Liza dashed down the hall excitedly with an oddly thick based tray in her arms while sporting a large grin which one could possibly pin as her signature of sorts. 

 

-I managed to make these while nobody else in the kitchen was working and so many too! Plus...hehe...nobody will ever suspect the tray on top is a fake!

 

It seemed that the covered tray on top that had the tasteless nutrient-jel contained within was merely a decoy for a small pile of snacks that she had made for Fate. She truly seemed to have gone the extra mile in hiding it though.

 

However, she soon put on the classic maid act as she had done earlier since she could hear someone rounding the corner of the hallway. It was the corner of the corridor that lead to Fate’s room so that meant it could only be one person, at least with the current timing…

 

-It’s Lord Jacob, I was only gone for a good 10 minutes though, what could have happened with the young master?! 

 

Liza felt extremely tempted to drop the tray containing her handmade sweets to the floor and run to Fate’s side but restrained herself out of sensibility. If she rushed in it would seem too obvious a sign that her dedication to her young lord was more than met the eye and who knows what would happen then? 

 

As she had predicted, Jacob appeared from the corridor and turned toward her direction, spotting her and fixing his smile. They walked toward each other, both maintaining their seemingly perfect and polite smiles.

 

Jacob: “Young lady Liza, I see that you have the young master’s next meal in your possession. Truly you fulfill the role of a servant as one should strive to.”

 

Liza: “I shall receive your praise, Lord Jacob, yet I am not worthy of such a compliment, for I am young and not truly experienced in serving the nobles as well as I should be.”

 

He gave a short nod and walked towards the hall, making Liza release an internal sigh of relief. However, he closed the distance between them right as he was almost past her and leaned his head down to whisper into her ear…

 

Jacob: “Quite an interesting charge you have...Be aware that your report next time should include his mental faculties as well so make some sort of test and disguise it as a game. I’ll be anxiously awaiting it....but please keep in mind that I’ll be visiting again in a few days in regards to...a certain question that I posed to him. I’d greatly appreciate it if you would save your first tests until I get my answer though, if you would?”

 

Jacob spoke kindly, but the ominous pressure behind his words seemed definitely more real than that. Liza bowed quickly and Jacob resumed his walk to the end of the hall, where he vanished out of sight, into the shadows…

 

As soon as she made sure that he was gone, Liza instantly clutched the tray tightly with both hands and hurriedly sprinted towards Fate’s room!

 

-...Please be alright, young master!

 

She quickly reached the room, but was short on breath, as she turned her key in the lock. Despite this, she opened the door without rest and gazed into the room. Inside was Fate slumped onto the floor in the middle of the room, dull eyes and mouth agape.

 

Liza: “Young master, what’s wrong with you?!”

 

Liza placed the tray on the ground and dropped to her knees, shaking Fate by the shoulders to try and get some response out of him. However, he seemed to stay completely still like a corpse and didn’t give the slightest peep.

 

She looked across the room for whatever could be the cause since Fate didn’t seem to have any injuries but immediately noticed the large indent in the wall where he had cracked part of it, along with a decently large pile of crushed dust and rock bits on the floor.

 

-Did Lord Jacob force him into a situation where he had to use enough power to cause this?! What in the name of the goddess did…!?

 

Suddenly, Fate’s hand firmly gripped the back of her wrist, causing her to stop shaking him since she had achieved her intended result.

 

Liza: “Young master, what in the world did Lord Jacob do to you that caused...this?!”

 

Fate: “He’s too strong…”

 

Liza: “Sorry, young lord...Could you repeat…?”

 

Fate: “He’s way too strong…and he’s going to kill me...”

 

Liza could feel him shuddering, making her arms that were on him vibrate rapidly. She could feel waves of fear and despair radiating off of him in droves…

 

-Kill...the young master?! Is Lord Jacob sane?! Even if the young lord is a disowned noble whose existence is not well known among the nobility, harming the firstborn son of a noble family...and the son of the ‘Sword of the Empire’ no less…!

The feelings of hopelessness she could feel from Fate were continuing to intensify so she wrapped her arms around him, attempting to still his trembling body. However, he still shook and shook her as well…

 

Liza: “Young lord, please tell me what happened...I’m sure that this is some sort of misunderstanding...Even if you are a disowned son, you still have enough of a presence that your death at the hands of...a mere servant would not go unnoticed!”

 

She attempted to reassure him that nothing could happen to him as long as he was in the walls of the manor, where servants would talk if such an event were to occur. He stopped her for some reason, his trembling ceasing soon after.

 

Liza: “...Young lord?”

 

He locked eyes with her, looking into them with a gaze that was both cold and calm…

 

Fate: “Liza, I know this might be a bit much to ask, but I need to ask a favor of you...In exchange, I will do anything within my power that you wish.”

 

-Anything within his power...Wait, that’s not the issue here!

 

Liza: “What is it you need, my young lord?”