Romeo felt a little uneasy as he watched his father leave without even eating lunch because he did not want Theo to work on an empty stomach given the recent events that should already have taken their toll on Theo and the fact that working on an empty stomach would be a bit of a stretch for Theo himself.
"Father!" Romeo approached Theo as he was turning to leave but stopped and turned to face him calmly, though there was a hint of anger visible behind the calm exterior.
"Yes, I seem to have remembered something, so make it quick, young Romeo." Theo asked.
"There was a nice soup in today's full course, and I felt it had a hint of my previous mother's cooking, so I was thinking that you could taste it too; it is really tasty and had a commoner taste to it."
Theo went silent, but after noticing Romeo's childlike expression, he smiled, and his stern expression softened as he looked at Jia. Jia nodded and then turned around, and Hank followed suit.
"Haha, that is something new. Come and have some of that soup with your father in his office; later we will ask the chef more about it."
"Sure!"
Romeo chuckled as the father-son duo began to make their way to Theo's office for a pleasant chat, but on the other side, a few people could be seen staring at him from the opposite side of the gallery.
"Shit that bastard, trying to suck up to our man like that; he is definitely a cunning little fox monster to be able to come up with all this in such a little age."
While watching Romeo and Theo walk toward Theo's office, which even their child had not entered, a woman in her thirties spoke in an agitated manner.
"Fox monster, he is a damn curse cast on our family's happiness." When Jia and Hank left the room carrying few dishes and few in the arms of maids beside them, another was also mentioned with the same irritated expression as they all entered the dining room.
"Butler Hank and elder Jia..." Given that Theo has placed both of the elderly men as his eyes and ears throughout the entire mansion, they all nearly stumbled.
"Hmm. Instead of blaming a kid for being a curse or fox, try to realize the fact that it was due to you guys that today Theo nearly skipped his lunch in anger, if not for that smart kid."
Visibly angry, the old guy, Hank, did not hold back as he looked at the other concubines with a wrathful gaze.
As he silently turned and walked along with other maids and butler Jia, they all vanished from the gallery, which turned silent after their departure.
The Hank family served as the generational butlers for the Westland Royal family and each of their respective sub-branch families. So, the amount of authority he held was nearly equal to that of the master and main mistress.
However, Hank displayed kindness, pride, and respect toward Theo while maintaining the expression of an older member of the same family. Hank held a special place in Old Theo's heart for this reason, which was the main one.
(Romeo POV)
At a silent room, which is surrounded on three sides by a garden.
A chair made of special material, as well as a desk with several containers and books on the upper left side, and a fountain pen dipping inside the floral-shaped pen holder that was visibly shining with an orange luster due to heat magic.
Theo sat on a chair with a bright smile on his face, telling Romeo about his days in town before being adopted and also asking about Romeo side too, realizing how much the little guy had been through.
"Such a thing is spreading among the town people; I had no idea about it before this, but this will help me out a lot, young Romeo."
"It is alright... Although, I am sorry for taking this long to talk it out with you, father."
"This is all past, plus this new, changed you is much better than anything, but I hope in the future you will start talking it out with me, alright?" Romeo nodded.
After seeing the reaction of the family today, Theo was certain that Romeo would have a difficult time ahead of him.
"It is alright. After all, they are all family members and will come to terms with me in the near future for sure."
Theo felt comforted and happy after hearing Romeo's words as they sat at their respective places with new expressions and listened to the doorbell ring. They then called them inside.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Romeo, who had returned to his room, soon realized that he was alone as he sighed and looked at the books on the book shelf inside the room, lamenting the fact that he lacked the fundamental education necessary to read them and could only go for a stroll around the mansion.
"In an age like this, where can I find a source of entertainment?" Romeo sighed as he left his room and started to walk out toward the mansion garden, which was being irrigated by a maid who was using a magic water spell to irrigate the whole field.
"Magic, huh!" Romeo was amazed to see how the girl's wave caused a spring gate of water to appear above the plants and begin to rain water. As he felt the surrounding fresh air bring a wave of freshness, he found himself drawn toward it.
"Young Master." The little maid performing the magic was a little taken aback by the sight of the young master tasting the water when he noticed an intruder entering the garden and glancing at his spell with interest.
"Hmm. Water is definitely pure." Romeo's face took on an interested expression as he regarded the maid, who seemed to be blushing and was giving him an odd look.
