As Faevyre and I silently walked through the slums, slum folks still stared at us wide-eyed. Honestly, I don't blame them. Faevyre held a large wooden shovel, still fresh with soil, and had some bloodstains on her hands and clothes (from when she held me). I was holding a funerary urn and covered in blood as if I'd spent the day slaughtering animals without washing up. This spectacle was incredibly ominous and frightening, straight out of a horror story, and people distanced themselves from us as if we were carrying the plague. I found it humorous, in a sense. Never in my life would I have thought that I, an ordinary 10-year-old kid, weaker than the average adult by no small margin, would be this scary.

After walking for a while, we chanced upon a small drinking fountain by the side, so I took the opportunity to clean myself and my dagger from most of the blood. I was able to wash most of the blood off myself after a few minutes of cleaning, but my tunic and cloak were still stained. Trying to remove blood stains using just clean water was a fool's errand, so I had to make do with it until we got home.

After exiting the slums, we walked through the city streets. People were still staring at us, and a few people even pointed at us. Along the way, we were even stopped three times by patroling vigiles, who got waved off by Faevyre with her Fidelis token. By the time we reached home, I felt worn out. As a pickpocket, being the center of attention was mentally fatiguing and painful, like walking through a trail of thorns. Even that time in the auction wasn't this mentally torturing. If I add what I went through today, it was only natural I was mentally tired.

When we finally reached the mansion's gates, the sun was already high up in the sky, and it was noon. The guards at the entrance were not the same guards from the morning, having switched shifts, but they still let me in without question since I was with Faevyre (Although they still gave me a weird look).

After passing through the beautiful and intricate peristyle, we entered the mansion's entrance hall. Waiting at the hall was a young Orc slave, about 18 years old, wearing a white linen tunic. The Orc was only 1.75m tall, a very short stature for male orcs, yet muscular, but not excessively so, with a good and balanced inverted triangular build, short black hair, square jaw, sharp golden eyes, and overall appearance that was attractive by orc standards but not by human standards due to his orcish features. I had to admit that he was one of the most handsome orcs I have seen so far, and I have seen many throughout my life on the streets of Lamaria. As a half-orc, I found both humans and orcs naturally pleasing to the eye.

The Orc slave's square jaw with two large protruding tusks moved as he said in respect, "Miss Faevyre, the mistress has summoned you to the dark chamber. Please head there with post-haste, as it seemed urgent!"

Faevyre nodded, "Alright, thank you for informing me, Borug. Take this shovel and put it back in the storeroom. Oh, and help little Mog here to his new room on the first floor."

The Orc slave, Borug, took the shovel, bowed slightly, and said, "Yes, miss Faevyre."

As Faevyre went inside the halls of the mansion, Borug turned to me, bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "Sir Mog, please follow me."

Although I was uncomfortable with being called sir by someone else, I still nodded and said, "Thank you, let's go."

Borug led me up the stairs to the first floor and then took a turn to the right, leading to a hall filled with doors, many of which were guest rooms. Many of the rooms on the first floor were thus unoccupied, with their only occupants being the high-ranking servants of the mansion.

Soon, Borug stopped in front of a particular room, opened the door using a key, gave me the key, and gestured with his hand politely, "Sir Mog, this is your room. Please tell me if there is anything unsatisfactory with it, and I shall handle it immediately."

I nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Borug." 

Borug smiled sheepishly and said, "Please, there is no need to thank a low-rank slave like me. Also, there is no need to add Mr. when calling my name. Just call me Borug."

It then clicked in my mind. I was a high-ranking slave now, so I naturally held greater power in this mansion over low-rank servants like Borug. It was not uncommon for a high-ranking servant to make the life of a low-ranking servant a living hell with but a few words, so being subservient towards me was essentially him protecting himself. This sort of power is not something I could get used to in the short run.

I gave a weary smile and said, "Alright, Borug, then please call me Mog whenever we are alone. Being called sir is rather uncomfortable for me."

