{Somewhere in a busy city}
After leaving Frederick's manor, Emilia and 26 were in the carriage making their way to wherever they were supposed to go.
26 wasn't told anything and Emilia said that he would get answers from her master.
Their carriage, being guarded by knights, was driving through the busy city that 26 only dreamed of seeing.
Unfortunately, he'd never got the chance to leave the manor so he could only hear the noise from the inside.
26 was always being abused by guards and slaves belonging to Frederick, whether it was physically, emotionally, or mentally.
But when he listens to the outside noise, it calms him.
26 is currently watching people and their families having fun, touring, and leaving and entering establishments.
They all look like humans, however, he's 99% sure everyone around him is a vampire because of the situation at Fredericks and these people have crimson eyes and pale skin. They also look rather attractive rather than humans who have imperfections.
26 and other slaves that he's met have been human, so he thought that the only humans in this city are either slaves or envoys.
As they passed by them, most of them cheered in their direction.
26 couldn't make out what they were saying and looked at Emilia who had her eyes closed, ignoring the cheers and reactions from the people outside.
26 is able to guess who they were going to see and who bought him, but he kept that thought in the back of his mind for now, because it would be a bit crazy if it became true.
26 looked up at the sky and it was dark maroon red while having a bright crimson moon.
He wasn't sure if this city is in some kind of dimension or if this is its own world, but he guessed that he'll find that out later.
After an hour had passed they finally made it to our destination.
The coachman knocked on the carriage door, indicating that they'd arrived.
The carriage door then opened, and the same knight as before greeted them. The knight was a woman, 26 could tell because of her voice and unique armor compared to the other knights. She was probably an officer or the commander. 26 knew that she also had some authority, just like Emilia.
Emilia then got up from her seat and exited the carriage. She then turned to 26 and said
"Young Master, we've arrived"
She then put out her hand so he could grab it, however seeing her hand moving towards him, he flinched on instinct.
Emilia sighed, keeping her hand steady looked at him with a small smile then said in a slightly warm voice
"It's okay, Young Master. We don't want to keep my Master waiting any longer, alright?"
26 nodded and grabbed her hand.
'So embarrassing' he thought to himself.
He didn't mean to react that way but anytime someone raises their hand or moves in his direction, he flinches.
Most of the time it was understandable, however, the other times it just happens, and it's so embarrassing.
26 exited the carriage, while Emilia nodded and thanked the coachman and knights.
He looked to his left and saw a huge, dark castle. It was the biggest structure that he's ever seen, both in his past and present life. If you were to compare this castle to average skyscrapers on Earth, it would look like a 2 story house. It was unbelievable.
Emilia and 26 were accompanied by the female knight, making their way to the huge gates that were colored black with golden engravings on them.
In the middle of the gates was the insignia that was on the carriage and uniforms of Emilia and the knights.
As they reached the entrance, the entrance guards looked their way and immediately saluted and yelled
"Welcome back, Head Maid, General!"
After yelling, they immediately opened the gates leading towards the castle entrance.
26 smirked a bit, remembering what his guess was from earlier.
"Follow me, Young Master" Emilia said. Since the time "26" flinched, she has been a bit warmer.
26 nodded and continued to follow her.
'From what I could tell, it doesn't seem she hates me, so I'm glad' he thought as he sighed inwardly.
When they approached the castle entrance, the huge door opened, and they could see butlers and maids lining up. They bowed and welcomed them, or more specifically Emilia.
"Welcome home, Head Maid" they all said in unison.
Emilia returned their bow slightly and then said
"Thank you, I'll prepare a bath for our Young Master. Please prepare something to eat in the meantime"
The servants looked confused and then saw 26 hiding behind Emilia. They knew that Emilia had called him 'Young Master'. They were unaware of what was going on.
The butler on the left stepped forward, then bowed and said
"Right away, Head Maid"
Emilia nodded slightly then looked at 26 and smiled gently
"Come, follow me, Young Master"
The servants here were shocked by Emilia's smile. 26 assumes that she's rather expressionless, just from our first encounter.
