With the first rays of morning, Jasmine was helping me to put on my uniform.
After buttoning my shirt, she grabbed the necktie laying on my bed and proceeded to pass the shorter tip behind my head. Her body pressed against mine as if it was just the most natural of eventualities.
"Aren´t you a bit close?"
"I can´t make the knot right if I´m not at least this close"
Her teasing grin made painfully obvious her lie.
"Right..."
I let it slip since there wasn´t really any damage besides my pride.
"Hm"
Looking at her hands, I realized that she was making an unusually nice knot on my tie. Which made me realize how skillful she was regarding a maid´s expertise in her job. I´m sure she had a job that was somehow similar to her current one. The thing is, should I ask about it?
"Aaand... Done! How is it? Too tight?"
Watching her handicraft I saw a neatly placed necktie that gave me an air of formality. I was happy with the results.
"This is actually very nice. Thank you"
"You´re welcome~"
Hmm, doesn´t feel right to do so for now.
Feeling the air of the morning coming from the newly-opened window I remembered that I shouldn´t take too long to get ready.
"What´s the time?"
Jasmine walked to the window and popped out her head to see the sun, then she turned back with a pleased expression on her face.
"We still have 40 minutes master, don´t worry, we won´t be late"
"That´s an interesting way to check the time"
"Can´t you do the same?"
"Only at night and when the stars are visible. Also, it´s for directions, not for the time"
"Well, don´t you feel blessed for having such a useful maid now?"
With a dignified grin printed on her lips, she puffed her chest. I couldn´t contain a chuckle after seeing that.
"Heh, yhea. Indeed I am"
"Good. Now, sit down and stay still"
Jasmine grabbed a wooden chair and placed it in front of a full-body mirror. Her hand pulled me toward the seat.
Then she sprayed my hair with water and passed her hands around my head.
When she was done with that her hands grabbed a brush and a tiny box filled with hair wax.
"Do you have a preferred style?"
In the original story, Dominique was described with his long hair always hiding part of his face, but I find that quite uncomfortable so...
"I don´t like my hair to be this long. Do you know how to use some scissors?"
The maid smiled at me and grabbed a pair of silver scissors resting on the desk beside my closet.
"Leave it to me"
"Then, give me a nice haircut, not too long, not too short, comb it in whatever way you see fit"
Nodding in agreement, Jasmine covered my body with a curtain and began my haircut.
"Since you have a nice face, I suggest combing it backward. I won´t make anything too flashy so that you can make it for yourself if I´m not around"
Her touch was confident, yet, gentle. She was more experienced than what could be seen at first glance.
She is full of surprises huh...
"How considerate of you"
"Huhu~. I´ll turn you into a heartbreaker" A maleficent smirk appeared on her face as she said that.
"Forget it..."
Thanks to her fast work, we were done in about 15 minutes. The result was good, and just as Jasmine said, Dominique had a handsome face; now that it can be seen without all that extra hair, I´m sure it would be a candidate for some fashion magazine.
Jasmine took care of the hair laying around as I was putting on the rest of my uniform. I gave myself a good look in the mirror when I finished.
"Huh, not bad. Not bad at all"
My uniform was of a regular student. King blue coat and pants of the same color with a grey shirt and v-shaped sweater, a red tie to complete the visuals. We were also allowed to use bows as the girls but I honestly didn´t like them at all.
It certainly looks like the uniform of a prestigious college...
Just when I thought about that, my eyes landed on the silver shield sewn on the coat. The figure of a knight being blessed by the original elements could be seen from the piece of silver.
My mood got instantly worse when I knew that there was still a final touch yet to add.
"Haaaaah... Jasmine... My bandana..."
The maid´s smile faded into nothingness when she heard me, her eyes quickly filled with rage and her hands with repulsion when she had to pick up the piece of cloth laying on my bed.
"... This is all we are to them, and they don´t stutter to show it at everyone"
"... Yhea..."
The bandana was a reglementary addition to any irregular student. The piece of cloth was pitch black. The figure of a demon´s face was carved into the piece of silver attached to it.
It was certainly a flashy addition to the uniform, a very nasty and rude addition. But rules are the rules. I already knew that being an irregular in the academy of magic would be hard.
" They fear our power because they can´t find its origin, so they demonized it to control and oppress us "
" And thanks to that, hundreds of irregulars are either dead or roaming the streets as mercenaries. We were never given the chance to prove our worth "
She placed her head on my shoulder, her hand gripping my arm to unleash all the hatred burning within her heart.
