Steps, walking back and forth. Movements everywhere, all being carried out at once—the mansion is unusually busy for some reason. Maids hurrying along, people carrying trays up to the second floor. Glasses and expensive wines, everything ready and prepared.
The second floor, inside the study…
[Chiyo: Would you like anything, sir… Helmet?]
[Don Helmet: Huh? Ah… well, a wine never hurts, right? Pour me some, pretty.]
[Chiyo: …]
"…"
Don Helmet, the head of House Helmet, was visiting at this moment.
He is a noble from the capital of the region. A true visionary, and a very important politician and aristocrat. His most notable business is the sale of amethyst, as he is the largest exporter of it. He is part of the Council of Sages of the Sacred Empire, and his name is one of the most influential in the country.
His appearance is that of a man in his fifties, though his true age has never been made public. He is quite reserved about appearing in public and always attends noble gatherings to discuss interesting topics. He was one of the participants at the last party organized by House Eidoriku, which unfortunately became the victim of that tedious disaster.
[Chiyo: …]
[Don: Thank you very much, pretty little kitty.]
[Chiyo: …]
He is a man who generally wears large purple suits to accommodate his robust build. He likes that kind of outfit, with scarves around the neck, and he wears a blood-red cape embroidered with gold and white accents. He wears heeled boots and has gray hair combed to both sides.
To put it more bluntly, he looks like the typical perverted, disgusting aristocrat from a generic isekai.
His gaze is a gleaming black, and his voice is hoarse, like that of a heavy smoker—which makes sense, as he smokes a lot of tobacco in his pipe. He is known for his taste for sweet wine, as well as his fondness for demihuman maids with animal-like features. The latter varies depending on appearance, according to rumors, as it is also said that his favorite servant is a simple human woman. He seems to be an indecisive and somewhat eccentric master—though, in general, every noble has their own peculiarities.
"…"
[Akuma: Ahem… it's a pleasure to have you here, Lord Helmet.]
[Don: Huh? Ah… yes, likewise, Akuma.]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: I have expectations about what you'll propose today, so I'm prepared to hear any interesting negotiation.]
[Akuma: I'm glad to hear that from you. Today I want to discuss some matters regarding the southern border of the country.]
[Don: About the war, right? I'm very interested in that as well. My products need to pass through that area to shorten delivery times, and in the long run this will bring me problems.]
[Akuma: Of course… it's a fairly common type of issue. I wanted to talk about it because I didn't—]
"…"
A conversation between nobles began to unfold. The other servants in the room merely limited themselves to listening to their masters. There were only two present: Chiyo and a white-haired maid. Both were positioned behind their respective masters, occasionally exchanging glances.
The maid in question seemed to be the same one involved in the incident in the kitchen—the one whose uniform had been stained with meat broth. Chiyo remembered her well; she had passed by her when she took Lior and pulled him out of there. Her gaze seemed empty, saying nothing at all, as if her mind were well-trained. Chiyo functioned in much the same way; on the surface, they were very similar in personality. Perhaps mentally they thought differently, but that didn't change the fact that their attitudes were already set and conditioned.
The two of them looked at each other while both masters spoke of their affairs.
But then, a comment—
[Don: Akuma, aside from all that… would you be interested in selling me some of your maids?]
[Akuma: …]
[Chiyo: …]
[White-haired maid: …]
"…"
What?
[Akuma: Huh? Where did that come from? Lord Helmet, my dear maids are not for sale. You know how much I care about them and—]
[Don: Akuma… please don't lie to me. You know how much I enjoy doing business. I brought this up simply because you have too many maids right now. I've known you for many years, and I know you prefer a smaller number of people in the mansion.]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: Don't you want to sell me some of your cat girls? You have quite a lot of them here—it seems they're your favorite race, am I wrong?]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: I'd like… that kitty who dropped the food at the last party…]
[Akuma: Um… Lord Helmet, I don't think it would be very appropriate to do th—]
A filthy, inquisitive look.