"Did I do something weird?" Romeo looked a little bewildered as he looked at the maid, who was looking at him weirdly, which caused her to blush deeper and shake her head. Given! She was employed by this household for the first time, and she was only given a chorus of tasks to complete, such as watering garden plants and doing odd jobs.
"Hmm, it seems the water released from magic has a very pure and crystal-like appearance, so it should not conduct electric current." Romeo muttered, where the maid continued to stare at the young master in a perplexed manner because she thought the boy in front of her was very strange but not bad.
"It is nothing, but umm... Young master, I hope you will try to refrain from licking water from the magic circle, given that it can mean many different things, especially to a girl."
"eh! Ehhhh!!!" Romeo was astounded because he had not known those things until the little maid herself had made them clear, and his previous host had also appeared to be ignorant of this kind of thing.
"Then let me apologize to you for that." Romeo acted accordingly and apologized quickly before she got offended by his action.
Because of this, her words would be meaningless to anyone but those attempting to judge his character in this world of nobles. His actions and response were in line with the fact that this incident could be very significant and could potentially land him in trouble down the road.
"No, it is alright, young master, given that I did not think it was something you should apologize for and it is also within the mansion, so you should not worry about it."
"Then I will feel reassured about it, although there is something I wanted to ask about from you, but I do not know if you can keep it a secret for me." Now that the matter was over, Romeo found that the young maid looked really beautiful and seemed to be a talented maid too.
"Yes! What it can be." The latter did not mind and asked with a maid-like smile.
"You can see that I am not well educated when it comes to thinking like that of nobility, so I was hoping to ask someone to serve me as my personal maid." Romeo wanted a companion by his side who could serve as a conduit for common sense in this world because Jia was an old eye, and Jia was also an old man with a lot of wisdom.
He knew the girl in front of him was an easy catch and did not currently have any ulterior motives toward her because he did not want to be caught by that old guy.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The magic used by the girl
The way she talked with him
Those crystal-blue eyes reminded me of those of a particular noble clan.
However, the girl who stood before him ought to be a member of a noble family under normal circumstances. The fact that she ended up working as their mansion's maid indicated that she was a war refugee.
"I, I am not sure if it will be okay for me to work for the young master, given that I." The little maid appeared to be a little flustered about it. But Romeo did not let her complete her words, as he cut her off in between with a serious look. "I am the one judging you here, so I will be the one to determine whether or not you are deserving of my service. The decision as to whether or not I am deserving of being your master is ultimately up to you."
Romeo held a triumphant smile over his face as Ilea's mind went blank when a strange ringing sound echoed through his head like a bell.
«Hidden Quest Triggered.»
«Hidden Quest: Find the history behind Ilea's family demise and help her in her redemption.»
«Westland Family Quest Arc Activated»
«Initiating System: First Two Basic Level Skills: Observe and Mind Eye»
Romeo had little time to reflect, but as soon as he did, he understood that his world and mind had undergone an amazing change. He needed to confirm that it was reality and not some hallucination that his mind had created because a brand-new cheat had manifested inside of his head, with the ringing sensation and strange optical screen in front of him serving as the best evidence.
"Are you sure about it?" Romeo lost focus on the subject he brought on himself, and the little maid suddenly seemed more determined than usual. She had a smile on her face as he looked at her, but the sound of her voice jolted him back to reality. He gave her a confident nod.
"Then do you need me to serve you with physical repayment for it or something sort of similar in this case?" Ilea was aware of the unpolished truth concealed behind what was visible, and this was demonstrated by both her words and actions, which demonstrated the mental distance between Romeo and her.
"Eh! That is not needed, given I did not ask you to be my personal maid due to that reason, where I am still a 5-year-old kid, you know." Romeo replied with a stunned look on his face.
Romeo was unaware that children in this world who received proper nutrition experienced earlier puberty as a result of mana strengthening their bodies.
'Ahh! It is that simple.' A thought crosses the 12-year-old maid's mind.
... ... ... ... ... ...
Following that, Romeo and Ilea had a lengthy conversation about personal maid matters. This conversation was overheard by Romeo's father, who was happy to let Romeo do whatever he wanted with Ilea and sent her employment department to Romeo's courtyard.
Romeo Room and his assistant were living in the section on the right corner, where Ilea Room soon moved. Along with Olevia's room being nearby and right in front of Romeo's room, Old Jia's room was also there.
However, from Romeo's room, one must walk for about 600 to 700 meters before reaching Olevia's room.