looked at her and had sorrow in their eyes. The crows following her out of their free will circled her to protect her from whatever might happen. The Behemoth mighty and strong saw all this and seemed to struggle with a decision to make. She knew he was strong enough to stop whatever is happening and had the power to revert whatever might happen right now. Finally coming to a decision he looked at the little swan perching on its horn with sorrowful eyes slightly moist and she could feel the emotions he was emanating. Giving the slightest push with his own power the rewrite was truly happening now, Time flowed in reverse and everything she experienced was being erased. Only the Behemoth was unfazed by the chaos of time reversal like a cliff still splitting the waves in two while a massive typhoon is raging. ¡®see for yourself¡¯ The thoughts were not spoken but she could feel them in her own heart as the Behemoth walked into the chaos by himself and was engulfed by the powers. At the end there was nothing and with a flash Eleonora was back in her golden cage. Time was back to where she was before taking the ring. Shocked she looked around and saw the golden cage pristine and untouched. ¡°Those bars move slightly. They are still¡­!¡± Realizing it was not because of the Ring she was frightened. Wasn¡¯t the Ring turning things into animals? Why are they still here? A dozen more unanswerable questions shot through her head being drowned out by even more new questions. Behind her she felt a slight wind. Turning around she saw the Behemoth with slightly open mouth breathing in. ¡°What is he doing? Ah! The Ring!¡± Seeing the ring being dragged into the mouth of the Behemoth with just a slight breath her chance to grab it was gone. Looking up Eleonora saw the slight open eyes emanating loneliness and sorrow. ¡°He still knows? He took the ring I rejected¡­¡± Shocked, she could just stare at him in sorrow and apology, but whatever she tried to say was stuck in her mouth without a possibility to be heard. Looking at each other for a long time a sudden golden piece of Paper with a Key on it just appeared on his forehead and without further ado he turned around and stomped away. All Birds are waddling, flying, walking, hopping or whatever way of movement those weird Birds use for locomotion with the Behemoth further away. ¡°Wait! Where are you going?! Why are you leaving so sudden?!¡± No answer came, just the chirping of all those birds and the silent and careful stomps of the giant Mountain range slowly vanishing in some kind of fog. ¡°I am too far away, I can''t even see him as a Creature anymore. Just a Mountain on the horizon, never to be seen again as not background? What shall I do now? Please¡­ Please come back, or¡­ or at least take me with you¡­¡± Unbeknownst to Eleonora, tears fell down her cheeks. That Mountain range, being seen as a mighty invincible Behemoth by all around him was Drak. Drak, her official target to handle and¡­ her first true friend, who does not care about her status, her Family, her wealth, her beauty, her elegance, her sweet voice but¡­ cares about her. Only her, the Person, which no one else ever has done. Being frank with her, grumbling about what he does not like without holding back and speaking frankly to her what he honestly thought without hiding one thing. That annoyingly honest and hard to understand brat, which treats his Maids as his Family more than his Family''s Blood and would fight a Noble for a Commoner for his way of Justice, which felt more honest than the Law itself. ¡°Will this happen? Why? Is there no other way? I do not want to lose¡­ a true friend.¡± While still in shock seeing the clouds hide the rest of the Mountains the Chessboard slowly came back. Under her was again a checkerboard. She felt something was lost, but could not understand what. Out of the darkness a Hand with a Ring of a Signet came. ¡°This Hand, the ring¡­ This is the official Seal of the Emperor! Is this the Emperor''s Hand?¡± Still working it out the Hand came closer and she could see scales on it. Slowly she could identify it as two things at once, the Hand of the Emperor and a five headed Hydra. ¡°No! Do not come closer!¡± Even with pleading the Hand grabbed the Cage and moved it to another place. She was moved on the Chessboard into a new position. ¡°Where am I now?¡± A golden knight was seen behind her. ¡°Am I protected? But why is he so hidden?