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"Where is this... why is it so dark...?"

"Mom? Mom! No... no... Please, don't die on me... Mom!"

"Don't abandon us again, Mom... Please..."

…

…

...

Alphonso's body jolted up as he suddenly woke from a nightmare, panting heavily.

Emilia, who was reading a book on the couch, greeted him. "Hey, Alphie. You finally woke up."

To Emilia, this was like raising her own little brother. She was even treating him like one.

Alphonso looked around his surroundings, realizing they were no longer in the alleyway.

He was mesmerized by the size and grandeur of the house. Everything in it was valuable, and the design was pure royalty.

Alphonso stood up from the bed he was sleeping on and approached Emilia. "E-Emilia... Is this your..?"

Emilia laughed at his shy demeanor and calmly replied, "Yes. This is my home. Quite large for just one person, isn't it?"

Alphonso was astounded. This beautiful woman was not only very kind, but very rich too!

Emilia couldn't help but giggle when she saw his face glittering with curiosity and amazement. "This place is quite nice, eh? I wouldn't call it a mansion, but it's a very large and beautiful house. Well, I'm only staying here for a while because I'm going to be enrolling in the most prestigious school in this city, St. Freibürg Academy."

Alphonso was shocked. This girl isn't an ordinary noble whatsoever! She's a genius who managed to pass the entrance exam of St. Freibürg Academy!

"You're kidding, right? St. Freibürg Academy only accepts the best of the best. Unless you..."

Emilia scoffed at his words and replied, "Yes, that's right. I am a fully-fledged genius magician! And in the next two weeks, I will finally be attending as a student!"

Emilia boasted her title to Alphonso, although she didn't actually go through the entrance exams because the Author made it so that she had already passed with flying colors.

"Anyways, do you know anything about being a butler, Alphie?"

Alphonso nodded, but was also dumbfounded at the fact that he was already given a nickname by Emilia. "I know several things. My mother was actually one of the maids of the Royal Family. Before she passed away, she taught me a lot about serving others. Of course, I didn't pay much attention to her teachings because I found it annoying, but now that I'm serving you as my master, I can properly act as your butler, Lady Emilia. Maybe my family was destined to be servants of nobles after all."

Emilia was pleasantly surprised by Alphonso's sudden change of tone and manner. This boy had a lot of talents. "Then I'm assuming that you can cook, clean, and wash clothes, correct?" Emilia replied.

"You're very much correct, Lady Emilia." Alphonso responded in a serious voice.

Emilia giggled at the sight of Alphonso kneeling down on the floor. She didn't expect the brash young boy she saved from those gangsters would be so refined and capable.

"Okay then. Stand up and remove your top."

Hearing those words, Alphonso stood up and took off his top, a blush forming on his face.

[Reader! I didn't know you were this seductive!]

Emilia muttered to herself, "Shut up. I'm just going to add a slave crest on his chest. Alphonso knows this too."

Emilia placed her fingers on Alphonso's chest and drew a slave crest. She then imbued it with a bit of mana to fully manifest the crest.

"Good thing I learned how to create this spell from one of the books I've read. It's so complicated for no reason," Emilia thought to herself.

After a few seconds, the crest finally manifested, showing its full marking.

A slave crest is a spell that nobles put on a slave to pledge the slave's full loyalty to them. The slave crest shows who the slave's current master is, and it also allows the master to locate the slave, making it useful for when butlers or maids get kidnapped or abducted.

"We're done," Emilia said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Go change into your proper attire. I bought you some clothes when I was bringing you here. I've got you ten suits and twenty casual outfits. Take a shower, then show me your new look. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the other bedroom is yours, and your clothes are in the closet."

Alphonso nodded and excitedly went to his own bedroom.

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AN: I'm gonna take a nap now. Done with posting chapters today. GN.