This could only be called discrimination. A whole kingdom with the ill idea of hating a person whose aptitude for magic was out of the ordinary. Whoever made this twisted culture had a big grudge against irregulars.
That, or maybe there is a good reason that wasn´t mentioned in the original story.
In any case, it doesn´t change the fact that is not a nice thing to wear.
I put my hand on Jasmine´s head and stroke it gently.
"As I told you before, this is gonna be hell. You can still stay in the house if you think is too much for you"
The maid exchanged glances with me and replied with a serious face.
"Not in a million years. I´m going too"
I smiled back at her.
"Very well then. Let´s head downstairs, once we are done with breakfast, our next stop will be the academy"
"Understood, master"
Just as I said, we moved to the first floor of the house. The first person to greet me was one of the servants serving breakfast for everyone. Thankfully, the table was long enough to place a fourth chair at the free end of the wooden piece. The Yatra family was already eating when I sat and grabbed the utensils.
"Good morning, young one. I can see you had a change of appearance. Now you truly look like a person from the high society"
Astolf´s gaze went from my face to the bandana on my arm, and her expression hardened. The same thing happened with Crista, whereas Carin seemed indifferent.
"Well... Maybe not so much... But anyway, nothing that the chosen of Herion can´t handle, right?"
"Honey"
With a scolding look from her wife, Astolf had no choice but to smile awkwardly as he apologized.
"Right, right. Apologies, Dominique, that was out of place"
I stopped eating the scrambled eggs with bread on my plate, cleaned my mouth with a handkerchief, and answered the man.
"Please, don´t worry about it, sir Astolf. I am very much aware of my position and circumstances regarding the academy and society itself. I assure you that something of that level won´t be able to even scratch me. Besides, I know you had good intentions, and I appreciate that a lot. Thank you"
The mood regained its comfy atmosphere as both adults smiled happily at me.
"I´m leaving"
"Oh, Carin. Can you give Dominique a tour of the academy when you´re free?"
The girl wearing the same uniform as me (but without the obligatory additions, of course) showed complete disgust at the request of her mother.
This girl really has no manners, huh...
"Ah, thank you for the help, lady Crista, it is very kind of you. However, I already memorized the croquis of the building and its surroundings, so we don´t need to bother miss Carin"
"You memorized it? Is that true?"
Taken aback by my declaration, Crista clapped her hands as if she had heard something outrageous.
"It is. As I had said when I arrived here, I did my research"
"My! No wonder why you were introduced as someone so valuable by lord Herion!"
My hand suddenly halted. A warm feeling reached my chest as a smile crawled its way out of my lips.
"... He did that?... Well... I´m glad to hear it..."
"Hah! Now I feel dumb for worrying. Just as expected from the black panther"
That nickname again...
Feeling goosebumps and bashfulness, I attempted to pull the conversation to a different topic.
"A-Anyway, miss Carin, if you don´t mind... Oh... She´s already gone..."
We all looked at the door where Carin was supposed to be. It was closed. And Carin was nowhere to be seen.
"Haaah. That girl is doing it again. Once again Dominique, please forgive her, she´s just like that"
Tired of her daughter´s attitude, Crista slightly bowed.
"No problem, lady Crista, I understand"
"Well, I would enjoy this family time to last a little longer too, but you also need to leave young one. You don´t want to be late for your first day"
Getting up from the chair while saying "Certainly", I grabbed my sword, gun, and school case. Then I headed to the door, Jasmine was just finished eating breakfast with the other servants, so she came to my side immediately.
"Well then, I´m off to school"
"Have a nice day!" Said both adults with a smile.
The image was not so different from other times of my days at the mansion. A nice warmth developing in my chest was not, nevertheless.
Jasmine closed the door behind me, then I whistled and called Twilight, whose shadows twirled as her figure popped out of the black puddle.
Hopping up on her back, I helped Jasmine to get on the other seat of my new saddle. The shield of the Yatra household was standing proud on the chest plate of my drake.
"A Cardenal flying to the night sky. I guess freedom would be a correct way to describe that family"
"Freedom is why we are fighting for, no?"
Grabbing the reins and feeling her arms on my hip, I let go of a long sigh to prepare myself for this new road.
"You´re right. Not even destiny will take that away from us. Hya!"
"KREEAAAAAAAK!!"
And so, Twilight sprinted with her usual speed toward the beginning of my hell.