¡± Looking around more she could see different pieces in Black suggesting those were the ones of the opponent. While those pieces were made out of rock their heads start to turn slightly to her. An old looking kind of humanoid Pig, looking like an Ork but feeling more human even if humanity was not seen in its eyes, just Lust. A Monkey on a mountain of blood soaked Gold looking at her with greed. A Wolf eyeing her with hunger to devour her and make her being and all she stands for his own. ¡°No, I am not protected. I am a sacrifice! Whoever came for me will be killed but I¡­¡± All pieces emanate an Aura of misfortune. If she is lucky she would just die, if not she could only wish to be dead. ¡°No, I want to help the Empire, but not like this! I am not a plaything for a pig, commodity for a monkey or fame for a wolf! I would rather die than be¡­ but did I not offer Drak once my¡­ My head hurts!¡± The whispers in her ears felt strange. She heard those words of loyalty and pride always, but right now they sounded more like mockery and vile intents. ¡°I need to get out!¡± Searching for an exit she looked all over the now obviously cage made out of snakes. Seeing crows trying to find their way inside the cage to help made her hopeful but when the heads of the cage lunged at them they were devoured instantly. A particularly large crow tried its best and nearly succeeded in at least opening a gap before being ripped apart by multiple Snakes and being devoured in pieces. The head landed inside the cage all bloody and looking at her before losing any kind of live in the eyes. ¡°Why¡­ Why, why why whywhywhywhy!!! Why does this crows head remember me of¡­ UNCLE!!!¡± ¡ª ¡°NOOO!¡± Waking up soaked in sweat like she were coming out of a freezing river, Eleonora cried out with all her might. ¡°Princess, everything alright?!¡± In came her Head Maid. She was dedicated and always by her side. Not only does she care the most for Eleonora, but also had helped her secretly ever so often. If Eleonora broke a Vase, she took the blame and was caned for it. When Eleonora wanted something specific she tried her best to smuggle it in for her. When Eleonora was upset and shouted at her she was caring and never was angry. She was close to a Mother for her. ¡°Miranda!¡± Falling into her arms Eleonora cried her eyes out. Most of the times when she had a bad dream Miranda the head Maid was there for her, soothing her and keeping her company. While she could not always be there, she tried her utmost to be always present. ¡°Shh, it was just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about. You are safe and sound. Do you want to talk about the bad dream?¡± Eleonora took a long time to come back to reality but was feeling the most safe right now. Miranda might not be a friend or even Family, but she was dedicated to the Gracia Family for a long time. Slowly catching her breath, Eleonora finally came back to her senses and slowly got a hold on herself. Feeling better she took a look of gratitude towards her trusted Maid and got white again. ¡®Why does Miranda have gold¡­ scales and eyes with slits?!¡¯ ¡°Princess, everything okay? You look still pale.¡± Pronouncing the last syllable of ¡®Princess¡¯ a forked tongue was briefly seen. Eleonora wanted to cry out again but could only hold on. Chapter 37 - Walking around with crows and snakes ¡°I am fine, the Dream was a total Nightmare.¡± ¡°Do tell me, you will feel better.¡± Seeing her scaled Maid hold her hands she could feel the skin was human skin, but it looked like a snakeskin. ¡®Is that because of Drak¡¯s Magic? Does that mean she is part of my Cage? She is one of the ones keeping me captive without me knowing?¡¯ ¡°In my dream I was¡­ I was being besieged by many Goblins with silver and bronze tattoos. They held me captive and ripped flesh off of me little by little but would not let me die! They¡­ they used me, toyed with me and mocked me while I was unable to move! They just made me feel miserable and no one cared about my suffering.¡± ¡°That sounds horrible. Please be at ease, this would never happen. Were there some things you could do?¡± ¡°There was a ring¡­ It had the seal of the Empire but I was so weak. I could not use it properly.¡± ¡°Properly? What did you do? Were there also Goblins with a golden tattoo?¡± ¡®Does she always throw in some questions like that? I remember her guiding me sometimes, when I was disturbed.¡¯ ¡°One Goblin with a Gold tattoo. He sat on a throne behind me, laughing and mocking. Near me was a small chubby dog on some chain. He bit some of the Goblins and they hated him. But somehow did not go near him because of his unusually big teeth he had. The only one who helped me, but somehow I knew I needed to watch and work to tame him, but was not able to. The Ring¡­ yes I remember wanting to throw it at the Goblin behind me, but was not able to as my Fingers were already gone! I could only hit him slightly but he was hurt badly, making him furious and playing me to death and¡­ here I am, now.