"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.

"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."

It was an assessment he couldn’t quite get behind. He’d been with and had been surrounded by a lot of people who had gotten twisted by the world, some had ended up worse than the Alice he saw in the show. Compared to those people he was completely normal, there was no way he was someone who fit the definition of twisted.

"Keep believing that, kid, I hope it’ll keep you going and let you get better."

Lawrence could only shake his head. Sparring was a vital part of the physical training, and naturally, when they sparred it was common for Gabriel to get hit. But the only reaction he had to the pain would be some groaning and muttered complaints. He was just a kid, he was supposed to cry and wail when he got hurt. Looking at him… it was just sad.

Caraw! Caraw!

The shrill squeaking of a bird cut through the training grounds as Lawrence was putting away the waterskin. His gaze rose and pierced through the crystalline dome above them, observing the position of the sun.

"Already that time. Alright, you’re dismissed for now, kid, come back four hours before sunset for swordsmanship training."

Lawrence slung the sack over his shoulder. It was barely two hours past dawn so the rest of the estate would start waking up around now, the actual training of the knights wouldn’t start for another five or so hours. He wasn’t so free that he’d be willing to spend all that time here alone, so naturally he would also leave after sending Gabriel away. Looking at the little kid putting away the heavy metal rod he used during this sparring and picking up the shabby wooden sword he was assigned, he couldn’t help but frown.

"In a month, my granddaughter will celebrate her eighth birthday. I’ll pick you up for it, it should do you some good to hang out with children your age."

His eyes. Those deep violet eyes, he couldn’t get over them, couldn’t look at them. That thing was too sad to be called a child. But it had to be a child, it would be too sad if the world was such a place that kids couldn’t even stay as kids.

"Eh?"

Gabriel could only give a dumbfounded exclamation as Lawrence started to walk away. Invited to a birthday? The two barely knew each other so why would he do that? But Lawrence left without explaining further, leaving Gabriel alone in the empty training grounds.

"Alright then."

His voice echoed slightly, his shoulders rolling in a shrug as he held his wooden sword at his side. He wasn’t given a sheath for it so he had to carry it in his hand at all times. It was cumbersome, but he had been trained to never leave behind all his weapons so he had no choice but to carry it with him.

He left the training grounds, the sun already slowly starting its ascent towards its apex. He had a fair bit of time on his hands right now, time that would sadly end up a bit wasted. But it couldn’t be helped, this body was just too weak, a measly three hours of training was enough to bring it to the brink of collapse. In this state, the only thing he could do was go home and get something to eat before resting.

The path back to the building they had been given really was too long. Forget the latter half, he had to drag his feet practically the entire way, barely scraping his way through the door. In this moment, when he thought about how he would have to make his own food, he could only weep that this world didn’t have frozen pizzas.

I managed to sneak away a bit more when they came with my breakfast! You have to eat a lot to train properly!

He almost felt like weeping tears of joy when he saw the note and the sandwiches placed on the table. This was better than delivery or drive-through, he didn’t even need to order, the food just found him when he needed it.

"Others… Not here."

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.