Chapter 10: Tenets.

Chapter 10: Tenets.

"So one of the little kids that came with you has disappeared?"

Lawrence’s sword came down upon Gabriel’s leg. It originally aimed for his head, only striking his leg because he did his best to dodge. But this blasted body was so weak and frail that there were times where it just couldn’t respond as quickly as he needed it to.

The sword Lawrence used was blunt, but it was still a piece of metal so it was inevitable that a dull pain would shoot up Gabriel’s leg. In turn, that dull pain caused him to stumble before he could catch himself, allowing Lawrence to rest his blade on his shoulder.

"Correct. She was supposed to return yesterday but never did. And frankly, I doubt she’ll return in the future."

Gabriel swat the blunt weapon aside and stood up, putting as little weight as possible on his left leg. Monday One had yet to return by the time he woke up to head out to the physical training that Lawrence had prepared for him. He didn’t see her during the walk to the training grounds either so things weren’t looking good for her return.This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.

"You think one of the Young Masters would actually go out of their way to kill a little maid?"

Lawrence tossed Gabriel a waterskin, a slightly incredulous look on his scarred face. He wasn’t exactly trying to lower his voice, but they were alone here anyway so it didn’t really matter. As for why they were alone, it wasn’t like the other knights needed physical training, they were already adults or close to it so they were strong enough. Gabriel however... well, he definitely needed it.

"No, I doubt it. It’s not impossible that one of their cronies would do something like that, but for a situation like this it’s just excessive. It’s not like it’d be hard for them to pull her away from Alice, she’d have to be a fool to stay."

There hadn’t been a single moment where Gabriel thought that Monday One would be dead. The second and third young masters of the Vritara clan were definitely villains in the story, but at this point in time they still considered themselves nobles at heart.

Leonardo didn’t even want to set foot outside of his carriage when they were at the orphanage, dealing with commoners was beneath his kind. Rather than killing a little commoner and staining their honour, why not just offer her a better job and have her willingly leave her ‘master’? It would net him a new servant, even if she could only be used to carry rags, and the humiliation suffered by Alice would be that much worse. It was easy, it wasn’t illegal or shameful, and above all, it was noble to help a commoner live a better life. Truly, he was acting as a Vritara should.

"Hmm, true. Young Lady Alice is, quite frankly, in a terrible spot. Just about any offer is better than working for her, I’m sure even kids like them will have noticed it by now."

Lawrence was obviously not blind, even the lowest-ranked workers here could feel the disdain the younger masters had for Alice. The only reason she hadn’t already been cast out or killed by them was that last name that she bore. Vritara. To kill one of their own bearing that name, no matter how much they hated them, it was the greatest sin.

"Why do I feel like that statement is excluding me?"

Gabriel finished off the water and handed back the waterskin. There was something about the way Lawrence spoke, a disconnect between Gabriel and the four others he had come with. But surely he didn’t seem that different from the other kids, right? In a world as harsh as this, shouldn’t it be normal for even children, especially orphans to grow up fast? His actions and thoughts should be expected, right?

"Because you’re too bleak. The things you say, the rational way you look at things, the world’s already twisted you to a state where I can’t call you a kid."

Sadly, Gabriel was anything but understanding of what kids should be like. But how could he help it, he barely got to be a kid when he was a child in his last life. His understanding of what was and wasn’t a kid was just too skewed. Well, at least others would say that.

"I wouldn’t go quite that far, I’d say I’m a bit too normal to be considered twisted."

He grabbed the plate of food and slumped down on the bed he had picked for himself. The room was completely empty so the others were probably at their own jobs, as maids they had to do a lot more minor jobs than him, especially in the mornings and evenings. Well, some peace was nice so he unwrapped one of the sandwiches and took a bite.

"Geh, they feed her this?"

He immediately grimaced as the food touched his tongue. It was subtle, but the food was definitely off. They weren’t going overboard and giving her bread covered in mold, but the slices were definitely stale and old, just the faintest taste of mold settling at the back of his throat. The ham was much the same, the taste and slimy sensation was only felt at the very back of his throat. The salad was soggy, the tomato was practically disintegrated, the cucumber was mush, and rather than dressing it seemed as if they had just sprinkled some salt on the bread.

"Man, it really is a joke."

The Vritara family was one of only three ducal households in this empire. There were only four other families on par with them in this entire vast empire, the Imperial Family at the centre, the ducal household to the north, the ducal household to the west, and the slightly special family that guarded the border at the east. Together with the Vritara household, these five families held the entire wealth of this empire, they never lacked anything. To feed their Young Lady something like this? The servant would be fired, if not executed, if it happened in any other family.

"Probably ought to teach her a thing or two about cooking if I get the chance."

He mused to himself as he kept eating the food despite its poor quality. The girls luckily weren’t here, otherwise they’d look at him strangely for talking to himself. But he couldn’t help it, it had been a habit for a majority of his previous life. While out on missions, it was rare to have anyone to talk to so he had no choice but to talk to himself, it helped keep him sane.

He swiftly finished off the three sandwiches and then laid down, the straw that filled his pillow tickling his neck. But it beat sleeping on the ground so he was still able to close his eyes and get some rest, his weary muscles thanking him.

He woke up a bit before it was time for the next round of training, a bit groggy because it had been a while since he slept that long. But even as he rubbed his eyes, he saw that the others had returned and were making food. But the group that started out as four had shrunk to two, another maid gone.

He questioned them, but he could guess the answer even before they opened their mouths. Another one gone.

He went to the training and spent some time with Lawrence, and by the time he got back the two remaining maids were already asleep. They had left some food for him so he got to eat that before going to bed. The next day, he went to his early training and repeated the previous day, eating some food that Alice had snuck in there for him before going to bed.

And when he awoke for the evening training, the previous day once again repeated. Two had become one. Another maid gone.

Training, food left by the last maid, sleep. Morning training, food left by Alice, sleep. And when he awoke again for the evening training, he was alone. No smell of food, no sound of chattering, no lights. The last maid was gone.

Still, he went to the evening training, but this time he had to make his own food when he returned. Eat, sleep until morning training. But this time, as he prepared to leave, there was a knock on the door.

A young man, a neat black suit, a white shirt, a dark blue bowtie. His hair was parted to the left and neatly combed, the scent of soap made it clear that it was recently washed.

"Greetings. The Young Lord wishes to invite you, please follow me."

They had come for the rest, now they had come for him.