“Is there still anything we have to know?”

Rina looked at Eric, who had asked the question. His blue eyes emitted an eerie feeling, that seemed to say “No lies are allowed.” But what would happen if she lied either way? After all, they both had already signed the contract. At least for the next two years, she would have a place to live and be by the side of the person she loved.

Secretly, Rina glanced at the blonde girl sitting next to her.

But if she answered with the truth and told them about her Dark magic affinity, wouldn't she be risking those two years? After all, who would care about her signed contracts if she was to be branded as a demon or worse?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

'No! Didn't I decide that Clara's happiness comes first? Why am I thinking of myself again? It would be terrible if something happened to her because I hid my abilities from her and her parents... But wait, why didn't he ask me this question before we signed the contract?'

She looked at Eric again, and as soon as her eyes met his, Rina got her answer. His accepting her as a maid for two years was his sign of trust. Trust that had to be repaid with trust on her part. If not, probably even if Clara and she passed their test in two years, Rina would probably still be dismissed. Apart from that, Rina was also quite sure, that Clara's opinion on this matter played an important role. Otherwise, she couldn't understand why a loving father like Eric would accept a random commoner girl to be his daughter's maid.

'But... loving father, huh?' For a split second, another blonde man who never treated Rina like a daughter came to her mind. A man, who had always punched, kicked, and insulted her on sight.

Again, she shook her head to get her last thought from her mind and to concentrate on the matter at hand.

She had to answer Eric's question honestly. He had put his trust in her, so it was now her turn to repay it. With no other choice, the red-haired girl spoke up, “Yes, there is actually something you need to know, but at first...” Rina glanced visibly towards Arland. “... would you please make sure that nothing leaves this room?”

Understanding the meaning of the girl's words, Eric replied, “Nothing spoken here will ever leave this room. In the name of Dragonherz, I will guarantee you that. Arland is loyal to me and me alone, you don't need to worry about him.”

Convinced by his words, Rina warned those around her, “Please don't be surprised, I'm going to use magic now,” and formed a black magic circle on her palm to pull the quill on the table to her hand. “As you can see, I can use the Dark element.” Then she closed her eyes tightly and clenched her free hand as if to prepare herself for the worst and waited for a reaction.

One second passed.

Five.

Ten.

Only after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, was only about 15 seconds, Rina slowly opened her eyes, to see two confused faces and a shocked one looking back at her. The mother-daughter pair were the confused ones, while the father was the latter.

Seeing them like this, Rina timidly opened her mouth. “I-Is there a problem??”

Eric was the first one to return his facial expression to normal. “What did you just do?” 'Didn't Arland say that she could change the weight of things? And what about the chant?' He then looked at the guard captain standing at the door, who also seemed to be confused.

He turned his gaze back to the red-haired girl, who replied nervously, “L-like I said, I used the Dark element.”

“Yes, I could see the black magic seal you formed, but what did you do? Why was the quill floating towards you?”

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Before Rina could answer, Lauren interfered with the conversation in a stern, but gentle tone, “Dear, don't you think it's inappropriate to ask about her magic secrets?”

“She will be Clara's servant, of course, we have to know exactly what she is capable of.”

“No, you're wrong, she will be Clara's servant for only two years, for now.”

Eric had no response to his wife's words. After all, for magic users, their magic abilities were their lifeline in dangerous situations. Only those who were bound to each other for life, or trusted each other completely, would reveal the full extent of their magic abilities. What he had just done was to ask a girl, who was currently contracted to the Dragonherz family only for two years, to tell them what she was capable of. To make matters worse, the girl in question seemed to be clueless about the norm and even wanted to answer his question. If his wife hadn't stopped him, the child might have endangered herself gravely by revealing her secrets to still strangers.

In fact, when he had asked her, if there was anything she wanted them to know, he had only expected her to say that she had an affinity for Dark magic. He had never thought that she would even demonstrate her power, even if it wasn't to its full extent. It was as if he had just tricked a small, unsuspecting girl, who was younger than his child.