¡± ¡°Shh, everything is alright. You are safe here. Those goblins might be some kind of spies or Enemies against the Empire, but the loyal dog of the Empire did help you, didn''t he? I will make you tea and light some incense.¡± ¡°Thank you Miranda.¡± Not really believing her own Maid anymore she uses one of the secret tools her Spymaster gave her. While Miranda was lighting the incense, Eleonora opened a ring with a hollow pearl, inside a near imperceptible tiny black pill which Eleonora took right away. ¡®Hopefully the generic antidote is strong enough for whatever is in the tea or Incense.¡¯ Time flew, the incense mellow smell always put Eleonora at ease but today she only faked it. The tea was one of her favorites and now tasted like some bitter bile but drank it with fake delight. Lying down she slowly closed her eyes while Miranda still soothed her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Nightmares, dear. While they might haunt you in your sleep, they can never touch you in real life. The Empire would never let that happen. The Gracia Family is one of the major branches and although we are low, we are the most dedicated and hard working. Even the Emperor knows that and will always be just in time of our need. Just relax and keep in mind your strongest shield, your bond to the Empire as it is always there and keeps you protected. Let us both keep everything safe by working hard for our Family and the People.¡± Stroking her head until the breath was soothing and steady Miranda stood up and filled up the incense to burn for a longer time while Eleonora was again sleeping. Closing silently the door, steps were heard quickly walking down the hallway away from Eleonora¡¯s Chambers. A while later Eleonora opened her eyes. Sweat was seen on her forehead as she has no idea what to believe now. Why would she suddenly see visions while awake? How come they overlay with reality? More questions were throwing one conundrum after the other into her confused mind but right now she had to do something important. ¡°The window. I need a small gap to breathe fresh air. Better not air all of it and create suspicion.¡± Sitting in front of the Window a small gap was opened,small enough to only let a fly the possibility to squeeze in, but was large enough for Eleonora to breathe while she was close to it. ¡®Should not be a strong drug if I am not just paranoid. Maybe something subtle to let suggestions prior said sink in better? She said much I always thought to be right, so it should not¡­ Maybe I should ask myself if the always believed statements are true? No, I could never¡­ Keep an open mind Eleonora, even if it might go against what you are thinking. You also know about how the School works on those Kids¡­ But I am always looked after and there is no mind bending Magic¡­ Is there some secret hidden Magic imperceptible or maybe something non magic? No, that would be silly¡­ but what if it exists?¡¯ Inside Eleonora''s mind were two voices of herself fighting and arguing. She knew she was an Imperial Princess but still she had to make her own Worldview. Her Uncle always said to be abiding but not unthinking. ¡®I have so many questions, but I can''t ask my Uncle for now. A Letter might be caught or read. I can''t even trust the self-destruct seal right now. How can I write him something so dangerous?¡¯ Being stuck in a dilemma, Eleonora was hard in thinking as she heard steps again. At first she wanted to close the window, but thought otherwise after an instant. Rushing to the Incense burner she scooped a miniscule part of it out of the Burner right into the cavity of the pearl ring. Afterwards she lied down and started to breathe deeply and rhythmically. As the door opened Miranda noticed the slight draft. Seeing the Incense being drawn to the windows she saw it not fully closed. Looking out she saw nothing and closed itbefore going to the incense burner. She cleaned it thoroughly and afterwards put fresh incense into it and lit it again before leaving and resting on the chair right outside the door. Silently Eleonora opened her eyes again and took some of the new incense, struggling to think of a place to put it until she placed it into her hidden drawer under a few pages of her now rather large stack of papers pertaining Drak, neatly sorted into different Categories named after different Maids. There were no Stacks of Paper pertaining to the possibility of multiple Maids being together with Drak as this stack of Paper was stored in a different bigger hidden compartment she called the ¡®triangle Compartment¡¯. Finally at ease she was fully exhausted and could not go any further. Even if the Incense was maybe drugged she could only hope the antidote kept working for how long it might be. She had no way to defend herself and needed Rest the most right now. ¡ª ¡°Good Morning, Princess. Did you get a good sleep? Any more Nightmares?