After walking for 2 minutes in this absurdly large mansion I arrived at the dining room where there was a delicious breakfast waiting for me.

When I entered the dining room, the people inside ducked their heads and some of them had nervous expressions on their faces.

'It seems that this Arthur has already started to do his thing, well, better for me, it will be easier to act like a bastard.'

I sat down at the table and in front of me I could see a hot soup that gave off a nice aroma, I dipped a spoon in the soup and then I sent it to my mouth.

The people in the dining room saw me taste the soup and looked at me with anxiety and concern. But at that moment I could only think of one thing.

Delicious

Extremely delicious

The taste was smooth, it made me feel relaxed and warm inside, perfect for breakfast.

'Ugh, I really don't want to do this'.

It's not that I feel bad or something, it's just that this soup was very delicious, even I, someone who has tasted the best dishes from the best chefs recognize the quality of this soup

'But these people have their expectations set on me, I can't let them down.'

Ha~ I wonder if there is anyone more considerate than me...this is not right, if I am so kind in this type of world people might start to intimidate me.

-Crash!

The bowl of soup went flying and crashed into one of the walls, the soup scattered all over the place, staining the walls and some servants who were standing nearby

"What kind of crap is this, dog food?, tell the chef to make it again from scratch and if it's still as steaming I'll throw him out on the street!"

"Yes young master!"

One of the servants bowed and hurriedly ran to fulfill my order.

"Hey you"

"Y-yes!"

I called out to one of the servants and he straightened up when he heard me.

"Get the carriage and some escorts ready, I'm going somewhere"

"Understood young master!"

'Phew~with that I should be done, now to wait for my soup.'

I stood silently with my arms crossed until the new soup I ordered was ready, it was just as delicious as the previous one and in my mind I gave my congratulations to the chef

After eating, I dressed appropriately with the help of the maids and headed for the carriage and prepared outside.

"Where would you like to go young master?"

asked the coachman.

"To the slums"

"Eh? but young master, the slums are..."

"Are you questioning me?"

I asked him as I looked him straight in the eyes, the coachman flinched and quickly apologized.

"I-I wouldn't dare do such a thing!"

"Then shut up and drive"

"Y-yes!"

I entered the carriage and I have to admit that for my first carriage ride it was quite comfortable, there was no turbulence along the way and the interior was not as stifling as I thought, a new experience no doubt.

After traveling for 1 hour the carriage stopped and a knight opened the door.

"Here we are young master"

I got out of the carriage with his help and I could see the entrance to the slums.

It was like seeing two separate worlds

The houses were broken and dirty, rats and cockroaches abounded in the area and there was more than one person lying on the ground maybe sleeping or maybe dead.

 

"Come on"

I said and started to walk but the knights stopped me.

"Think about it young master, the slums are very dangerous!"

"Are you telling me that you, the knights of the Reclesia family are unable to protect me from some malnourished bums?"

"Th-that's not-"

"Are you trying to besmirch the family name?"

Hearing this the knights were alarmed and knelt down.

""We would never think of doing such a thing!""

They said almost in unison demonstrating the loyalty they had to the family.

"Then stop complaining and move, if you are not even capable of protecting me from people like this the best thing for you would be to die, at least that way your body would serve to feed the rats and people of this place"

The knights upon hearing this swallowed saliva and straightened up instantly.

""We will protect you with our lives young master!""

I didn't thank them or anything and just continued onward.

'I would have to be in the deepest parts of the slums'.

I walked along with the escorts into the deepest parts of the slums, some homeless people attacked us to rob us but the knights took care of that. I wasn't too shocked to see a person killed, after all, in my past life I was a successful businessman, making some enemies was not uncommon and assassination or kidnapping attempts happened with some regularity.

I searched and searched for several hours inside all the corners and paying attention to all the girls who seemed to be about my age but I could not find her.

"Young master, it's about to get dark, I think it's best to retire."

This time I had to agree with the escorts, although they are strong, the slums are 10 times more dangerous at night, even dark wizards, occultists or something like that can show up

'I'll have to come tomorrow'

As I was about to turn to leave, my eyes fell on a girl who was sitting with her back leaning against the wall, her body showed serious signs of malnutrition, she was dressed in a torn and battered cloth and her hair was so dirty you could barely make out what color it was

"Mmm."

I approached her and bent down, grabbed her chin and lifted her face so I could get a better look at it

"So this is where you were."

White hair and lifeless purple eyes, it's definitely her.

"Take this girl away"

I snapped my fingers and said to the guards.

"Eh? By-"

"Just do as I say without asking, if you don't want me to execute you of course."

The knight automatically swallowed his words and walked over to the girl and carried her in his arms.

She didn't put up any resistance, perhaps because she couldn't or because she was already totally resigned to whatever was done to her.

We walked back to the carriage and the knights wondered where to put the girl.

"Just put her in the carriage."

"But the smell..."

"Do I have to repeat to you what I said before?"

"..."

In the end they put her in the carriage and we set off back to the mansion.

I stayed inside the carriage together with the girl, although the smell was a bit unpleasant I didn't care much, the girl just stood motionless with her lifeless eyes staring at the floor

'I'm glad I got there before those guys.'

In the novel, this girl was picked up by members of 'The Order' a group that praises the god of destruction and death are also the main villains of the novel, at least as far as I can tell.

Along with 500 other children she was subjected to all kinds of torture, drugs and inhuman training to turn her into the perfect killer, out of the 500 children only she survived and was used by The Order to cause various problems for the protagonist and his group.