I didn't tell him to stop calling me sir entirely because some things were a must. It was just like how I needed to address the mistress. It is necessary to maintain proper decorum in public at the very least.

Borug gave a pleasant smile and said, "Ok, I shall call you Mog when in private, then. By the way, do you need some spare clothes and hot water? Your attire is, well, bloody."

I didn't need to look at my clothes to know that information, but his offer was welcome nonetheless.

"Yes, thank you," I said as I accepted his offer.

Borug nodded, "Very well then. Please remove your clothes and put them on the side. In the meantime, I will get you some hot water with a rag and new clothes."

"Alright, thank you, Borug."

After Borug left, I entered my new room. The design of the room was modest but luxurious for a slave, only affordable by the wealthy. It has a carved wooden table, a chair, a drawer, and a simple raised metal single bed with a straw-stuffed mattress and wool blanket. Also, I have a potted yellow flower by a well-designed veiled window and a bronze candle holder on the table, holding a tallow wax candle. The room also had a luminescent magic stone on the roof, granting me a light at night when needed. I immediately placed my father's funerary urn on the table, relieving me of my load.

Walking to the window, I could see the garden at the back of the mansion. I spotted Mazoga and a few other slaves tending to some magical flowers and herbs, each one of them worth their weight in silver or gold.

After nodding in satisfaction, I removed my belongings carefully, placing my purses and belongings on the table. After that, I undressed and tossed my filthy cloak and tunic on the floor, leaving me in my underwear and sandals. Although I washed some of the blood off me, it wasn't thorough. Dry blood still dirtied my chest, creating an unpleasant, sticky sensation.

Looking at the blood, I still strangely didn't feel any repulsion or disgust from it.

After a few minutes, Borug arrived with a bowl of hot water and a rag, along with a new clean white silk tunic.

Borug said while laying down the things on the floor, "Here you go, Mog. If there is anything else you need, please tell me."

I nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Borug. Can I ask for a few minutes of your time to chat with me?"

Borug nodded with a smile, "Sure, what do you wish to talk about?"

I asked my first question while starting to clean myself with the rag, "Who are you? What is your profession here? How did you end up in the mansion?"

Continuing to smile pleasantly, Borug answered, "My name is Borug, and I used to be a member of the ash-eagle tribe before being sold to the Fidelis family when I was approximately your age for being a runt. My job includes running various errands around the mansion, as well as cleaning and maintaining the first-floor rooms."

He then continued, "Because there are only so many people living on this floor, and I also have some help from others, most of the day is free for me to do whatever I want, like training my body. What about you? May I be so rude as to inquire as to how you came to be a high-ranking servant in this mansion and at such a young age, no less?"

I didn't see a reason to hide it and told him the truth, me being the mistress's pet included. Borug looked surprised at first but then gave me a weary smile.

He said with an envious look, "You managed to become her pet on the first day while all the others failed. I am envious of you."

I was certainly confused by what he said and asked strangely, "You are envious of me? For being a pet?"

His envy grew deeper as he said, "You don't even realize the weight of your position, yet you still managed to get it through a twist of sheer luck... The lucky lady's dices certainly are random."

He then sighed, envy still deep in his eyes, and said, "About my job, I have another duty in this mansion along with a few other low-rank servant orcs. It is being the mistress's toy, helping her relieve her needs at night."

I immediately understood what he meant, but I also heard another term I didn't know about, "What do you mean by being a toy? How is that any different from being a pet?"

Borug stared at me, trying to figure out if I was bluffing, but seeing my young age, he discarded the thought and sighed, "A toy is someone disposable without any emotional attachments to it. Rich people occasionally purchase a sex slave to release their pent-up frustrations, and such slaves have no rights, no more than any other slave, save to warming their master's bed when requested. However, by the end of the day, a toy is an object. There is almost no hope in advancement in life.

A pet, on the other hand, will receive some emotional sentiments from the master. Not only will you be groomed to become stronger and better, but you will also be treated better and have more influence in the house, sometimes second only to the master himself. Some male masters will marry a female pet as concubines or even main wives, while some female masters will seed themselves with a talented pet's seed rather than their husband's seed. The mistress, being how she is, will likely choose someone else's seed to impregnate her. As her pet, you have a high chance of being selected as the donor."

