A/N: Well, I wrote this at 6 pm, but only got to editing it after 8 hours at 2 am the next day cause I had to finish a major grade project (And turned it in 1 hour and 30 minutes past the deadline). Anyways, sorry for the kinda late update you guys, but, enjoy the chap!
Two Years Later:
It was time for me to go too.
I hadn't even been able to say bye to Caroline, as they had taken me and stuffed me in a carriage in the middle of the night, more afraid of Caroline trying to keep me at the estate than me trying to stay myself.
I mean, their worries were valid, and I couldn't fault them in any way, I was just sad that I wouldn't be able to say bye.
After all, she was my dearest sister, and I knew that this sudden separation would hurt her greatly.
I could already imagine her crying once she came to my room in the morning, only to see nothing there, the mattress completely barren with the blinds closed as sunlight wasn't allowed to filter in.
As for me, I couldn't be that sad, as this had happened last time too, so going through this wasn't anything new, and the only reason Caroline would be sad was because I was a lot closer to her in this timeline.
I mean, she was a lot closer to me too, but she had already given me a gift, something to remember her by, a long time ago, so it was okay.
Flicking the locket that she had given me over and over again as it bounced against my chest, I brought my other hand to my ear, as I touched the earrings that were hanging there.
The earrings that both hung on my left ear had been a gift that Cor had given me before she had left, when I had gone on my final test, and it was the only other personal item that I had brought with myself.
This was discounting my guns though, because, for some reason, in this world, the populations here didn't count weapons as possessions, but as tools.
"Screeeeeeech!"
After traveling through the rest of the night and most of the morning, we suddenly stopped.
Knowing what was about to happen, I willed my mask out from behind my ears and made it cover the entirety of my face, leaving no space open, forming a perfect circular surface over my face.
"Young Master, we'll be stopping here to pick up a maid for you to take with you into the Truebreak Forest. The Elves have already deemed this as an exception, so please come out and choose which maid you would like to have accompany you into the forest." Said a soothing voice as soon as the carriage came to a complete stop.
"Alright, I'm coming out." I replied, before leaving the carriage and finding myself in front of a "modern" looking building, modern for these times at least.
"Please come in, Young Master Castor." Said a, uhm, well endowed woman as she bowed and held up her hand from her side, directing me in.
Entering the building under the midday sun, I was met with the sight of 20 or so girls, all about the same age as me, dressed in maid uniforms as they stood there at attention, all standing with the same posture.
Looking closely, one could easily tell from the minuscule differences in-between their limbs in their posture, that they had, judging from their apparent ages, all trained since birth basically, their professionality was just that good.
But, I already knew who I had to choose, as it didn't matter whether it was this life or the last, this person had already stolen a part of my heart, and her claws had never let go.
'No, I'm talking about how I cared about her, not about love or anything, is that clear you damned dirty readers?'
Anyways, quickly traversing down the line, I stopped at the end and looked at the maid in front of me.
The maid was a Beastman, a wolf type beastman to be exact, her fur covering the ends of her arms, forming into paws that had sharp claws at the end, whilst the rest of her fur covered her ears that were at the top of her head and covered her skin from the knee down. Obviously, she was a peerless beauty, being one of the heroines after all, and her glistening blueish silver fur was something that you wouldn't see every day.
From the way she kept a straight face and from how there wasn't even the slightest change in, well, anything, I knew that she was the one.
Looking at the name tag on her outfit, I asked,
"Estella Franor, is it? I'll be taking you in as my maid."
Bowing her head deeply, she immediately walked to my side, just a little bit behind me, as she kept that exact distance for the entirety of our trip back to the carriage, our feet falling at the same time, perfectly in sync.
Getting in, the atmosphere was a little tense, as she didn't accept the hand that I held out to help her in.
Her coldness continued to persist as the carriage started to move, the ears on her head ramrod straight, her tail curled to perfection, as she stared straight at me, causing me to feel slightly unnerved, even if I had experienced this before, and had experienced things that could be considered a lot worse.
Then, in a tone that no maid would ever talk to their master in, she said,
"Let me make this clear. The only thing that I will be doing is serving you as a regular maid. Do not think for one second that, because I am a Beastman, you can do whatever you want with me." In a voice that was as cold and frosty as ice.
"You don't have to worry, I mean, I might be a horny teenager, but it's not like I haven't been able to control myself for these past few years. I'm still a virgin after all, and I have a fiancé now."
What? I was saving myself for marriage. In my last life, I had been unfilial, but in this life, I would definitely never betray that innocent girl ever again.
"You're not lying?!" She cried out after using one of her special skills to detect lies from truths, her extremely surprised shout really hitting me with a low blow.
'Hmm... I guess the way she tested me was the same as in my last life, just this time, the result is heavily different, and it hurts a lot more...'
"I have to fulfill my duty to my family and to my future wife, that is all." I replied, my voice calm.
But, in my eyes, there was an almost visible hint of fear if you looked in deep enough.
'Let's just not talk about the fact that my own sister almost seduced me into bed multiple times...'
Afterwards, we just basked in the silence as we neared our destination.