Earl navigated his way to the Royal Garden with his two slave maids trailing behind.
Aria walked with meticulous, calculated steps. From afar, she looked like an elegant dancer. Next to her, Lily was a little more clueless. Her steps were messy and she was not used to walking around in a maid dress.
Aria took notice of this and slowed down to teach Lily some basics as they trailed behind their master.
"Like this, Lily." Aria demonstrated this by lifting her skirt a little and moved around her ankle. "Land with your heels first and then follow through gently."
Lily nodded cutely and tried to replicate Aria.
"Much better. Be mindful of your ankles too. If you don't land straight, it will hurt by the end of the day."
The floor of the passageway to the Royal Garden was a smooth, stone pavement. Every step would leave a resonating sound. After Lily applied the basics Aria taught her, the passageway became noticeably quieter.
Earl watched all this from the side. A smile had formed on his face without him realizing it. Watching his slaves interact together like this was just too cute.
They arrived at the Royal Garden to find Court Mage Merlin and Princess Sharon already waiting as usual by the fountain. It was a new year and the flowers were blooming in the garden beautifully.
Every year, the flowers of the garden would be changed so it would never become a stale place. Last year, blue flowers made up a large part of the garden.
This year, it was white, green, and yellow. It was the perfect trifecta of colours. The brightness of the yellow was quelled by the soothing sight of the green, and complemented by the pure white colour.
White was the colour that went with everything. Especially so on Princess Sharon. Wearing a white dress, she sat at her usual spot by the fountain. She looked pure, innocent, and lovely. The colour of her dress made her silver hair appear brighter than ever.
"Earl!" Sharon called upon noticing his arrival. Her gaze took a pause when she spotted an unfamiliar face behind Earl. "Demon!"
Earl shook his head in a discontent manner seeing this. "You'll scare her, Princess. Her name is Lily. I picked her up yesterday."
"Ah. Sorry!" Sharon hurriedly apologized when she saw Earl's reaction. "But what do you need so many slaves for?" She asked curiously.
"I simply enjoy an easy, carefree lifestyle, Princess. My wonderful Lily and Aria are here to help with that."
"Easy, carefree lifestyle? Doesn't that just mean you're lazy?"
"Ahem." Merlin interrupted before the conversation continued any further. Standing tall by the fountain he looked the same as he did the same before with long, white hair and beard. He wore his signature black Court Mage robe with gold trimmings. It was a new year and the Court Mage robe was modified to fit in with the newer fashion trends. His robe was now shorter and slimmer in the cut. Court Mage Merlin was like a fashionable old man. Gesturing with his hand, he told Earl. "Please take a seat, Earl."
Merlin coughed to himself when he saw the two beautiful slaves standing behind Earl in custom maid dresses. What's up with this perverted kid? The old Court Mage stroked his beard.
In his entire life, he has never seen an 8-year-old child parade, 2 little slave girls, around as maids wherever they went before. And on top of that, they were very unusual slaves too. A dark elf and a demon.
Even among nobles with more unusual tastes, the two were considered unusual. Beastkin were usually the to-go choice for a slave.
Earl took a seat next to Sharon per Merlin's instructions. When he took a seat next to her, she smiled and looked away. Training of Princess Sharon was going well, it would appear.
"Today's lesson is on..."
Merlin began to lecture. Like always, it was a topic that Earl already knew but it did not hurt to hear it again. This would reinforce his knowledge and strengthen his basics. And since it was about magic, it was not boring. This was Earl's passion for magic.
As the years passed, his interest in magic was only growing stronger. It was like having a niche hobby. When first stepping into the doors of the niche, there was only a faint interest. However, as one looked deeper, one would find it irresistible to keep looking deeper until it was too late to stop.
"Ahem," Merlin concluded his lecture by closing his book loudly. "This old man shall take his leave now. Practice hard, young disciples of magic."
After reciting his cool line, he turned into water and disappeared.
"It's over!" Sharon celebrated after Merlin completely left. "It's so exhausting to listen to that old man speak sometimes..."
After a year of learning magic, Sharon had gotten over her initial excitement and treated Merlin's lectures as a chore. A completely normal reaction.
"Fufu. Excellent job today, Princess."
"Hey! Don't talk like you're an outsider just because you're more talented than me at magic! You also have to listen to the boring old man every day!" Sharon pouted.
Earl laughed and calmed her down by petting her head. Her blue eyes narrowed into slits from how much she enjoyed his touch.
"I enjoy Lord Merlin's lectures, Princess. But that is beside the point. Shall we have a little break over tea now?"