[Don: I want some of your maids as a way to make up for your mistake. Especially that same one Petra mentioned—she said she was very beautiful and cute… You didn't kill her after that, did you—]
[Akuma: Lord, you know I would never do that. You know how much I sacrifice to take care of all of them. I can't sell anyone from my staff; everyone is necessary and—]
[Don: Really? Usually not everyone performs well at their job. What use is a maid who spills food? I don't think that's necessary, in my opinion. I'm just saying… why don't you sell me a few? These maids are beautiful—it's hard to find servants of this caliber.]
Don looked at Akuma with a persuasive smile, while Akuma limited himself to thinking, his hands clasped together.
But… Lior…
I can't hand Lior over. He's perfect in every part of his body. I love him with all my being—he's beautiful, and I want to keep him for myself. He's the best thing I have for moments like these; I love releasing stress with him. He's the best toy I've had in a long time. It's very hard to find such beauty again, especially in a man like that. And besides—what if Don kills the boy? I can't allow that. He's far too valuable to me. Demihumans are hunted constantly, and—
[Don: …]
[Akuma: …]
A look…
[Don: Come on, Akuma. You know I respect my maids too. I just want her for my collection. Isn't it a tempting offer?]
[Akuma: …]
But… even so…
This offer is far too tempting. It's one of the best offers I've ever received. Cleaning up my image in exchange for a few simple maids—not even House Lugmart would be so considerate and straightforward. I have to take advantage of this.
[Akuma: It… might be…]
[Don: Yes, right?]
[Akuma: It might be… it's a very good offer… but even so… I would have to review all my staff…]
[Don: I want seven.]
[Akuma: …]
[Chiyo: …]
WHAT?!
[Akuma: Ahem… e-excuse me… how… how did you say?]
[Don: I want seven maids, chosen by me. I'll see which ones are useful to me and which aren't. That's fair for both of us, right?]
[Akuma: Wh—]
No… this is too much.
There's no reason to take so many maids from me. They're mine and no one else's. I even gave them my surname! They're branded as Eidoriku, burned in for life—they can't just be taken from me like that. No matter how much money he has, I won't sell any of my ser—
[Don: Hey, Akuma… do you really think you're in a position to consider what I'm asking? It seems to me you're under a lot of pressure after what happened last time. The other nobles who attended your event were deeply displeased with what occurred. Do you really think you can worry about something as trivial as this?]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: Well, you're still young. You lack experience in politics and in general decision-making. Even though your father was better than you in this field…]
[Akuma: Sir… please don't bring my family into this. I am the only one responsible. Let my family rest in peace, I beg you with all due respect.]
[Don: …]
They were both sitting face to face, like prey and hunter. Akuma was being devoured alive by external criticism, even though none of his staff knew anything about it. Don had touched a very sensitive nerve in the man before him. It is publicly known that Akuma spent many days tormented by the death of his parents—a собыssion that marked a before and after in politics and commerce.
Albert Eidoriku, Akuma's father, was a very special and intelligent man. He owned the mineral business that Akuma now runs, and his way of being was so exceptional that he seemed made for that world. It is said he died in a carriage accident, where he and his wife fell into a ravine. They say the coachman was bought by an outside house, and that he carried out a suicidal act along with the couple.
Everyone knows what their son went through and how this event changed him, turning him into a mentally unstable man. Akuma had to take on all the commercial and sociopolitical pressure that came crashing down on him, while also enduring his grief at the same time. This left him completely exhausted, and to make matters worse, at his most important event he made a mistake. All of this together has left an indelible stain on his image. All of this is happening because he is still very young and cannot manage everything properly. His father was a revolutionary genius—he is merely a young man forced to assume an impossible role.
That's why…
At this very moment, Don is pressing on Akuma's heart, forcing him to yield.
"..."
[Don: Come on…]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: Akuma, you know how much I respect you, and how much I respected your father. That's why I want you to benefit as well. I'm asking for very little in exchange for what you've done.]