Feeling ashamed, he calmed down and faced the currently confused girl, “I'm sorry, what I just did was unbecoming of me. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Eh? N-no, I don't mind it,” were all the words Rina managed to say. She didn't even have the brain capacity to realise how rare it was for a noble to apologise to a commoner, as she currently couldn't understand the world around her anymore.

At first, she had prepared herself for the worst, such as being kicked out, imprisoned, or even killed on the spot, when she showed her Dark magic. But nothing the like happened. Instead, Eric wanted the details of her power, and when she was about to answer, his wife interfered. And now Eric was apologising for some faux pas she didn't know about.

“Hahaha, you seem to get confused very easily. Is it the already the second or the third time already?” Eric said in a good mood, when he saw the state Rina was in. Even though she didn't know about the norm, the girl in front of him was still willing to share her information. It was clear to him, that she was afraid of isolation if people knew about her abnormality. Besides, although she seemed to be very wise for her age, she still lacked general knowledge. So it was possible to teach it to her, which would undoubtedly end in her being loyal to Clara and the Dragonherz family. Someone like her would become very powerful in the future, so his daughter would be safe with Rina by her side.

Meanwhile, the girl in question blushed at Eric's words. After all, everyone would react like that if they were seen through and had their feelings pointed out. Rina was no exception.

Luckily for her, Lauren came to her rescue once again. “Dear, I never knew that you were such an S. I'm slightly disappointed.”

“W-w-w-what do you mean?” Eric's good mood was now replaced by panic.

“Well, you seem to like putting this poor girl in your shame play.”

“HAAAAAAAAAAH!? Sh-shame play, you say? Don't say things like that in front of children!”

“Then how do you explain your behaviour towards her? First, you leered at her like a pervert when she introduced herself, then you questioned her about her deepest secrets, and now laugh at her, telling her how you can read her like an open book. I don't have to tell you how embarrassing it could be, do I?” Lauren smiled sweetly at him, but her eyes didn't match her smile at all.

So with sweat running down his forehead, Eric backed away a little. “D-don't say such scandalous things! A-and for the last one, I didn't say it like that!”

“Nothing but excuses. If you read between the lines, that was exactly what you said... You laughed at her, saying she was easy to read.”

At Lauren's words, both Clara and Rina nodded their heads vehemently, as if they couldn't agree more.

“Besides, how many times have I told you that you need more tact towards young ladies? ...”

While Lauren was scolding Eric, Clara approached the red-haired girl, brought her face close to Rina's ear, and whispered, “It's a good sign, that my parents are...”

However, before she could even finish her sentence...

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

… the girl who was whispered to, Rina, jumped up squealing in surprise like there was no tomorrow, and looked at the girl who had caused it, dumbfounded. Then, a split second later, her face turned bright red matching her hair colour and she stammered, “W-w-w-w-w-w-what?!?”

In her defence, Rina was already aware of her feelings for Clara. Combine it with the fact that said girl had just breathed (whispered) in her obviously sensitive ears, it was a natural reaction. Perhaps.

Unfortunately for Rina, her loud squeal had interrupted the Dragonherz couple in whatever they were doing, so the attention of the entire room was focused on her. Fortunately, Clara's mother, Lauren, now also known as Rina's saviour, once again, deflected the awkward situation.

“This father-daughter pair... you two have joined forces to embarrass this poor girl at all costs, haven't you?”

“N-no, Mother! P-please, wait. It wasn't my intention!” Clara desperately denied her mother's claim, in vain.

“No. Excuses.”

With that, the daughter voluntarily joined her father in being scolded by Lauren.

Looking at the scene in front of her, with Eric and Clara being chided, cowering in fear, Rina couldn't help but chuckle in her head. After all, what she was witnessing was the epitome of a happy, harmonious family... something she had never experienced before... and maybe would never experience for herself.

Still, the scene made her think of the only family she ever had on Earth, even if they had never treated her like one.

'I wonder how they're doing.'