I tug at the collar of the weirdly tight uniform. It's tighter than the actual collar around my neck somehow, and I make my disapproval known with a small groan.
The head butler clicks his tongue at me, rubbing even more gel into my slicked back hair. "Now now, you are meeting the lord and lady, you are to look like a proper gentleman."
"I'm 9, I'm very far from a proper gentleman."
"Then act the part as a stage performer would."
I let out a sigh, as the older man took a step back and admired his own work. There are a few features they couldn't quite hide, like how the malnourishment has left me smaller than I should be, or how the uniform is somewhat too big for me, given it was grabbed and adjusted in a haste.
But, to the man's credit, I look like I could actually be a fancy butler. He nodded his head in approval. "You look like a fine young lad."
"I'm not. I'm an awful young lad."
"None of that, you saved their daughter, and they requested a meeting with you. You are to them, a fine young man, and if you wish to remain employed here, you will act as such."
"My part in all of this has been vastly overstated. All I did was yell."
"All you did was yell, and then run headfirst into the assassin, engage her in combat, then try to give your life to protect the young Miss from the flames?"
"I got backhanded and was totally useless, yes."
He rolled his eyes at me, huffing as he put some finishing touches on my hair. "It was hardly a fair matchup." He stopped for a moment, kneeling down so I could see him eye to eye. His hands grabbed my shoulders firmly, and he gave me a stern look. "You were brave, really brave. That kind of devotion to the young Miss is something to be rewarded."
He smiled kindly at me, then stood back up. "So dissuade yourself from any thoughts of deprecation or disappointment. Young Poe, there is nobility in serving others. Hold your head high, and let none disrespect your devotion."
He walked behind me, and gave my shoulder a small push towards the door. "Run along now, you have a meeting to attend."
I walk somewhat numbly out of the door. I really wasn't quite expecting a heart to heart, and a little bit of pride filled my chest. I tried to shake the emotion off, a multitude of different reasons I shouldn't be proud slamming uselessly against the fortress that was that feeling of warmth.
I'm…I'm just going to blame that on the child's body, and push past that.
I…I should probably learn the head butler's name sometime soon.
As I make my way over to the office, I mumble "Status." And check over the menu once more.
____________
[Poe]
Strength: E
Speed: E
Intelligence: C
Luck: F
Mana: F
____________
Skills:
[Starvation Endurance]: B
[Memories Of Another World]: NA
[Eastern Magic]: F
____________
Status:
Malnourished: C
Slave: NA
Gently Bitten: A
Sigil Of Protection: B
____________
I focus again on the [Sigil of Protection], re-reading the now familiar lines of text.
____________
Sigil of Protection:
"Carved onto flesh, written in blood, ones body used as a stone slab for carving commandments. Unto one's body has been inscribed, a selfless promise of protection. As the body is etched, so too is the soul, and so too is the soul's purpose changed."
Grade B: A sigil carved with the pure desire to protect another. When protecting someone else with no thoughts of oneself, the body can greatly exceed its limits.
____________
A lot can change in a week it seems. Between losing the starving status, gaining a rank in all of my physical stats, and gaining the [Sigil of Protection], I'm a whole new Poe. Well, not actually that new. The difference between F and E rank was like the difference between a seed, and a seed that's opened slightly.
I have more room to grow, but not much has really changed. Most of it was thanks to losing starving as well I believe. The average man should have C rank everything, except intelligence and Mana, which are both rather Niche in a medieval world. My physical ones were low thanks to my status as a child, and now the gap was closing slightly since I was no longer a starving child.
Still a heavily malnourished child, but not starving. We take wins where we can get them.
[Sigil Of Protection], the thing that let me survive the [Flask Of Purification], was a really good pull all things considered. It was a little conditional, since the wording implies I have to act with myself totally out of mind. So, if someone attacks the two of us again, I wouldn't be able to intentionally activate it, since I'd also probably be trying to survive in that situation.
I'd just put it to the back of my mind whenever I did something.
The doors to the office of Lord Edgar seem large and imposing to my small form. I dismiss the menu, and settle myself before pushing them open.
I walk in, bowing as I was taught to do, and remaining silent until addressed. The room is a typical office, bookshelves on both sides with a large desk in the middle where the man sat.
"Servant Poe, you may be at ease." I straighten my form, looking into the full crimson eyes of the Lord.
Little to no description is given of the man in IRAAS, making a few of his features unexpected enough to catch me off guard. I hadn't expected his eyes to be similarly red, if a much duller red. His hair is a dark black, interspersed with strands of white hair. He has round spectacles on, which he pulls off as he looks at me.
"Why did you save my daughter?"
I'm taken off guard by the bluntness of the question. "Why-? What? Why wouldn't I have?"
The man rubbed at his tired eyes. "When I bought you to serve as her source of blood, I did so with the expectation that you would do as Eastern Mages should."
"You know about Eastern magic?"
He huffed, putting the glasses down and staring at me. "You think I went through all the trouble of getting someone of your nation here for no reason? Don't bother trying to hide it, I know you are one. The mages who can use their own bodies and souls as conduits for spells. So I repeat. Why did you save her?"
I try again to remember any details about Poe from the novel again. He was mentioned briefly as "A young boy from the East."