[Akuma: …]
It's a complicated moment. Not only because of having trampled on Don's respect at that party—this all comes from before, from unresolved matters. Everything has culminated in this awkward situation. Akuma is being squeezed from every side; he has to release the pressure if he wants to stay afloat.
[Akuma: …]
[Don: …]
[Akuma: I…]
Both heads of house face each other. One looks down, holding his head with both hands. The other simply watches him, a glass of wine in hand.
[Akuma: I… I…]
[Don: Hm?]
[Akuma: …]
[Don: …]
"..."
[Akuma: …]
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
[Akuma: …]
[Don: …]
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
[Akuma: I'll give them to you.]
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
...
"..."
He did it…
"..."
...
"..."
[Chiyo: Lior…]
A nearly imperceptible murmur—an unconscious one. Chiyo whispered Lior's name; everything that had been discussed involved him and several other maids. If possible, they would all be demihumans.
[Chiyo: What is… happening?]
How did this even get to this point? It was a meaningless question that caught Akuma off guard. Everything had been going so well—how was it that just minutes into the meeting, everything went to hell?
[Chiyo: …]
How did it happen that my master is now thinking about these things? Whenever someone offered a sum for his maids, he never gave them away. How serious was the issue with the party? Is Akuma really that desperate to get out of this?
[Chiyo: …]
There's nothing I can do, but… no… no… this is very wrong… It's normal among nobles to make this kind of purchase, but even so, Akuma had never made one before. This is very strange—it doesn't seem like him who's speaking and negotiating here. It's hard to believe…
[Petra: Lior…]
[Chiyo: …]
"..."
[Chiyo: Huh?]
Chiyo heard a whisper from the white-haired maid. Her name seems to be Petra, since that's what her master called her. The demihuman lifted her head at the sound made by the human. Her gaze was directed to one side—toward the entrance to the study. Chiyo followed her gaze.
[Chiyo: Lior…]
The door was half open. It could have been the wind, but with what Petra said…
[Chiyo: He heard it…]
Lior had been there.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Clean and clean. Scrub and scrub. The floor and the floor. Soak, rinse. From one side to the other. Nothing else to think about. There's no room for explanations.
"..."
Tina scrubbed the floor of the left corridor beside the main door. She worked with broad strokes, moving from side to side, with the delicacy and elegance befitting a maid. Her appearance looked neat and beautiful—something she always took care of. Her master was very strict about appearances.
[Tina: …]
She cleaned and cleaned, back and forth, swaying as she went. She rinsed and continued; that was all there was to it. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, brows furrowed, deeply focused. The strength in her hands applied pressure that scrubbed the stains away completely—far more pressure than the task required. She told herself it was because of how dirty the floor was, but the truth was something else.
"..."
[Tina: …]
Tina was still anguished over what had happened a little while ago. She kept regretting that foolish mistake of falling asleep with Lior. How would he look at her now? It was her fault for ending up in that corner with no way out. That vulgarity was horrible—unacceptable. Yesterday the cat boy had been utterly desperate, his body shattered and in great pain. What must he have felt in that moment? Horror. Fear…
[Tina: ?]
[Luciana: Huh? Tina…]
"..."
Tina was calmly scrubbing the floor when a brown-haired maid appeared beside her.
[Tina: …]
[Luciana: Heh… I know nothing happened, relax. Remember I sleep in the room next to Lior's. If anything had—]
[Tina: Shut up… Luciana… please…]
[Luciana: Ah… o-okay… I'll shut up.]
"..."
Tina shot Luciana a piercing glare; she wouldn't tolerate one of her stupid remarks right now.
[Tina: And… why are you here?]
[Luciana: Ah… coughcough… Well… Miss Chiyo ordered me to notify all the maids about an urgent meeting with the young master. She said the maids must gather in the open hall. She didn't give me any more details or anything.]
[Tina: …]
[Luciana: That's all I had to say. I'm going to go tell the others. If you run into Lior, let him know for me, okay? I couldn't find him anywhere.]
