Crest Empire has a long history and tradition. The continent was unified into a whole under Emperor Adam Crest the Third and has gone strong for Centuries, later renamed as Adam Crest Imperia to honour his great Accomplishments. With only small wars and long peace times the Empire saw a strong rise and became content in holding the internal peace while fighting the external threats and Monster hordes.
Education and Sanitation was built in every Kingdom of the Empire and the living standard shot up exponentially, which made the long peace possible.
But under the Peace is always a war hidden behind intrigues and fought through the Underworld of the Cities and Fiefdoms. As shining as the Empire looks, as deep goes the Corruption and black Markets.
-
The time is Summer and the most prominent School, the Imperial School is opening their Gates again.
This school is the most important and most desired place to start the rise and to make connections. While all Aristocrats from Baron upwards have an easy way to enter and only have four days each Week with classes, the Commoners below have six and have a way harder curriculum.
But those benefits come with stronger demerits for most Aristocratic Children, as the infighting can become easily bloody and might in rare occasions take a life at worst.
The reasoning is rather unknown for such strange rules, still all Nobles vie for the places in this School for their children, as it not only hardens them and gives them access to ample knowledge and connections to Nobles of the empire, they otherwise would never see in their entire life, but also bestows every passing Individual with a Certificate, which helps in various ways. It makes way easier to create a Shop, to buy Land, inherit the Title of their families and many more Merits of easier Life. Without it, it would be not only harder, but in some cases impossible to achieve things in Life.
The Imperial School is its own satellite City of the Capital, as it includes many Mansions and Shops. Even non academic folks come to this place for commerce and sightseeing. Mansions and houses are being bought, refurbished and sold almost yearly, as Nobles need to show their Status and invest temporarily in those Mansions for their children to have not only a venue for Parties and Visitors, but also to flaunt their wealth to have it easier in creating personal connections with other aristocratic Families and Merchants.
At this moment many People are entering the City by carriage and some even by airship. The new students are enrolling and bring their own Servants and furniture to be ready for the leisurely time, they will have in the School.
While the Nobles have direct access to being enrolled, the Common folks have to first finish their assessment to be eligible for study, and even then are they in different lectures and have a harder time.
At this time a small dark Carriage entered the gates and is checked for illegal contraband and their reasons for visit.
“Next. Please state your visit and show us your import documents. Also we need to check with our criminal list, to be sure no evildoers enter the premisses.”
The text was told as if studied for many times, and it might be so, as every visitor through the Gate gets the same line. While telling this, a chipper platinum blond Maid jumps down from the coach seat and gives the Documents to the Guard.
A big smile adorned her round friendly face while her platinum blonde hair was made in a bob cut. Her whole demeanour radiates out of her as the always friendly child of the Neighbourhood, if she would not wear a short, black maid outfit, often seen worn by Maids of Nobility.
“Hello! My name is Claire and I am the personal Maid of Drak Berklin, son of Duke Berklin. Here are the documents, and nice to meet you!”
“Berklin… Duke?”
The Guard looks suspiciously at the carriage, as it has no heavy decoration or any aesthetics normally seen on carriages of high born Children. In fact it was rather mundane and somewhat small.
While checking the documents and looking suspiciously to the unspectacular carriage, the door opens and out came another maid followed by a heavy set boy with rather plain clothings albeit spot clean. Afterwards came a maid with a veil and the last Maid gave him a start. Her arms, legs and face were adorned with so many scars, the Guard might not be able to count that high in his head.
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‘What sick sadistic offspring of a devil could do such a horrible…’
While the other Guards were also shocked by the Maid, afterwards they got back to their work right away and scrutinized the carriage and made pretty sure everything is right, as the whole posse seems somehow suspicious.
“I need to see your face, to be sure you are not on the wanted list. Please raise your veil.”
“Of course, Sir Guard.”
Standing in a direction, where no one else could see her face only the guard himself, she raised the veil for a short period, and then let it back down.
