Footsteps echoed down the hallway as the maid slowly walked down the corridor with a serving cart.
The scent of biscuits and tea was clear on the serving cart; the maid hummed to herself as she continued her way to her destination, passing through countless paintings on the crimson walls.
After a minute of strolling, she halted the cart in front of a door. The maid fixed herself before knocking on the door three times.
"Young mistress, your tea is here!"
After announcing her arrival, she placed her hand on the knob—pushing the door as gently as she could—but before entering completely, she grabbed the cart and pushed it inside before closing the door behind her.
At her presence, the maid bowed before repeating:
"Young miss, it's time to wake up! Your tea is here!"
"…"
She waited, but no response came back. So she tried again.
"Young miss! You must wake up; breakfast with the patriarch is about to start!"
With no other choice, she quickly went to the side of the bed and started tugging the young lady.
"… Before then, we must prepare! Youn—"
As she uncovered the bed, she was met with a bloodied corpse with one eye and no skin.
At that moment, a vein suddenly popped, splashing crimson liquid on the maid's face. Her eyes widened immediately before touching her face to verify whether it was real or not.
Confirming the corpse was real and not an illusion. Her stomach felt as if it had twisted at the sight.
"AHHHHH!!!!"
A sharp scream burst through the young lady's room, and as it was heard, many servants came rushing into the room, checking the commotion. As they entered, they saw a maid on the floor, breathing uncontrollably with a quiet sob while she pointed at the corpse in front of her.
Their face dropped as soon as they saw the bloodied figure, and as they did, most of the servants scattered out, while some tried to calm the maid.
As they assisted her up, the maid looked at the servants, their demeanors urgent but calmer than she anticipated.
"… H-How are you so calm?"
"Oh… Are you… Perhaps new here?"
"W-What…?"
***
A male servant, who, after just witnessing the corpse, sprinted with his utmost capability. Dashing through the hallways, other servants passed him, and like him, they were scrambling around urgently.
Turning to a corner, he stopped at a certain door. Catching his breath, he knocked on the door before excusing himself in.
"Sir! The Young miss is—"
In the middle of the room, a man in his late twenties, with dark hair and crimson eyes, was seated at a desk, organizing paperwork.
"I know… Tell everyone to find her. If she isn't in the manor, send someone to find her outside."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Before dismissing himself, the butler bowed in respect before running out of the room the moment he was dismissed.
On the desk was a nameplate made out of a silver-like material spelling: "Leon Hyakagure."
"Still in her rebellious phase despite being three years now… Sigh."
Outside, many servants rush from one room to another, spreading orders to one another, deepening the search for the young mistress.
The manor was in utter chaos.
***
A bright yellow hue filled the air, shining carefully on the valley, and barely any people walked through the streets. The yellow rays landed on Ena's skin, countering the cold atmosphere.
Looking back, a large metal fence separated her from a large manor.
Scratching her scalp, she listened to countless footsteps rummaging around, and many people chattering urgently.
'The corpse lasted way longer than the last…'
Hearing their urgency, Ena no longer felt interested in staying any longer; she had only waited to see how long the corpse would fool them. Now that she knew, there was no reason to wait any longer.
Stretching her arms upwards, she groaned quietly as she walked away from the fence and deeper into the alleyway.
This had been a routine for her, waking up early and setting decoys for herself to escape the manor; whether it be using a corpse that resembled her figure or using other methods that would allow her to bypass her father's monitoring.
And honestly, she grew tired of this routine, always plotting an escape to gain a few hours of liberation before other house servants find her.
She never quite understood her father's overprotectiveness towards her, only viewing it as a constant hassle. But that didn't mean he was controlling; ever since her childhood, Ena had been treated like a normal kid.
He never forced his child to use honorifics and only gave her what she needed and what she desired.
The only problem was that… they were rich.
Raising a kid normally, as any parent would, but with excessive money involved. Spoilage is bound to happen. You take a dog to a wolf's den and raise it there; it's only inevitable for it to act like a wolf as well.
She always wondered whether that was the reason her father would always nag her, but the dots never aligned for her.
But as tired as she was from the routine, she had no reason to stop.
In this world, magic, skills, and innate abilities are everywhere—along with technology, and many more. And she, a person born with many privileges, had talent for each of them. In her mind, there was no reason to be monitored 24/7; she was more than capable on her own.
'Who needs servants—maids and butlers, not that I ever needed them anyway.'
She thought to herself, and even though she thought that, she still ate the food made by them, had her baths made by them, and her clothes prepared by them.
'I only managed to find a gap within fences; it was a coincidence, but there was a part of the fence where some runes were misplaced, allowing me to escape through there without dad getting alarmed.'
As she contemplated, she suddenly remembered that if she wasn't careful, her new route of escape would be revealed and would be patched up. At that thought, an unpleasant memory resurfaced.