[Tina: O-okay…]
Luciana was in a hurry, her hands fidgeting with a piece of her skirt. Her gaze was casual and her smile forced—everything about her showed her state of mind.
[Luciana: Well… I've told you. I still have the others. See you in a bit.]
[Tina: Yeah…]
With that, Luciana quickly headed down the corridor, disappearing into its depths.
Tina looked ahead, toward the main hall. She thought about what Luciana had said. Why would there be an urgent meeting? Something must have happened—this kind of gathering isn't normal. It had been a year since the last one, so this had to be serious or important enough to warrant advance notice.
She fell into thought, her gaze probing the surroundings while her chin rested on her hand. She considered the different possibilities that could cause such unusual activity. None of what was happening made sense to her. If there had been a workplace accident, nothing would be done—Master Akuma ordered such things himself. So her mind couldn't settle on a solid answer for this situation.
Her hands opened and closed, and her eyes blinked. She looked at her uniform and adjusted it slightly. It was nothing major, but it was still necessary. That was when her gaze fell on her bucket and mop, which needed to be put away.
Tina took a light breath that cleansed her lungs and moved her body toward the aforementioned items. She grabbed the bucket with her right hand and the mop with her left. That was when her walk toward the end of the hallway began.
[Tina: ...]
She walked down that hallway she had seen so many times before. Her legs moved with an automatic and delicate motion. The skirt of her outfit brushed against the continuous movement of her legs, making the fabric sway against the air spread around her. The sunlight as it hid away contrasted with her figure. The large windows were always kept clean, since they were cleaned every day. It was an embellishing sensation that filled the atmosphere, to be honest.
Tina walked down that hallway, her gaze contemplating the sunset; only a few minutes remained before the sun disappeared completely. Her life in this mansion had always been the same, yet she kept her audacity to look at this moment—any sunset was beautiful in her eyes. After a steady morning rain, the scent of dampness left by the storm was comforting and fresh. The beginning of the day might have been disastrous, but that did not mean the day was entirely bad. If only it rained every day.
"..."
[Tina: ...]
Tina reached the end of the hallway, where the large windows no longer reached. The darkness was dispelled by the already lit chandelier; everything was as it usually was. Tina looked at the wall beside the door and left the mop leaning there. Then she stood in front of the door and opened it with a gently measured motion. She took the bucket and threw its contents onto the dirt ground outside the mansion. The water spread without restraint across the terrain, soaking it even more than it already was. Tina returned the bucket to its normal position and closed the large open door with her other hand.
At last, she saw her work done—she had finished her cleaning errands. Cooking was the least of her concerns now; she had to obey the order given by Miss Chiyo. That was her mission at the moment, and it had to be fulfilled.
[Tina: ...]
Life is a good way to get to know oneself; living it is something many here prefer, which is why they keep working and working according to their duties. It is not easy to get used to at first, but it still has to be done. The reason one remains alive is this desire to breathe and look at one's surroundings. Something like that is beautiful; one has to look at the bright side of things from time to time.
[Tina: Mhm... I'd better hurry.]
Tina was thinking to herself; she almost forgot what really mattered.
She picked up the mop she had previously placed to the side, her bucket already bumping against her legs. Her mind returned to her general emotional state, and she walked forward again, heading toward the grand central staircase. She climbed it, with a back-and-forth rhythm produced by the fortuitous movement of her legs, once again making her skirt sway.
She reached the top and headed directly toward the hallway beside it. She walked there until she reached the service door where the cleaning utensils were kept. She opened it and quickly left both items inside. She closed the door and turned back toward the same hallway.
She walked and walked, passed the large door that connected to her master's study, went straight through the entire corridor, until she reached two adjoining doors that opened inward.
That was the destination—she had finally arrived at the meeting hall. That hall was also called the open hall, because it had large windows that let sunlight pass through. Tina had often come to clean it together with Lior. Inside, that urgent meeting was about to begin.