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Ah, Miranda. No, I could sleep well afterwards.¡± ¡°Thank goodness. Do you need anything from me?¡± Seeing her Maid Miranda in her normal Form made it look like she had only been seeing things, but had a thought about something. ¡°It is embarrassing, but¡­ can you give me a hug? You are the only one I can fully trust around here and I need one right now.¡± ¡°Of course, Princess.¡± With a warm smile she came close to Eleonora and gave her a warm hug. She felt Eleonora was still not fully at ease, which made her a bit puzzled, but thought the Nightmare was especially scaring for a ten year old Girl seeing herself being eaten like some kind of meal. ¡°Do you feel better now, Princess?¡± Eleonora was looking at her scaled Maid slowly turning back into a human form, nodding while smiling. ¡°I feel better now, as I am not confused anymore. Thank you for your help, without you I might not be able to know who I could trust and what is real. You are like a golden beacon to me Miranda. Thank you.¡± ¡°I do not know why I am so much praised right now Princess, but I appreciate it. Still I am only doing my Job, please lean on me in the future, I will always be by your side.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Both were smiling at each other, but Eleonora was slightly thinking different thoughts than Miranda was suspecting. Afterwards Eleonora got back to her usual self and started changing. The day was already starting and she had to work double time as she did not write the Report right away. ¡°Miranda, can you call the Spymaster? Also afterwards I want to not be disturbed for a while. The Report should be first looked after by the Spymaster, because I don¡¯t want to embarrass my Family with a Report of low quality.¡± ¡°As you wish, Princess. Do you want something special for breakfast? I will right afterwards be supervising the Kitchen, while you are busy.¡± ¡°You are the best Miranda. Yes, I would like to have something special today, but not for Breakfast as it can be as usual.¡± ¡°As you wish, Princess. Please let me know, what do you want to eat?¡± ¡°I somehow have a craving for something exotic for once. Last night I had eaten simple dishes, so I want to see what might be some tastes I only heard about.¡± ¡°I would not advise to look at lower class food too much-¡± ¡°No, you misunderstand. I want to see what was talked about on some Parties inside the Castle, as those had mentioned once something strange being cooked, but was thinking I would never. Now I want to taste it myself to see if I really would not like it.¡± ¡°Um, what are you talking about?¡± ¡°I want to try Snake Soup, please.¡± Eleonora was smiling vividly like a morning sunshine but something in that smile made Miranda unconsciously shiver. Afterwards Miranda had taken it as some imagination while ordering the Snakes to be cooked. ¡ª ¡°The writing is concise and detailed. Some aspects like the baked goods taste can be omitted but is not a necessity, as such details can sometimes tell if some drugs were ingested by orally intake.¡± ¡°Good, then I keep that part. Please come here for a second Spymaster. Could you take off your glove and lay your Hand on the table for me?¡± ¡°At once, Princess.¡± Being taught to obey orders no matter how ridiculous the Spymaster did what he was ordered to and put his hand on Eleonora¡¯s Study. Afterwards Eleonora just put her hand on his and looked him seriously in the eyes. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± A few seconds of silence passed and the Spymaster was not sure what was going on, so he spoke his mind on the conjecture he could only make. ¡°While I am an experienced Spy, I am not versed in the goings ons of Romance. Also I never laid my Hands on the other gender and can therefore not be a suitable partner in-¡± ¡°Would you shut up and stop with the nonsense?!¡± Becoming angry at her Spymaster she sighed and took her hand from his. ¡°Let me explain, it was a kind of test. I need your help and have to know if I can trust you.¡± ¡°My loyalty to the Empire was never a problem and my record can be seen as spotless.¡± ¡°And yet you are here babysitting me, an eleven year old Princess being trained to become a spying tool for the Empire, under circumstances where the probability of success of the Mission was marginal.