I didn't refute what he said, as I heard rumors of such scandals in the upper echelons of society. One thing, though, perplexed me "Why would she choose a half-orc like me as a source of seed? Half of her kids will be born half-orcs, right?"

From what I knew, amongst the humane races, reproduction was based on halves. For example, I was born from an orc mother and a drow/human father. According to this logic, because my mother was an orc/orc, I had a 100% chance of inheriting an orc heritage, but only a 50% chance of inheriting a human heritage from my father.¹Added an entry in the glossary about breeding

The only reason halfbreeds were uncommon was because of xenophobia.

Borug nodded but then shook his head, "Normally, that would be the case, but there are potions that prevent pregnancy from certain races, such as orcs. On half-breeds like you, some medicines stop you from spreading your orcish heritage, leaving only your human side."

I was shocked, "Contraceptives can work like that?!"

Borug shook his head and said, "Not all, but some of the expensive ones have such a function. One's that are not available for the more general populace that can afford a contraceptive, anyways. Pretty popular among the noblewomen who have half-human lovers."

I nodded, finally understanding my situation to an acceptable degree. By this time, I had finished cleaning off the blood and started to dress up.

I asked one more final question, "What do you think about the other high-ranking servants? What do you think about the young master and mistress?"

"Just tell me what you can say or not," I said as Borug looked understandably uncomfortable with the topic.

Borug sighed in relief and started talking, "Erno is a wise and caring man, but he can be ruthless when needed and is loyal to the mistress.

Borso is a simple and honest man, and unlike his frightening appearance, he is also kind, although slightly dull. Faevyre is a witty and cheerful woman, and although she appears to be a hardass sometimes, she is a caring person. They also don't view me as a slave, and more like a worker here, which is a marked improvement from others.

Mazoga was here from the moment I came here. She is a cheerful and airheaded person, but she is also a predator. Seeing how handsome you look, I warmly suggest that you never stay in the same room with her alone. Personal experience.

Thrakkare, the head cook, is an old childless bat who enjoys lashing out at anyone who crosses her, but she isn't unreasonable enough to seek fault with people who don't. I suggest that you treat her as politely as you can, as even the master himself doesn't dare cross her. I heard rumors that she was once the lover of the master's father, and she is a powerful mage herself, so do tread carefully around her.

Agrippa is a serious man with military experience. He is extremely loyal to master Bultatus, and seldomly speaks with others. I hear he was once the master's mage-guard but retired after receiving a crippling blow, dropping his power greatly. I don't know how strong he is currently, but I know that he was a peak B-rank warrior before.

I don't know much about Drusus and Lars because they seldom interact with a low-rank servant like me, but I can tell you that they are both arrogant pricks and are oathbound mage-guards to young master Aulus. It is a miracle to have even a 10-word conversation with them if you are not at least a high-rank servant.

Cispia and Livia came together with the young mistress when she moved in. Cispia is an apprentice warrior of Agrippa, while Livia learns under Faevyre. Cispia is a sharp, feminine, and kind girl, while Livia is a serious, tomboyish, and straightforward girl. Although they are the mistress' handmaidens, they don't have their noses in the air, so all the servants have a favorable impression of them.

Young master Aulus is an extremely gifted man in magic and looks, but I am afraid that he isn't up to standard in other areas. Let's just say that we servants don't really like him, and let us not talk more about him lest we both get whipped.

And finally, young mistress Consentia. I can only describe her as being almost perfect, with her only obvious flaws being her tastes in men, high libido, and liking being in control, both in and out of bed. Although I am her toy, I am a willing one. She isn't one to force herself upon others. She is smart, talented, beautiful, nice, down-to-Aessonia, fair, righteous, and caring, even to us slaves and servants. We all like her. One of us even lost a finger on accident, so she forked out a rare limb regeneration potion to restore his finger! Among the high nobility, I have never seen someone as selfless as her.