"..."
Tina took hold of the door handle and, with a delicate motion, turned it counterclockwise.
Chick!
The sound was faint; she opened the door along with it.
"..."
There, all the maids of the mansion were gathered. Each one murmured about the topic that was about to be addressed. No one knew anything about it—going so long without a meeting like this and then having it suddenly return was quite unsettling. These kinds of meetings were usually held to announce something bad, so no one held any reasonable hope or expectation. All that was left was to wait for the announcement.
"..."
Tina moved to the side of the room, trying to look for Lior among the crowd—maybe he was somewhere there. The entire mansion had gathered here.
"..."
[Luciana: I see you didn't find Lior, did you, Tina?]
[Tina: Kya!]
[Luciana: ...]
"..."
[Tina: Ugh... What was that? Don't ever show up like that again, my heart almost jumped out.... Gods... Ah...]
[Luciana: Oh my, how delicate. I was just coming back from my errand—there was no one else down there, so I simply returned.]
[Tina: Ah... Really? Then Lior should be around here.]
[Luciana: Well yes, although with your little issue earlier, I don't think it'd be very appropriate for you to run into him, ri—]
[Tina: Shut up, Luciana, please.]
[Luciana: Ngh... o-okay...]
Luciana received a small jab to her ribs from Tina.
[Tina: Well, now we just have to wait for it to start.]
[Luciana: Huh? Ah... y-yes.]
"..."
Plack!
"..."
[???: Over here—please look at me, I have an important announcement to make to all my dear maids!]
"..."
[Tina: ?]
[Luciana: Huh?]
A loud slam echoed from behind the maids, and a very familiar voice within the mansion made itself heard.
[Tina: A-ah...]
[Luciana: M-master...]
All the maids present turned at once toward the direction the voice came from. That voice belonged to Akuma Eidoriku, head of the noble House Eidoriku and owner of all the maids in the mansion.
There he stood, the door open behind him, looking over all the servants in the room.
[Akuma: Well, I brought you here for a reason. Don Helmet has come to this mansion—I want you to respect him and do nothing indecent. You are all people with reason, correct?]
"..."
[All the maids: ...]
"..."
[Akuma: Please... sir...]
"..."
...
"..."
[Don: ...]
Don stepped through the doors. There he was, standing before all the maids—silent, with a serious and severe gaze.
Akuma also let his personal maid enter and then closed the door.
[Akuma: Now... I want all of you to line up side by side.]
His voice grew harsher as he gave a direct order. Each maid felt a sadistic weight press down on their souls; they all looked at one another and then moved into position. One by one, they formed a line, taking their time to do so.
[Akuma: Please... s-sir... go ahead and inspect...]
[Don: Yes, relax. Excuse me.]
Don didn't even bother to look at Akuma; he simply stepped forward to inspect his merchandise. Akuma watched Don with a strange expression stirring within his soul.
[Don: There...]
He stood before all the maids of the mansion. There were around eighteen or twenty gathered here. He looked at them all from the front—there was no need to get any closer. All the maids gazed at the man before them with submissive eyes.
[Don: ...]
[Akuma: ...]
[Don: I want that one—the brown-haired cat girl. Also the light-blue-haired cat girl, and the red-haired dog girl. The white-haired elf as well... and that little cat on the right, the one with gray hair—I like her body.]
[Akuma: ...]
[Don: The rabbit girl you have there... and also that girl—the black hair with blue eyes. The short one.]
[Akuma: ...]
He chose them...
[Don: ...]
He did it...
[Don: ...]
"..."
[Akuma: Um... y-yes... sir...]
[Don: ...]
"..."
...
"..."
You've done it, son of a bitch.
"..."
[Akuma: Sophia, Mia, Venus... Lylia, Haru, Celia...]
"..."
...
"..."
[Akuma: And Lior...]
"..."
...
"..."
[Akuma: You have been purchased by Lord Helmet as slaves of House Helmet. The transfer will take place now.]
"..."