But, what was significant about the East? There's next to no mention of it, the only exception being listed as the birthplace of one of the villains. No actual nations are ever named, and no descriptions are given. It's just the East.
I want to say that it was the right thing to do, but, in all honesty, it might not have been. I know she's innocent now. But as time goes on she might still end up aligned with the villain. She could still end up being a minor villain herself.
I wish I knew If it really was the right thing to do, but, one way or another, "I wanted to."
His brows furrowed, and he sighed. "I see. You are dismissed." I turned to leave. "Oh, and I'm assigning you as her personal butler. It's technically improper for a woman to have a butler not a maid, but she's hardly considered human, let alone female."
I don't outwardly react, though my knuckles turn pale from clenching my fist. I bite my tongue, walking out of the room.
I let out a deep sigh, attempting to calm myself as I ran my hand through my hair, messing up the meticulously groomed style the head butler had worked on for far too long.
"Psst!"
I turn to the noise, seeing a woman hiding around a corner. She has long straight black hair, which was touching the floor as she leaned to speak to me. "Kiddo! Over here!"
She motioned me over. I looked around for a second, looking dead at one of the guards stationed near the Lord's study. His eyes flick down to meet mine, before going back to looking straight ahead. He shakes his head side to side minutely.
Confused, I walked over to the woman. "Er, hello?"
She crouched down, eye to eye with me. "How is Lilith? Is she eating enough? Drinking enough? Was her tutor mean to her? Does she need more guards, more servants?"
I blink at the barrage of questions and, much like Lilith herself, the woman impulsively grabs onto my shoulders, shaking me a little as she interrogates me.
I raise a hand to get her to stop, settling myself. Getting a close look at the woman's face, she very closely resembled Lilith herself. "W-Would you happen to be Lady Edgar?"
I'm turned around, and I feel myself pulled against her chest, two soft something's pressing into my back. She has me by the shoulders again, and I can feel my head bobble back and forth as she shakes me again. "Is she lonely? Does she need friends? Is there anything I can do for her?"
I stare dead at the guard, who is pointedly avoiding eye contact. "She's alright." I finally manage to squeak out. The shaking stops, and I manage to free myself from her grip. "She would be a lot better with a parent around though."
The woman clasps her hands together, and she's settled down onto her knees at this point. "W-Would she?" She looks worried, and really guilty.
"Yes." I don't remember Lilith's mother having this kind of personality at all. Granted, she's barely mentioned. It's getting a little frustrating how little I know about my immediate surroundings. If I have to consider a vital component of my surroundings as, 'barely mentioned' one more time, I'm going to go insane.
I try to straighten the slick black uniform I have on, but at this point the ruffles are here to stay. "She's lonely, everyone is afraid of her, and frankly, is growing concerningly attached to me."
The woman's lips pulled into a hurt, sad expression. "Oh…" it makes me feel guilty just seeing it, but that's the truth.
"She could really use some parental…anything. Interaction, guidance, something."
The woman looks away, still guilty. "I can't. William won't let me."
Who was William? The Lord maybe? "Is he important enough to stop seeing her?"
"It's not that simple. He's only letting us stay if I promise to stay away from her. I know he's just worried for me, but…" she trails off, before looking up at me with hopeful eyes. She grabs my hands and clasps them in hers. "Be good to her alright? S-She needs someone, even if her mom can't be there for her."
She rose from her kneeling position, and her hands came down, ruffling my already messed up hair. I frown, but can't really stop her. "Are you sure there's no way you can see her? Nothing can replace one's parents."
She nodded sadly. "I haven't been told not to see you though, so If you need anything I can provide, ask Mainor to see me, alright."
"Who's Mainor?"
She blinked at me, before hiding a small smile behind her hand. "Oh my, you'd break our dear butler's heart if you asked him that to his face."
Ah. I fight down a blush of embarrassment, nodding instead. "Alright, but, still. Help won't replace your presence."
The smile died out, and she just nodded sadly, before once again grabbing my shoulders, and turning me around. "Off you go now, Mainer will get nervous if you stay much longer." Manhandling me appeared to be a genetic thing.
I walked off, shooting the guard who didn't help me a dirty look which he ignored. If I were a little pettier I'd remember his face.
Whatever.
I stick my finger in the space between my collar and my neck, running it along the inside. It's a tick I've picked up due to having it on for so long. The thing is metallic and cold, but loose enough to not be uncomfortable.
It's still pretty weird to me. The only person who treated me any differently was the tutor, who obviously had some issues going on. I'd have expected to be less than the dirt they all walk on, but generally, outside of a few odd looks, I've yet to experience anything off despite my enslaved status.
Most of my time has been spent with Lilith, so maybe it was just the lack of interactions with others. That, or the definition of slavery differed from one world to another. I wonder if the books in Lord Edgar's office would have more information. He had to learn about Eastern magic somehow.
It might be worth it to try getting in there sometime.
Maybe when I'm older, and the castle didn't just have an assassin attack. Though, now that I think about it, if Lord Edgar hired me (saying he bought me feels wrong) because I had [Eastern Magic], maybe it wasn't a coincidence Lilith's tutor was a religious extremist.
My eyes narrow, and I feel resentment settling deep in my chest like a hollow cavern. That man didn't deserve to be called her father.
I let the emotions swell for a while, as I reported back to Mainor.
"I think I got promoted."