The maid, known as ‘Liza,’ had introduced herself and then left the room’s doorway, shutting the door behind her. Fate was stunned with the character of the new maid, as sincerity and courteousness really didn’t suit either of his previous ‘caregivers.’ 

 

-Then again, if you’re paid to stand around and occasionally keep a kid alive while constantly talking sh*t about him every single day...I guess you don’t need that great of a character. This is maid is definitely weirder than the last two though.

 

Indeed, it was odd that she didn’t attempt to bring in someone else to attack him when she came to see him. 

 

He had threatened her with a melted face and had pinned her to the floor, things that most people would consider a reason to stay away from someone for the rest of their lives. However, she seemed oddly motivated with her greeting and held no malice towards him... 

 

Fate: “I guess we’ll just have to see about what kind of person she is in the next few days, eh? Maybe it’ll be like an easily intimidated, substitute teacher?”

 

That sort of scenario sounded a bit ridiculous, however, he was the cursed child of the family who was known to have “stabbed his own mother,” thus more than a decent amount of caution should be the norm. 

…

A few hours had passed before the maid returned, carrying his evening meal in hand. It was the same jar of the Jel that he had always received, but his new maid seemed to have some reservations about giving it to him.

 

She kept switching her gaze from the jar to himself, making Fate’s autistic mind begin to spin all sorts of cruel stories and tortures.

 

-Is she going to hit me with it, sit here and eat herself while I watch, break it apart and stab me with the glass, throw it at me, or something more horrible?!

 

She continued to eye the jar suspiciously, almost as if she was locking eyes with a mortal foe. Fate suspected that she might have some sort of...condition that was causing her to commit these actions but still braced himself for what might come next.

 

However, she eventually handed the jar and a spoon to him but continued to eye him like he was some sort of odd stain on the floor as he ate. After he had finished the nutrient-jel he gave her the spoon back placed the jar on the floor, but in another instance of behavior, unlike her predecessors, she actually picked up the jar and left the room with a bow.

 

-...Was it just those two? No, it can’t be just them since every servant has been told to treat me like a disease, but this is just too freaky!

…

-Did I do something to displease him? He put his jar on the floor like it was normal...he gave the spoon to me first, but still. Not to mention...

 

Liza recalled vague memories of her infant days, but one thing about them was painfully clear for her…

 

-He actually ate that nutrient-jel without any hesitation! If there’s one thing I will always regret, it’s that I was fed that disgusting stuff! It doesn’t have a hint of flavor, it’s like the alchemists and chefs who developed it didn’t give a damn about taste!?

 

The things that she was perturbed by was that not only did the child have to eat a flavorless paste, but that he didn’t complain or hesitate once while eating it. 

 

-Still, though, I didn’t think that I’d be serving the young lord...or that he’d be the boy I saw, running down the corridor yesterday...He didn’t seem especially chatty though…

 

She held her hands to her cheeks and rubbed them a bit, turning them red. A smile started to spread across her face, which truly seemed childlike.

 

Liza: “I guess I’ll have to work hard enough that he opens up to me!”

 

She kept the same smile plastered on her face as she walked down the hall and turned to corner, vanishing from sight.

…

 

Fate: “Until I open up to her, huh?”

 

Unknown to Liza, Fate had been listening for any signs of additional persons from his side of the door but had managed to hear the one thing she said quite clearly. That said, he was understandably confused but drew a ‘reasonable’ conclusion.

 

-Is she planning to get me to reveal my abilities again and report me to Mother?! If she didn’t already do it, then that means she wants something from me or just doesn’t have the evidence to pin me as a magic-user! 

 

Fate resolved himself that he would become strong enough that he could at least run away from his mother. Even if he couldn’t knock her down, he reasoned that he might be able to stun her with something and book it before she could catch him!

 

He also believed that this new maid was one that Agatha had put up to the task of fooling him and having him reveal his secrets! After all, he was the plague of the household, what kind of person would want to associate with him, not to mention it was someone whom he had threatened?

 

-Guess I’ll get to work...since I think she’s gone anyways.

 

Fate gathered mana throughout his body and produced two small red bubbles near his fingers. He had to multitask to generate two instead of one, but he only needed to fuel them with mana and think one simple command to keep them out…

 

『【Magic】has increased by 0.080!』

 

-Stay.

 

As of last night, he was able to relay his thoughts through a kind of mana projection. It was as if he had scattered one of his regular mana bubbles and dispersed it into a wave, but he could only manage simple commands if he wanted to conserve mana.

 

-Come together.

 

The red bubbles floated towards each other and mixed together into a larger and clearer orb, but Fate, although slightly tired, was not done yet…

 

-Smaller.

 

The large red bubble flickered slightly and slowly began to condense itself into a solid, brighter mass. It kept getting smaller and smaller, but suddenly, the mana on the surface began to bubble and boil!

 

『【Magic】has increased by 0.092!』

 

-Sh*t! Forward!

 

The ball that was now the size of a small marble, shot forward a meter or two before collapsing into a spread of burning sparks that scorched parts of the stone wall in front of Fate!

 

『Fire Magic(Minor) has increased to level 2!』

 

-Thank f*ck that it didn’t get on the wooden floor! That would’ve been tough to hide...but that said, how did I already get to level 2 with my『Fire』?! It took me months to get mana manipulation to 2…

 

Fate once again contemplated his gains but waved it off as the marks on the wall concerned him more. After all, even if that maid wasn’t out to watch his every move, his mother would most definitely be, and if she found burn marks on the wall...it would definitely be suspicious enough for her to investigate!

 

-I know that I said it a lot in my past life, but I’m gonna run the hell away from home and never see my family as long as I live! Damn, I really was a brat…

Fate continued his magical training until he passed out on his cot, but he did indeed wipe away the burn marks on the wall beforehand…

 

『【Magic】increased by 0.22!』

…

 

*knock* *knock* *knock*

 

Liza: “Young master, your...breakfast is here!”

 

-Ughhh, she’s back…”

 

Fate let out a short yawn and lazily lifted himself out of his cot, stretching his small joints as soon as he was up. He couldn’t bring himself to be frustrated with her attitude when he was just waking up...and because he was somewhat hungry.

 

Fate: “...Haaaaaa...enter!”

 

The door creaked open and Liza walked through with a tray in her arms, which she placed on top of the dresser. Fate eyed the tray, noting that there was an item on it that wasn’t a jar or a spoon, but rather a brown stick…

 

-What’s that?

 

Liza: “Young master, I’d like to make a deal with you.”