'I do think she should smile more, she has a nice smile' he thought.
Emilia started walking forward, while 26 followed and accompanied the female general.
As they walked towards, what 26 assumed was the bath, they passed numerous decorations that were even more magnificent than Frederick's manor.
The walls were gray while the furnishings were white. The knight statues were either red, black, or gold. There were many, many paintings of landscapes and people. They might be related to his new master.
They walked around the castle for roughly 15 minutes, but made it to the bath.
"I will stand guard outside" said the general to which Emilia glanced and bowed slightly, then started walking towards the door.
As Emilia and 26 entered, Emilia turned around and started walking toward him and began to unclothe him.
"Eh? W-What?" 26 softly asked.
"..." Emilia stayed silent.
"E-Emilia...I can d-do it myself" he said while squirming.
"It's fine, Young Master. It's a maid's job to help their master" Emilia confirmed.
'Is that right? This is embarrassing, but I guess since it's Emilia then it's fine' 26 said inwardly while having a small smile on his face.
'While I do think it's a bit weird, however, I don't have any complaints' he thought
As she finished undressing him, he could hear a small gasp coming from Emilia. He turned to look at her face and could see her hand covering her mouth.
26 looked down and sighed inwardly. What she saw were numerous burn marks, bruises, and scars from the beatings and torture that he received during his time at Frederick's.
"I-It's fine, Emilia. I'm not in any pain, n-no worries" 26 mumbled, letting her know that he's alright, and didn't need to worry.
The room was silent for a few seconds, but suddenly, the room became really cold. 26 looked at Emilia and couldn't see her face but some scary feeling was coming from her.
"...I'm alright, Young Master..." Emilia paused before looking at him, and he could see the warm smile on her face. He stared into her bright crimson eyes and blushed a bit while averting his gaze because it was the first time someone's ever smiled like that towards him, especially someone as beautiful and attractive as Emilia.
Emilia then continued "...You've been through a lot, but it's alright now. You won't ever have to go through anything like that here" Emilia finished her sentence while rubbing his shoulder.
Her hand was really, really soft and warm. Although Emilia is pale, she's really warm.
This is the first time, in all of his lives, someone has ever been this nice to him. He doesn't know why she is, but he hoped that this was all genuine.
"Come, Young Master...Let's get you washed up so we can greet my master" Emilia said as she stood up and opened the door leading to the bath.
As it opened, "6 could see the huge bathroom. The walls and floors were marbled gray with golden engravings.
There were multiple statues spewing water into the large tub filled with water. There was something that surprised him. When he looked to his left, he could see something that resembles a shower, but it looks more advanced.
He thought this would be a medieval, fantasy world. Though it looks like they're a bit more advanced than Earth.
26 got in the pool of water waiting and started rubbing myself to wash away the dirt.
A few seconds later, he could hear sounds of clothing hitting the floor, as he turned to look behind him, he saw Emilia...naked... he looked at her for a few seconds but panicked and looked down immediately. However, he got an eye full of her curves and body. He burned that moment into his mind.
26 yelled "E-Emilia?!" as he covered himself.
Emilia had a confused expression on her face and asked "Yes, Young Master?"
"W-Why are you...naked?" He mumbled while looking down, but Emilia could still hear him.
She tilted her head slightly and was staring at me until she noticed he was blushing, she then had a small grin on her face.
"Ara? I'm just going to wash you as that is my job as a maid, Young Master" Emilia chuckled, teasing him.
"...do you have to be naked though...?" 26 asked softly.
"I don't want my uniform to get dirty or wet. Alright, turn around so I can wash you" she said as she entered the bath and washed him.
15 minutes had passed, and there was so much grime and dirt that was on his skin so it took a while.
They exited the bath and went towards the dressing room.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions/comments, post it in the comments and I'll reply as best as I can.
If you like this novel, check out my other one -
"Raven Online: Unique Class 'Cultivator/Dual-Cultivator'" - Ongoing
Chapter 3: Arrival