She was a real pain in the ass until she was killed, she was not only an expert in assassination techniques, but also in stealth, infiltration, poisons, disguises and magic

"But that's not the reason I picked her up."

After all, she doesn't know anything about those things now, but she has something that makes her a very valuable ally to a thousand.

 

Talent

An exceptional talent

In this world talent is something that exists, a talented individual not only learns and masters things faster than a normal person, but each person has a different amount of talent.

Someone talented does not compare to a genius and a genius cannot compare to a prodigy.

The girl in front of me is a prodigy

Able to memorize books and techniques in a short amount of time and with a constitution that makes her capable of mastering any type of weapon or martial art she wants to

"She's like a chameleon capable of adapting to anything."

I couldn't help but smile with great satisfaction at the thought of the great ally I had just gained

At that moment, being so immersed in his thoughts, he didn't notice that dull purple eyes were intently watching that smile

***

We arrived at the mansion and got out of the carriage, I called some maids and gave them instructions

"Bathe, dress and feed this girl, then send her to my room".

"Yes young master."

The maids bowed and took the child away.

'Very well, time to take care of some things'.

Already in my room, I looked for a small book and a feather and began to write down everything I remembered about the novel, characters, plots, scenarios and those things. I wrote it in English just in case someone ever gets their hands on this book, in which case, they wouldn't be able to understand anything I said.

After spending 1 hour writing down everything I remembered I put the book inside my desk drawer and locked it.

"So, shall we try that?"

A smile of excitement appeared on my face as I sat on my bed in lotus position and closed my eyes

"Fu~"

I took a deep breath and concentrated as much as I could to feel my body, or rather, what was inside it

"So that's what it feels like."

Warm and pleasant, as if it was constantly flowing all over my body like a river.

Mana

The energy that dwells within all living beings and that which allows us to do things like throw fire from our hands or break stone walls with our bare hands.

"It's a very small amount, but it's normal."

Children don't learn to handle their mana until the age of 10, this is because a child's body is not capable of handling too large amounts of mana

"Although of course, noble families are an exception."

The most powerful families developed special techniques and methods that allowed their children under the age of 10 to absorb mana without harming their bodies, through training, artifacts or specific way of absorbing it. Being able to practice spells or martial arts much earlier than normal people.

That is the difference between commoners and nobles.

-Knock, knock

My thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Young master, the girl you brought in earlier is ready."

"Let her in."

The maid opened the door and in came the girl completely different from how she had brought her.

Her clean hair was pure snow white, her skin looked soft and fragile, the only thing that ruined her appearance was her deplorable physical condition and her dull and lifeless eyes

"You may go."

I said to the servant girl and she only nodded slightly and closed the door

"G-greetings young master."

The girl stood in front of me and bowed awkwardly, surely the maidservants told her to do that when she saw me

"My name is Arthur Reclesia and from now on you will be my personal maid, what is your name?"

"I...I don't have a name."

"Mm, that's a problem."

People in the slums who grew up without parents usually don't have names, basically because nobody gave them one or they couldn't remember it.

In the novel the members of The Order only called her six or so, they didn't even consider her a human being so they saw it unnecessary to give her a name

"...Livia."

"Eh?"

"That'll be your name, Livia."

"Livia..."

Livia seemed like a good name, not because of anything special or any deep meaning, she just felt that it suited her

A slight gleam appeared in her eyes before she disappeared again

 

"Thank you so much for giving me a name, young master."

"You're welcome, I can't allow my personal maid to not even have a name."

I said shaking my hand indifferently and began to explain what I was going to do starting tomorrow.

"The head maid will teach you the how to serve properly as well as how to write, manners, etiquette and information about all the relevant noble families, you are going to have 3 meals a day every day and a room of your own to yourself, if you have any questions ask the maids"

"I understand, thank you very much for accepting a person like me as your personal maid."

"Haha, don't worry about that, I have high hopes about you"

I said as I looked at her with a smile, I really had high expectations on this girl, I had full confidence that she would be an indispensable ally for me in the future

Livia's shoulders shook a bit at my words but she quickly calmed down and lived to bow awkwardly

"I definitely won't let you down."

"I hope so, you can go now, the maids will guide you to your room"

"Yes."

With that, Livia left the room and called some maids to help me with my bath.

What?

I'm a nobleman now, I have to take advantage of this kind of thing.

When they finished bathing me I laid down on my huge bed and fell asleep in seconds, I guess looking for Livia for hours in the slums made me more tired than I thought.

***

In a dark room, a girl with white hair and dull violet eyes was hugging a pillow.

Despite being the softest and most comfortable thing she had ever slept on she wasn't able to fall asleep.

'Trust'

That was the emotion he had when he saw her, she didn't know why he trusted she so much, but that look didn't disgust him at all, the same happened in the carriage.

The smile and looks he gave me all the way were not of disgust, contempt or pity.

Satisfaction

That was what her look conveyed, he felt satisfied with her, he saw her as something valuable, something to be happy about.

She didn't know if it was because of her body or something like that, she had heard that nobles often took young girls to make them their concubines, but even if that was the case she didn't care at all.

In the slums where everyone looked at her with hostility treating her as an enemy because of the food, or even with lust because of her good looking, receiving that kind of look made her feel good, she felt loved, she felt important

"Livia..."

When she said those words she felt a slight tingle in her heart.

Livia was a name

Her name

The name he had given her.

Something so basic that everyone had except her, something that was part of a human being, she always felt lost not even knowing how to refer to herself, but that was over, thanks to him

Now she was Livia

As she thought about this, her eyes gained a slight sparkle and a smile appeared on her face.