¡± ¡°Yes, as some internal Commanders had trust issues about my loyalty and some visions of my future were inconclusive I was delegated to the work as trainer for you albeit not being able to fully train you in most ways as I am a shadow Spy while you will become a social Spy, which has close to no intersections.¡± ¡°How does that make you feel?¡± ¡°...angry.¡± ¡°And I am glad.¡± ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°Because I need someone I can trust.¡± ¡°As said my Loyalty-¡± ¡°I need someone I can trust. Internal struggles of the branches are getting more and more heated. The reason they put you with me is to get rid of two obstacles at once. I believe my failure was already ascertained as it could not be read in some kind of probability vision. You being my Mentor would also be burdened with the fault to fall even lower. I do not want that and I want to succeed, but if I were to succeed I would go against their plan and needed to be stopped in secret. You know what I am getting at?¡± ¡°The power struggle of the Imperial Family. The Gracia Family is close to being cut off as they have only seven Blood members.¡± ¡°Six¡­ My Cousin was married to the Liberatus Family Branch. She cut all ties to us as she was ordered to by the head of their Branch. It broke Uncle¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°Then the cutaway is close to being sealed.¡± ¡°Will you help me?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I need someone who can help me. Not the Empire, but my Family needs someone who can help us.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I trust you, so please help me.¡± ¡°As you wish, Princess.¡± Eleonora wiped her eyes as they were a bit moist around the edges. She really had laid everything open to her Spymaster and if he would have not come to her side it would have been a disaster. While hoping and praying she had still one single Card left, if it had not worked, but was scared to play it right now. ¡°Thank you for your help, Crow.¡± ¡°Crow?¡± ¡°You have no Name but a Number. While I can not officially name you, I can give you a Name for this Mission as a superior. If we beat the odds and come out on top, I personally use the elevated Status of our Family to keep you under our Branch as a personal Spy with a fixed Name. If Crow is not to your liking, I will talk about it with you in the future to find a better one.¡± ¡°No need, Princess. If we survive this Ordeal I will be honored to keep the Codename Crow.¡± ¡°I am glad, now on to another topic. I wish for you to train me.¡± ¡°Which aspect do you want to train for and what proficiency do you want to achieve?¡± ¡°All you know and I want to master it. For now I need training in resisting drugs and breaking through Misdirection Techniques.¡± Chapter 38 - Working hard and the strange Cafe While Eleonora had her own troubles to work with, in a small Village far away from the Imperial Domain was a barn. Inside this barn was an unusually deep staircase below the earth going into a cavern with a large magic circle chiseled into the rock of the floor which started to glow. After a while a half sphere enveloped the inside of the circle and just vanished the next second. Where there was nothing before, a chubby youth and four Maids were leisurely walking out of the circle in the opposite direction of the staircase. Touching a wall the wall melted away and showed a smelting operation. Different people were hard at work to get ready for work where the giant crucible stood and some kind of forms were put near the release spout on the bottom. An old man noticed the new arrivals and came over with a smile. ¡°Lord Drak! I am glad to see you healthy. Are you ready to assist?¡± ¡°That is why I am here. Is everything fine? Does your Village need anything?¡± ¡°No, no! The Village is fully sufficient. Our sister Villages help each other out and keep us stocked with all we need and most of what we wish for. There is nothing to complain about.¡± ¡°I am glad to hear that.¡± Being escorted to the Crucible, people saw Drak and bowed their heads before going back to their specific works. While they were busy, the People were not overburdened and worked diligently together. Suddenly a rather large creature came from behind the Crucible. It looked like a human but was way bigger and its red skin was cracked all over showing a yellow glow below. The air around it was slightly distorted and made it clear the body radiated an extreme heat. ¡°Marcus, are you well? Does anything hurt?¡± Drak saw the creature and asked for its well being rather than being shocked to see it. ¡°Nothing hurts. I am well. Thank you.