Once we left the castle, Edna and I sent the carriage home because there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell we would be able to ride through the Center of Gismead in a carriage while the festival was in full swing. Instead I teleported us both into my guild workshop to avoid the traffic.
As soon as we got inside, we locked the doors behind ourselves and got to organising the cores. After my talk with Prince Alphonse I was certain of what type of magic the last core was. Without a doubt it was the light magic core. It was obvious really, since Prince Alphonse was reincarnated into this world to spread light magic, the new type of magic, of course there would be a sacred core to resemble Light magic.
Since I did not have the light magic attribute, nor understand it very well, the best idea would
probably be to attach the whole core to a staff and give it to Prince Alphonse.
He would be able to wield it to heal the masses during a battle field when the coming war broke out.
Edna helped me set up my desk by bringing me my drawing equipment: various rulers and measuring devices, and set all the cores up in front of me so I could draw inspiration from them.
While the rest of Gismead was still enjoying the festivities, I needed to finish up my plans for the holy weapons before the Kaltain's got to work tomorrow.
I could not wait to see Tierney's eyes full of awe as he looked at my blueprints for each weapon.
"It's crunch time." I cracked my knuckles before concentrating all my energy on my cluttered work desk. I was about to channel all my stress and resentment into the designs, so hopefully I would finish before midnight.
**************
While Riley was busy at her workshop Agnes and Bard had all the new additions to the staff lined up. Everyone was already dressed in their black and white uniforms lined with fur to keep them warm during the cold Freezing season.
Agnes kept her keen eyes on the female staff while Bard checked over the male staff.
Her beady eyes glanced over every turned cuff, every crease and every hair bun. Her hard lined mouth slowly curved up into a smile seeing as how everyone was dressed so well.
She nodded satisfied. "Very good. I expect no less from all of you. A neat staff is a neat house, and a neat house is a respectable Master. And we definitely have a respectable and good Lady. So all of you must always be properly dressed."
"How are things on your end Mr Bard?" She called out to Bard who was at the opposite end of the line.
"All the young men here are well dressed." He clapped his hands in praise.
"Very well." She dropped her smile and stepped a few paces backwards so that everyone could see her.
"As we speak, the Lady Delton is hard at work, missing out on the festivities to ensure that the holy cores gathered on the great expedition are put to good use. We must follow by our lady's example and work hard to have the house in tip top shape when she arrives."
While Agnes spoke, Mellie kept glancing out the window. It was the window of the library that she would leave open for Claud to enter through tonight. She bit her lip to keep herself from smiling as she thought about their rendezvous tonight. His bright green eyes alone could make her blush, so the thought of his hand brushing against her cheek made her giggle out loud.
Agnes frowned and stopped talking to stare down Mellie who had interrupted her speech. Everyone similarly stared at the young maid wondering why she made such a high-pitched sound.
"Oh, sorry..." She whispered as she looked down at her black shoes embarrassed.
"Well then, you are all dismissed," Agnes grumbled.
The new staff quickly dispersed. The butlers followed Auberon to various spaces in the mansion while the gardeners followed Bard to the garden. The four new chefs got settled in the kitchen. Agnes held the little boy's hand and led him upstairs to get him washed up and settled into his bedroom. Clair and Luella found themselves immersed in the enormous library. The cleaners immediately got to work on the first floor while the maids huddled around Mellie staring at her expectantly waiting for her orders.
"Um..." Mellie stared back at them in a daze. Edna was out with her Ladyship and Agnes was upstairs tending to the boy which meant Mellie was the highest ranking lady's maid left.
A lightbulb lit up in her head as she remembered the boxes of dresses and accessories she had not yet organised because she had been daydreaming about Claud.
She cleared her throat and fixed her posture. "The clothes and accessories in her ladyship's bedroom need organising."
She also remembered that she forgot to feed Sophie and Sedgwick this morning.
"You." She pointed at one of the girls in front of her. "Her ladyship's pets need to be groomed and fed. Ask the kitchen for the cat's food. As for the snake, we keep a pile of scrap metal on the third floor that you can feed to him."
"Also one of you needs to keep and eye on the two girl's in the library. They had an appointment with her Ladyship so perhaps clean them up a bit as well."
Three of the four maids dashed off in different directions leaving one girl behind.
"You, what's your name?" Mellie stuck her finger in the young girl's face, fully absorbed in her new found authority.
"My name is Cora, Ms Mellie." She politely bowed her head to her senior.
Mellie noticed how pretty Cora was with her curly blonde hair and pale yellow eyes. Mellie suddenly felt a little jealous and wanted to make sure Claud did not see Cora.