“Oh, sure you are not on the list. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“I understand. There were none, thank you for your hard work.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
The routine inspection was quickly over and the Carriage was waved through. Nothing suspicious was found, while they did not really search that meticulously and long, as they would not want to offend any young Noble, who could sometime in the future make their life a living hell.
“Must be a discarded son. Maybe got frustrated and sadistic with time. Have you seen the one maid?”
“Except for her, everyone else looked normal. Maybe a battle Maid as guard, but then he should have given her a different outfit. I will never understand Nobles.”
“And what was under the veil? Why does she wear it?”
“Well you see… she looked rather normal. More dull than something special. A face like a simple peasant woman on the street, so maybe he ordered her to have that veil because she looks too plain to him? Poor girl.”
“Ah I see. The one with long black hair and the bags under her eyes were the most scary for me. I thought she might have been cursed or something.”
“Less talking, more working! … Next. Please state your visit and show us your import documents. Also we need to check with our criminal …”
-
Travelling through the streets on the black Carriage, the maid Claire hums on the coach seat and follows the street as if she knows exactly where to go. Meanwhile inside the Carriage…
“We are through, and now I just need to finish the School to be finally free from all of this.”
“Master, the looks of the Guards were annoying. I forgot how people react, since most Servants in the Mansion look away out of instinct.”
The scarred Maid said melancholic. Her brown wavy hair, also in a bob cut was showing how beautiful she might have been once. Her face was adorned with a giant scar from the left chin across the Mouth through her right eye. The end of the Scar was hidden behind her hair, and her eye that was in the way of the scar was snow white instead of the hazelnut brown like the left one. This facial scar did not heal right and made her look like the halves are somewhat shifted.
“Sadly, this will be more and more the fact, as we will meet many more in the School. Every Class has forty Students and each Student will have their own Servants and Guards. If you are too stressed about it, I will try to take you less often out and you could relax in the Dormitory…”
“I am sorry Master, I will endure and follow you wherever you go. Please let me be at your side as often as you can.”
“Dear Sister, I think the same way~ I want to be with Master as often as possible~”
The black haired Maid said in a melodic voice. She was the only one with long hair that goes all the way down her back. Except for the bags under her eyes and the way too white skin, she was really pretty and always had a smile on her face.
“Raja, Alice, each of us will be at Masters side, as we all have our own role to fulfil. The Mansion is close and the Bloodsworn have already cleaned the rough perimeter inside to not create suspicion. The next schedule will be in two days at twelve in the school for the entry speech. Claire will go and get the Documents with your seal and acceptance letter to get the Class Number and his weekly School schedule. Is there anything you might have questions about, Master?”
The wheat blonde Maid with the veil said in a more authoritative tone to the other Maids and in a much more friendlier tone, when she spoke about the Schedule to her Master. Her locks were shoulder long and were shining with a youthful glow. Taking off the Veil in the middle of the talk, she uncovered a beautiful almond face and radiating blue-green eyes. Her skin was so smooth it was close to etherial.
“Seria, thanks for your work. Do we have business deals already rolling in the Capital or in this City? We might need to relocate our trade network slightly and also we might to… clean some sewers, while we are here.”
“Thank you master for your praise. The Network is already on the move to be fully available and Spies have been put in lower positions to see where the dirt needs to be cleaned.”
“What about cargo route?”
“Unfortunately the Walls are too protected. We need to have your help to make a ‘Door’.”
“So Gate and Door are both needed. No problem, but we need a secure place first for them. Otherwise…”
“Working already on it. You can rest at ease.”
“Seria is always capable~”
“If she could also fight better than me, then I would be too ashamed to be Masters dedicated Maid.”
“No, I could not imagine to live without any of you any more. After we inspect the Mansion, first we rest before work. It was a long drive and I bet all of you are sore from the travel.”
“””Yes Master(~)”””