Later that night.

 

“Miss, please forgive me, please forgive me…” Ruri whispered with a trembling lip as she tiptoed through the room and went through the drawers. 

 

“Oi, what’re you doing? Pick up the pace!” 

 

“Eep!” The girl jump up in fright like a scared cat. Meanwhile Phaedra was standing by the door to her parent’s room. She carried a bag over her shoulder that was nearly as big as she was and clearly struggled to lift it, as evidence by the sweat dripping from her brow and way she gasped for breath. 

 

“Hurry, they’ll wake up  at this rate.” Phaedra urged with a clear edge to her voice. 

 

To explain, they’d drugged her parents. And the servants. And the guards. Basically everyone in the house. Why? Because Phaedra needed money if she was going to survive, and even though her father was only a poor baron their family was still much richer than your average commoner. Which meant they owned some fine jewels and quality clothing that’d sell for quite a good price. 

 

They may not be as fancy and valuable as what’d be owned by more well-off Nobles,  but such goods were still of fair quality. Hence, she’d take them!

 

But obviously she couldn’t just take them. Because her small family manor had eyes everywhere even at night. Therefore, she drugged them! And then sent Ruri to raid her parents’ room.

 

As for the bag Phaedra carrried and what she herself was doing up to this point, it contained various silverware and house decorations. Plates, spoons, tea sets, vases, small paintings, silver trays, decorative daggers…

Every small bit helped, that’s her motto. So while Ruri acquired the jewelery, Phaedra….swiped everything else that wasn’t nailed down and could still be carried by her slight frame.

 

“You got the stuff?” Faye asked, wiping her forehead with a cloth and then tucking it carefully away. A sweat-stained panty that belonged to a cute little girl….Nn, there were definitely some perverts who’d pay top-price for it. 

Every little bit! Kekek…

 

“I-I got it, Young M--”

 

“Oi.”

 

“...Nee-sama.”

 

Faye shivered and hugged her body in pure, absolute euphoria. This is it! This is the feeling! 

 

You may be wondering, “ Phaedra, why’re you dragging a little girl into your escape plans?” The answer was two-fold. First, Ruri was an orphan anyway. She’d served Faye for several years already and knew nothing but being Phaedra’s maid. So she was a perfect companion. Phaedra needed help and she was  the only truly trustworthy person. So, obviously, she had to come.

Secondly...and more importantly….she was cute! Very cute! With a slender build that could almost be described as waifish, sleek purple hair in a bob cut that frames her round little face in a manner reminiscent of the great Rem herself, and large eyes the color of bright amber….well, how could Faye not take her along? It’d be sacrilege to waste such high-quality goods! 

 

Since she was so young she could be groomed into a splendid imouto!  She would be the first among Phaedra’s imouto harem. The First Sister, so to speak. 

 

Faye would die before she let Ruri fall into the hands of someone else. The little sisters of this world all belong to Phaedra! Especially cute Rem-looking ones like Ruri!

 

Ahem, anyway, it was time to blow this popsicle stand.

 

“Come, Ruri….let us start our lives anew.”

 

And with that, Phaedra and Ruri departed the d’Angelo estate like two thieves in the night. Actually, exactly like two thieves in the night. 

 

***

 

“Ah, Young Miss. You’re late.” 

 

A mile down from their estate, hidden along a rarely used path nearly entirely hiddden by overgrown weeds and shrubs, was a carriage covered in tree branches and camo-colored cloth.

 

Phaedra snorted indignantly. “A wizard is never late, nor is she early. She arrives precisely when she means to.” 

 

Remembering her thirty-plus years as a virgin male in her past life, Faye laborously uttered these famous words and dropped her load on the ground before collapsing in exhaustion. 

 

“Ah, hell. You have any water?” 

 

The old man perched relaxedly atop a large rock not ten feet away promptly threw a waterskin towards the young lady. Faye didn’t mind at all sharing an indirect kiss with an old man and gulped down several mouthfuls, entirely unladylike.

 

As she drank Ruri leaned on a nearby tree and looked back at the estate with a sad face. Meanwhile, the old man readied their carriage.

 

“I must say, this strangely colored covering is quite something. If one didn’t know to look, you’ve never find it. Especially in the dark like this. It simply disappeared into the forest like magic.” He paused. “Is it magic?” 

 

Faye finished the waterskin and offered a dissatisfied expression as she urged the last drip out. “Magic? How would I get my hands on a magical object? This is science.”

 

“Science? What on earth is that?” He frowned.

 

Faye gave a cheeky grin. “The future is now, old man.” 

 

At a loss as to how to take that, the elderly individual merely shook his head and took back his waterskin. Finding it empty he gave her an annoyed stare before depositing it back on his belt. 

 

“Well?” He rubbed his fingers together in the universal sign of ‘gimme’. Faye took a jewel from Ruri and threw it. The old man’s eyes glimmered. “Much obliged, young miss, much obliged. Now, are we ready to depart?”

 

Ruri and Phaedra gave each other a glance. Different emotions were reflected in their eyes. One was full of worry and uncertainty. 

 

The other? She burned with the kind of determination that only a woman fighting for her very maidenhood could understand.

 

“Onwards, to destiny.”

 

“....Which is where, exactly?” The old man looked at her like she were dumb.

 

“Ah. Sorry.  Um, to the nearest black market, please.”

 

“And why would you think I even know where that i--?”

 

She chucked a ruby ring at him.

 

“To destiny!” He immediately changed his tune, almost as if possessed. And he was, by greed.

 

Faye hid an evil smirk.

 

The power of money is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural, She chuckled darkly.

 

And with that, she and Ruri left their homes for lands unknown. 

 

I’d like to see you try and fuck me now, you goddamn imouto-con...