And I believe I covered everyone."

I smiled in satisfaction at the information I received. Although what Borug said wasn't entirely trustworthy, it did reveal how he felt about the other people in the house. As my father always said, "A man can lie to you to the face about himself, but his subordinates seldom lie about how he treats them."

Borug, being on the lowest rung in the entire manor, didn't have a reason to lie to me, his superior, about the others. I even have the faint impression that he is trying to bootlick me with him giving me so much information. Father had taught me the importance of rewarding a good informant, so I went to one of my purses and pulled out a silver coin.

I handed the silver coin to Borug and said, "Thank you for your time, Borug. Consider this compensation for your time."

In the past, I would never give such large amounts of money like that to anyone. Now, however, I felt like the worth of money was much lower. At the very least, I was far less stingy. If that wasn't the case, I would never have paid a whole gold coin for three functionally useless trinkets. Besides, I wasn't using the money I earned, but the money I robbed from others.

When Borug received the silver coin, he immediately beamed and said, "Thank you, sir Mog! Er... I mean, Mog. If you ever need anything, just ask away and I shall help to the best of my abilities!"

I nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, I won't hold you back anymore. It's almost lunchtime, so I will be heading to the dining room. See you later!"

Borug smiled, took the now-warm water, and dirtied clothes, and answered back, "Alright, until next time."

After Borug left, I took the purse with the trinkets with me, locked my room with the key I received, and went to the ground floor to the high-ranking servants' dining room.

Cispia, Livia, Mazoga, and Borso were all there when I arrived, but Erno and Faevyre were not.

Mazoga waved at me and said enthusiastically, "Little Mog, come sit next to me!"

The look in her eyes sent a shiver down my spine, so I refused politely, "Err... No thank you. I will sit next to Livia and Cispia..."

Cispia gave me an odd look while Livia sternly said, "Go sit next to Mazoga this time."

"Yep, she is holding a grudge against me. And by the looks of it, she even told Cispia." - I thought to myself.

I lamented theatrically, "Oh, that is too bad... and I even bought gifts for you..."

The two young girl's eyes suddenly lit up. Cispia beat Livia to it and invited while patting the seat next to her, "Now why didn't you say so earlier? Come sit next to us then!"²Cispia and Livia favorability +1

Seeing that Livia didn't object this time, I couldn't help but praise Faevyre in my heart. "It seems like women like gifts very much. Although I am sure I can't solve everything with gifts, I can at least apologize for simple things."³It is scientifically correct to a large extent. Women are hardwired to enjoy giving and receiving gifts to a far greater extent than men due to social norms and such. For any unlikely feminist here who makes my life harder with stupid and painfully long comments, or just someone curious enough, here is a link.

In my opinion, paying a few silver coins for not falling out with my new colleagues was a worthwhile trade. Ignoring Mazoga who now silently sulked, I sat down next to Cispia with a smile.

Opening my pouch, I took out the three trinkets I got from the plaza and showed them to them, "I got three trinkets from the Sa'anite desert. Pick one each."

The two girls eagerly examined what I had brought, and Livia scooped up the cat statue in an instant. She then realized that she was too eager, coughed a bit, and said with a slight blush, "We are even now."⁴Livia favorability +3 

Cispia acted more maturely, and after viewing the two items, she picked up the bracelet and said with a gentle smile, "Thank you, Mog. I like it."⁵Cispia favorability +2

I smiled in content, Faevyre's ploy was a success. At the very least, I didn't need to worry about Livia hating me now. I also praised my good thinking in buying three trinkets instead of one since Cispia might have become jealous. Father has always warned me that women can be narrow-minded about the slightest things for gods know what reasons.⁶FACT! Women have an excess in attention to detail, resulting in them turning petty.

Now I was left with only the ring. Looking at it, I wondered to who I should give it to. I spared Mazoga a look, who was eagerly looking at me as if expecting something but quickly discarded the thought.

"It is better I stay away from this woman. She is dangerous."