"Go into the kitchen and prepare a picnic basket for this evening. It should have two sets of cutlery, a bottle of Augustus's ginger beer. A few sweet treats, definitely a small tub of iced cream. Various other savoury snacks as well, I'll let you choose. And..." Mellie paused trying to think of anything else that would be good for her meeting with Claud.
"No, never mind, that will be plenty." She giggled thinking about how Claud would react to the perfect picnic basket.
Cora frowned at Miss Mellie who was smirking to herself. Her attitude was unbecoming of a lady's maid who served under the holy lady. It instantly made Cora suspicious.
"Does her Ladyship plan on having a picnic tonight?" Cora stared down Mellie through a fake smile, wanting to gage Mellie's reaction.
Mellie stiffened, trying to think of a good response. "Her ladyship's activities are none of your business. Now get to it!"
Cora bowed her head politely before heading towards the kitchen. She found Miss Mellie's conduct too suspicious thus she decided to inform Ms Agnes at the soonest possible convenience about this strange picnic basket she was being tasked with creating.
**************
"There, there," Agnes smiled at the little boy who was fresh out of the bath tub. "You look much better now."
The layer of dirt covering him was gone from the little boy thanks to Agnes's work, revealing slightly blushed skin, pale melon-coloured hair and a pair of light blue eyes. Agnes appreciated that the little one was quite cute now that he was all clean, albeit shy and easy to flinch from her touch.
She wrapped him up in a white towel and set him on a chair in front of the fireplace to dry off.
He stared wide eyed at the room he found himself in. His eyes glanced over at the magnificent fire place across from him where the flames were quietly devouring the pile of wood. And there was plenty of dry wood in the basket too.
Down in Azmeth there was a communal fireplace where all the homeless and impoverished could sit and warm themselves during the Freezing months for the price of bringing their own wood to add to the fire.
For a little boy like himself, it was terribly hard to find dry wood in the Freezing season and hall it all the way down to the fire pit without someone taking it from him. So it was such a shock to see a pile of dry wood next to the fire, ready to be burned.
The little boy's eyes went back to wandering around the room. He immediately found himself entranced by the abundance of colourful cushions and pillows on top of the bed. They looked as soft as clouds and as pretty as flowers. The whole room was like a beautiful dream, a dream he was scared to wake up from.
"Now little one," Agnes crouched down beside the boy's chair and tried to brighten her tone so that she would not frighten the little thing. "What is your name?"
The little boy gulped, suddenly nervous at her question, afraid that he would somehow give the wrong answer.
"Um..." His little hands clutched at the white towel wrapped around him. "They call me, mud."
"Mud?" Agnes repeated the word, sure that she had heard him wrong.
"Yes, Miss." His eyes began to tear up when he saw the old woman's displeased face. Did he get the answer wrong? Would she make him go back to Azmeth since he got the answer wrong?
"Because I'm always covered in mud..." He tried to explain but his voice trailed off as he lost confidence.
Agnes's heart ached at the little boy's plight. The poor thing was so small and frail yet he had been living a life where he was named after the filth that covered him. He probably did not have parents, nor anyone who truly cared about him. There was no doubt in her mind as to how the little boy would have ended up if Lady Riley had not intervened.
"I see." Agnes forced herself to smile so as not to worry the little man. "When her Ladyship returns, I'm sure she will be happy to give you a proper name."
Agnes nodded her head, sure that Lady Riley would immediately give the child a good name.
"A proper name?" His big eyes stared up at Agnes curiously.
"Well, yes my dear." Agnes quickly retrieved some things from the table across from them. A comb so she could get his hair in order and some bandages so she could get started on the bruises and scratches she saw on his body.
"Unless of course you have an attachment to your current name, it would be proper for your new parent to rename you."
"Parent..." His eyes sparkled at the word he had longed to hear for all his short life.
A parent was someone that all the other little children had, someone who worried about them and fed them and clothed them, and gave them hugs and kisses. A parent was something he desperately wanted to have. He wasn't picky either, a mom or a dad would be great, he didn't need both. Just as long as he had someone.
Mud suddenly gasped and his eyes flew open in shock.
"Is something the matter, little one?" Agnes jumped, a little started by the boy's sudden outcry.
"I-Is the kind lady..." His lips trembled as he tried to get the words out. "Is the Lady with the dark hair..." He stared earnestly at Agnes. "Is the holy Lady going to be my parent?"
The pure awe in his face left Agnes speechless for a moment, but she soon regained herself and smiled down gently at him. "Yes, I believe her Ladyship intends to adopt you."
"Adopt?" He desperately looked up at Agnes in confusion because he did not know what the word meant.
Agnes giggled a little at his cute expression. "Yes, she will soon be your parent."
A overwhelming mix of relief and joy flooded the little boy and before he could stop himself, grateful tears trickled down his cheeks.