¡± While the creature could only talk simple, it showed high intelligence. This creature was a former Slave called Marcus. He was one of the first Drak saved. Also he was the first where Drak noticed how dangerous his way of giving Power was. Marcus was ¡®not compatible¡¯ as it was Named after long research about the happenings. People not compatible with Drak were not able to hold his given powers. If they are given those powers the Body and the Magic fight against each other to get into an equilibrium. In most cases the People would transform into something inhuman as the Body gets forced to accept the quickly rising Magic. Marcus himself was one of the more lucky ones. His transformation had him hurt for a long time but after the full change he had no issues anymore. Drak was apprehensive after seeing what came out of Marcus and made the Slaves work without getting powers but was begged by few to get the chance to be more useful for him, as Drak not only pulled them out of the despair of being an illegal Slave but gave them a leisurely life. Being naive he gave some more abilities but stopped right after one who was not compatible died by his body turning inside out. Rose, an alchemistic Slave with a bright mind and learned abilities to work on reagents could at least convince him to work on a way to weaken the powers to make a kind of enhancement potion able to be used on non compatible people. The end result was an extreme mixture of many weakening herbs with heavy emphasis on dissolving Magic. Shockingly Drak¡¯s Blood itself fought back and dissolved the solvent which made it not even needed to be filtered afterwards as no toxins were being left inside. Tests with Animals showed success and became a staple after a test of how high the compatibility is. ¡°Marcus, I am here to make the Ingots. Are you ready for work?¡± ¡°Always. Getting ready.¡± Walking away Marcus went to the Crucible and put his hands on it. Heat flowed from his hands into the giant Crucible and made it slowly start to glow. ¡°Alright, I should work too.¡± Drak was walking to a rather large Crystal cluster which stood alone in a large empty place. Drak laid his own hand on it and channeled his Magic inside. Not even a second afterwards the Crystal grew rapidly on the other side where Drak was standing. New clusters intertwined and became large chunks before radiating out into even more branches which became new clusters and afterwards chunks. After Drak was finished the place where there was empty space was packed with a gigantic Crystal chaotically grown and intertwined. ¡°Whew, this is finished. Are the cutters ready?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Master, do not sound like this was hard for you. You will still work on the Law Studies later.¡± ¡°Dangit! Still, are the cutters ready?¡± ¡°Yes Master, they are already changing into their work attire.¡± Not even a second after an unshaven strong looking man with a pair of heavy gloves came over. ¡°Already finished Seria, sis. We get to work right away, better not let Marcus wait for too long. The forger had problems with the stamp, but said he had it figured out. Maybe you should ask him if he needs some help, Master?¡± Not even waiting for the answer he took his group to the crystal, who started to use different kinds of Magic or special picks to break it into chunks. ¡°Rude as always. Master, maybe you should give someone else the head position for the cutters?¡± ¡°I like his honesty and frankness. Also he is the best in cutting and also dedicated to safety. Without him there would be more injured as cutting those Magic Crystals can be rather dangerous if done improper.¡± ¡°Fine. Next would be the Forger, as mentioned. I already have the Information, about how the specific Symbol of the Gracia Family had some details hard to copy. They might have thought we use the seal directly to stamp it and not make dozens of castings.¡± ¡°So it was hard work, huh? Did he recreate it authentically?¡± ¡°He said it would be near impossible to see through it as it is cast in magical Crystal and irregularities in the casting process always distort some parts anyhow. While he says that, I have seen the tests with pure metal ingots and he severely understates his work. As expected of a former forgery expert being worked to the bone in the Underworld.¡± ¡°I am glad you could forgive him.¡± ¡°He himself did not have guilt, it was the duchess who ordered the Documents being forged to blame my Family and change the places where we would be shipped to.