She had used the sewers once to escape, and whilst she traversed the area, a wave of sewage water came rushing toward her. She was caught by it, and when it passed, she was already soaked and reeked so badly that she decided to stop there and return to the manor to wash up again.
'At least now I don't need to go to the sewers…'
Turning her head upward, she took a deep breath. Looking clearly at the silver sky…
Silver…?
At that moment, she regained her composure and cleared her vision. A silhouette of a youthful man covered the sky, creating a large shadow beneath him as he jumped from the building next to her.
The youthful man wore a formal attire that resembled that of a butler, but that wasn't the thing that caught Ena's eye. His features were nothing more than memorable: As his silhouette passed by, she caught a glimpse of his side profile.
Sharp grey pupils, matched with snow-like silver hair. His presence felt like an eerie sensation; no different from that of a ghost. Her eyes widened as she observed clearly, as if she were looking at a portrait.
He vanished into the next building, with the last thing she saw being a briefcase he carried.
Ena stood there, as if she were stunned; snapping back to reality, she furrowed her brows and continued on her way, as if nothing ever happened.
"What was that guy's problem?"
'For some reason, I feel annoyed now. Sigh, who cares, I'll just have some fun…'
Reaching into her pocket, her hand went to reach for her wallet.
It wasn't there.
"Oh mY FucKing God…"
***
And there she was... face-to-face with the fence she originally escaped from—and also waited.
'It's okay! It's okay! I'll just go to my room and exit the moment I grab it."
Nearing the fence, she heard many of the servants still running around in search of her. Despite it being 10 minutes already since the corpse was found, they were still searching for her throughout the manor.
Using her ears, she assimilated their steps steadily, dividing their steps into two, allowing her to simulate where they were looking so she could wait for an opportunity to enter without being noticed.
So she waited, and waited, until…
She jumped over the fence and into the garden. Fortunately, her simulation was a success, and she was able to pass them without being noticed.
She jumped to the window that connected to her room, going completely unnoticed. Ena quietly entered her room and made eye contact with a maid inside… Awkward silence filled the room until she sprinted to the door.
"THE YOUNG MISTRESS IS HER—"
The maid shouted; however, she passed out before completing her sentence and exiting through the door. Ena sighed in relief, rushing toward the drawers in the hope of finding her wallet quickly.
Not long after she found her wallet, however, her sense of relief slowly vanished the moment her father entered the room—surprising her a bit.
"Morning… Father…"
Leon, staring at her daughter, sighed. He was too tired to scold her, and didn't really dare to even if he wasn't. In all honesty, he felt a bit proud of his daughter for her active behaviour these days, but he had gone to a point where he felt tired because of it. That didn't mean he wasn't worried in the slightest; if that were the case, he wouldn't have sent all his servants to find her.
"Is it really that annoying to be accompanied by someone?"
"YES! Do you know how frustrating it is to have a person beside you all the time!? I want to be alone just for a bit!"
Leon sighed at her response, scratching the back of his neck; he called out one of the servants passing by. "Tell everyone to stop the search and continue to their original tasks."
The servant nodded, excusing herself before spreading the orders.
"Follow me." He said.
Ena was skeptical at first; nevertheless, it was her father's orders, so she had no other choice but to follow him. Exiting her room, trailing just behind him.
"Y'know, not many people are as lucky as you. Born with a strong ability and into a wealthy family, especially as a semi-pure yourself; There's only a handful of people like us left in the universe..."
The term semi-pures had always been strange to Ena, since she couldn't distinguish whether it was a blessing or a curse.
After the awakening period, everyone's genetics have mixed due to overproduction and foreigners reproducing with other foreigners. But despite that, nationalities remained tied to birthplace. So if you were born in Russia, you'd be Russian.
But… Not everyone was mixed; some wanted to preserve their traditions exactly as they were. Because of this, many families had decided to maintain their 'pure' nationality and would only engage with other families that had the same mindset.
These people were called semi-pures. Why? Families like these had to maintain their bloodline as preserved as possible, but through the course of 100,000 years? It was impossible to maintain that "pure" blooded tradition.
Nevertheless, some families were able to preserve at least 70% of their nationality, and those who were successful were given the blessing of being called a semi-pure. These families would go on to be political figures due to their representation and respect from humanity.
However, the price of being one was strict; one of them was losing the privilege of choosing a spouse.
But luckily, her father wasn't like them; he gave her absolute freedom. She gave her the option to choose what she wanted to be and who she wanted to marry.
And having given that, she wasn't able to tell whether being one was a blessing or a curse.
But she could tell that she was more on the blessing side than the curse.
Lost in thought, she hadn't realized that she had made it to their destination: Her father's office.
While the door opened, she caught a glimpse of a youthful man standing next to her father's desk. A familiar feeling from moments earlier resurfaced. There, she saw his silver hair swaying slightly before he bowed his head.
"This is Haruo… Your new butler."