Elora POV

Hehe, I wonder what will happen when he walks into my illusion. He will probably walk into the wall. I wanna see his face then.

Right, I don’t really know why I’m doing this. But I wanted to talk to him, but I was not allowed to do that now. So I want to play some pranks on him.

I want to know if there is any way he will become strong. As what I have learned from mother , his magic core awakening is next year.

Mother told me that if he awakens a good affinity or shows promise, she would think about letting me be around him. I still don’t know why I feel so dragged towards him.

As I am sensing his room with my mana, I feel something weird. He is standing completely still right before my illusion. In a split second, he turns around and jumps out of the window.

I stand there in shock for a second before thinking about what just happened. He must have known something was happening. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have reacted like that. How did he know, though? He doesn’t have a magic core yet. I need to ask mother.

I make my way up to mother’s office and get ready to knock on the door. But before I can do that, mother calls out. “Come in Elora.” She calls out and I enter.

“How did you know I was here?” I ask. She stares at me, then smiles. “I felt mana go off somewhere in the estate so I checked it out. What do you want, child?” She asks me as she pats the seat next to her on the black leather couch.

Her long black dress hung to the floor as I walked over to her. I sat down right next to her and stared into the ruby red eyes. “I have a question.” She smiled at me and answered. “Is your question about that new butler?” Mother’s slightly stiff voice came out as she glared at me.

“Yes, but not for the reason you think. I was planning on testing him, so I placed an illusion on his door.” She was frowning and glaring even more at me, so I continued. “When he was about to touch the door, he froze.” I stopped for a second to breathe. “Then he sprinted out of the window as fast as he could…”

I saw mother’s eyes widen, but then a creepy smile took over her lips. “Really now. You aren’t lying to me. Right, Elora?” She questioned as her eyes glowed eerily. “N-No.” Why is she acting like this? Did I say something I shouldn’t?

“It looks like you will have it your way.”She suddenly spoke and stood up, walking over to her desk and rummaging through one of the boxes lying around. What does she mean by that? “aha, here.” She remarked as she picked up an old paper.

“You see Elora, the only person ever to have felt magic or mana without having a magic core was the empress.” She said as she put down the paper on her desk and stared at me. Does this mean he will become incredibly strong? Will mother let me get closer to him? “Yes, is the answer to your question, dear. I will need to keep a close eye on him, but you can start getting close.” She spoke softly before her tone took on a more commanding one. “You will keep your noble bearings around other people!”

Arken POV

I woke up to a new day and I find the head maid standing right outside of my door. Today I went through the door, as I felt nothing wrong with it. She said I was needed out in the training field. Something about every servant of the estate needed to be able to defend themselves and their master.

I was making my way down the corridors and out to the garden. Then, following along the flower garden, I got to what looked like a small arena. The floor comprised some mixture of sand and pebbles. Looking somewhat brown red.

Around it there were tons of benches as walls. And at the end of it were racks and racks of weapons. From gauntlets all the way to halberts and giant hammers. At the center of the arena stood Lydia, and next to her, at the benches, sat someone I did not want to be here.

The first person I noticed was none other than the duchess herself. And beside her sat the woman who stole my ring, Lady Elora. I will just try to get this over with as fast as I can.

I walk over to the middle of the arena and give a curt bow towards my master and her heir. I then turn towards the head maid with a questioning look. “You will first answer some of the duchess’s questions, then you will fight.” She states as she walks over to the duchess and stands behind her to the side.

My eyes trail off Lydia, then towards the duchess. Her crimson red eyes staring into mine for a second before she speaks. “Let’s begin simple. We do this to every new worker here. So don’t think you are special.” She states. It sounds kind of mean, but I know she is saying this as not to give a servant an ego.

That never ends well for either the master or the servant. So I nod at her as a servant should do, waiting for the questions.

“Are you good at doing a butler’s duty?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to fight?”

“Yes.”

“Have you put that knowledge to use?”

“Yes.”

“Have you killed someone before?”

“Yes.”

“Would you do it again?”

“Yes.”

“Would you ever betray the duchy?”

“No.”

She smiles at the last answer for some reason. I don’t believe she would just blindly trust a servant, so she probably has something to tell if it is the truth or not.

“Let’s get to the more detailed questions.”

I nod at her again. For some reason, I feel some sort of discomfort. And I soon found out what. Lady Elora is staring at me without blinking.

“Where are you from?”

“Eh, the woods a few kilometers from here.”

Her eyes gain a curious glint in them as she continues.

“Any family?”

“Hmm, I think so?”

“Why are you not sure?”

“Well, my mother was from a powerful family, and my father is also from one. So technically, I do have a family alive.”

“Then who are those families?” She asks as I stiffen up for a moment. Everyone else’s reaction comes to mind. I was snapped out of my thoughts as the duchess glared dangerously at me for not answering.

Well, here goes nothing.

“Well, my mother was from the High Elven Royal Family, and my father is from some Arch Demon clan in Hell.”