¡± While Drak talked with Seria large chunks of Crystals were brought up to the Crucible and lowered in. As they started to melt small explosions could be heard inside the Crucible. The volatile Magic crystals exploded on different corners, which made the work on them so dangerous. If cut wrong those places emit Magic in the form of explosions not shattering themselves but making everything else around them suffer. Starting to liquefy the Casts were rolled below the crucible and liquid crystals flowed into those casts to cool down and become ingots with the ten mountains and the Imperial Seal of the Gracia Family visible on them. While the Ingots slowly cool in another corner of the Workshop the next cast was already put under the Crucible when the explosions finally stopped being heard from the newly inserted Crystals. ¡ª A small Cafe with a nice ambient was running in the Imperial City. While the cafe was being tried to be extorted, the Gangs members just vanished, never to be seen. Guards were also being bribed to look into it but found nothing and lately the Imperial Family had made a note to not further make attempts to undermine them. At this day an escorted Merchant came to the backdoor, which donned the imperial Signet. After a knock the door was opened and before anything the Merchant already introduced himself. ¡°My name is Eldenbury. Could I please see the Manager? I have an appointment for a business deal.¡± Hearing this the Barista who opened the door bowed and greeted back. Afterwards he brought him right into the large Warehouse in the Cellar where the Cafe owner was checking the Inventory of the tea leaves and cocoa beans. ¡°Ah, you must be the Collector of the Magic Crystals, yes? Please verify your Identity and we will commence the trade.¡± Taking out the imperial seal and a black coin the Owner ignored the seal and scrutinized the coin. ¡°Glad to make your acquaintance, I am Jeeves. Please this way.¡± Behind a large Door was a second Warehouse filled with Crystal Ingots donning the ten Mountains and inside the Imperial seal. Seeing this the Merchant was impressed, especially after looking at one of the ingots directly. The seal was rather detailed with only some malformations obviously from the manufacturing process. ¡°Marvelous. My Patron will be glad to see the new commodity being this pristine. Can we expect the later ones to also be in this quality?¡± ¡°My Superiors said this is the expected quality every time. Also Sir Black Merchant is glad to have a stable transaction route. Do you want some Tea or maybe a Coffee while your Guards put the Ingots in your magic bags?¡± ¡°I would be delighted! By the way I was asked to tell the Black Merchant he could get a transportation license and even guarded convoys if he transports the next ones into the City.¡± ¡°While I appreciate the gesture, Sir Black Merchant finds it a hassle to have these kinds of transports being made. He would rather keep the status quo of his regular transports, as they are easier and safer for him.¡± ¡°He finds it a hassle and wants to keep smuggling them into the Imperial City?¡± Eldenbury was a bit flustered as he heard that. Who in the world would just decline an imperial transport like that? This made no sense for him, but could only smile back and relay the Information to his Superiors. ¡°Would the Black Merchant want to acquire something? We have the authority to grant small errands and can relay larger ones for verification. If there is anything he wants, the Imperial Gracia Family would be open to help, so our Friendship can be strengthened.¡± ¡°Right now I am not knowing of anything, but I will remind him of your kind and gracious offer.¡± Although further ways of indebting Drak to them were tried, no one was working for the moment. Jeeves was sly and rather good with words and could evade any and all tries for now with flowery words. While Eldenbury was a bit aggrieved he had nothing he can do right now and just collected the Crystals before leaving with a slight bow to Jeeves. Poll - on what should I work? So... what can I say? My Life is right now a bit chaotic but I try my best to work around the chaos. My next endeavor is unclear as I right now started to rewrite the original Story as I said I would want to, but the question is more if the Readers even want that, so I thought I just ask directly. To be honest I am rather insecure in my own writing, so I have always this nagging of not making the right decision with my choice of what to write. The best is to know what you want to read first before I start months of writing just to end up with disappointed Readers.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. While I write to have fun I would not want to have my readers not have fun in what I write. Hopefully this Poll can help me understand what you really want to read, so I can work on that first. Thank you in advance for your feedback. I appreciate you all for reading my Story and hope I can bring out the best I can muster.