"Oh Heavens." Agnes froze unsure of what to do. "There, there now. Don't cry." She awkwardly patted the top of his head hoping that he would stop crying. When he didn't stop, she moved on to the second plan.
"Perhaps a meal will cheer you up?" Lady Riley's food was the best in the kingdom, perhaps in the entire world. The prospect of iced cream should set a smile on any child's face.
To her dismay the boy kept sobbing. She chuckled while uncomfortably tugging at her skirts. She was used to barking out orders at her underlings, not comforting crying children.
Resigning to her fate, she wrapped her arm around the boy and gently nudged him closer to her. With her one hand she gently rubbed his back in circles and with the other she stroked his hair.
Mud happily folded into the older woman's warmth. His small hand latched onto her apron while he cried.
If Agnes was a good singer she would have attempted to sing him a lullaby but she new better than to scare the child with the sound of her voice. Instead she gently cradled him, and contemplated the choice she had made years ago when she decided not to have children.
A hand gently knocked on the door and then opened it. Agnes saw one of the new maids step inside and curtsey to her.
"Mrs Agnes, I found some spare silks and cotton in the closet. I thought it would be good to make him some clothes so long, at least a pair of pyjamas so that he can sleep comfortably." She reported while jostling the pile of materials in her arms.
Agnes nodded satisfied. She was so glad that she insisted on hiring new staff, they were already proving to be so useful.
"I also asked the kitchen to bring up a meal for the boy. I thought a light soup would be appropriate since it seems he has not eaten properly for a while." The maid glanced down at the boy's exposed wrist. The way his bone was poking out from his skin was evidence enough of his struggles.
"Indeed, suddenly eating too much food and anything too rich will harm him." Agnes nodded, she expected nothing less of such diligence and consideration of a lady's maid she had personally hired.
The young woman's name was Beya and Agnes had worked with her before at the palace. Beya was very clever and had a talent for sewing, a brilliant lady's maid. Agnes was convinced that she would be able to balance out Mellie's clumsiness and lack of work ethic.
Agnes, Beya and Mud sat in comfortable silence for hours as Beya sewed the boy some pyjamas, socks and underwear.
Outside, the new gardeners were already vigorously drawing up plans for the garden. There was discussion of a waterfall style water feature that would descend from the edge of the cliff and collect around the estate in individual fish ponds, filled with exotic fish from Malesh.
Of course they were also incorporating the latest garden trends of the nobles, the idea of the 'secret garden', an area of the estate secluded by an intricate maze which would create a private garden of ethereal beauty. A lawn of soft sweet grass was perfect for entertaining guests, but surely a field of flowers would suit her Ladyship's personality. The discussion was intense and had no sign of cooling down.
Inside the kitchen the new chefs were weeping with joy but simultaneously cooking up a storm with Riley's Pinterest cookbook. There would be a ginormous feast tonight because the new chefs simply refused to stop making food, they were too obsessed with the other worldly recipes.
"Will us working here really be alright?" Shane the half-elf asked Auberon as he worriedly combed his hair over his ears to conceal the pointy tips.
Being a half-elf, others acceptance was something that he constantly worried about. Although he had grown up alongside humans his entire life, and never even met his Elf father, and didn't know a lick about Elven culture or language, his pointy ears were enough to mark him as an outsider to most humans, a creature they had to be weary of.
Kade and Joden, who were half beastmen had the same experience. Their slightly sharpened teeth and yellow eyes made them seem more like monsters than people to most humans. It was a daily struggle for them to prove their humanity, applying to work for their holy Lady was their last resort in trying to fit in with humans. To their astonishment, they were all hired and were being trained as butlers to work for the holy Lady.
Auberon chuckled at their nervous expressions. "You have nothing to worry about. Her Ladyship would never judge someone based on appearances or heritage. She has wisdom from another world remember."
Auberon grinned as he corrected Kade and Jodan's posture. "Don't slouch. Keep your back straight."
"Well, maybe they should be worried..." Rudyard strutted into the room with a wicked grin, he took a big bite out of a juicy apple and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Auberon glared at Rudyard severely. He did not want the new butlers to be stressed out on their first day.
"Afterall, her Ladyship is from another world. Maybe they don't have beings like elves and beastmen where she is from. She's probably going to be all over them when she gets back."
Shane, Kade and Jodan all blushed at the idea of the holy Lady fussing over them.
Riley's mansion was full of life as the sun came down, and continued on like that for many hours until the front door of the mansion finally opened.
"Hey Guys! I'm home!" Riley cheerfully shouted into the empty entrance hall. All at once, everyone in the mansion dropped what they were doing and dashed towards the entrance hall, trying to get to Riley first.