At a secluded spot inside a forested area; a hooded figure could be seen, hunched over a plot of dirt resembling a small garden. “Grow well my children, and bring forth my blessings, kekeke~” The hooded figure laughed, almost in an ecstatic manner.
One would have mistaken the form to be a simple gardener, passionately admiring their work. The eggs, with dark ominous energy swirling around them, however, betrays that thought. The dark figure then disappeared into the shadow of the trees, leaving behind numerous pods which seems to be expanding at an alarming speed…
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*Knock, knock
“Come in”
“Greetings, head maid, master Eidrich” I bowed as I enters.
“Young master Eidrich, this is Lyrina, the young maid whom you had requested”
The head maid, informed the young Dawnspear of my presence. The rascal is sitting across from her, on the living room sofa, looking calm and composed while reading a thick leather-bound book.
Despite sporting a modest beige attire, Eidrich, with his well-proportioned form and face, appears almost…regal, as compared to me, in my shabby, dirt-stained, patched maid uniform, who looks like a damn peasant. Ever since that day, his face has never failed to raise my blood pressure.
“Yes, it is her” Eidrich said as he looked up from his book.
“Are you sure, young master?” The head maid gave him a questioning glance. I remained silent, unsure of what had been discussed.
“She is new and I’m afraid, will be prone to mistakes, so if the young master- “
“No, head maid, I chose her-” Eidrich paused, turning to face me, his face impassive.
“-As my personal attendant”
“…!” My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, at the bullshit that came out of this bastard’s mouth. He hadn’t told her about what happened, no, instead it’s something much more ridiculous.
I glared at him, my rationality nearing its limit and…unintentionally caught him staring at my…
“…” He averted his gaze.
No, I was sure of it, for a split second, this pervert, with his emotionless face, was ogling at my breasts!
“If the young master says so” The head maid, reluctantly agrees, not having the authority to dispute his decision.
“Good” Said Eidrich, appearing satisfied.
Perhaps, sensing my silence, the head maid turns to me.
“Lyrina, being a personal attendant means you are exempted from regular chores. Instead, you must attend solely to the young master’s personal matters…”
With those last words she again, gave Eidrich another glance. Define ‘personal matters’, Is this villainous-scum in disguise planning on making me his personal slave due to my indebted status?
“If I may interrupt, master?” With every ounce of my will holding my anger at bay, as politely as I can fake my tone…
“I believe there would be a more experienced, thus suitable maid in this household who would do best at serving the master, more than an inexperience maid like me…”
I refused to accept this kind of story development, I felt bad for pushing this responsibility to someone else, but no way am I gonna…with another man. Just the thought sends shivers down my spine.
“I have decided, head maid” Not even bother listening to me, Eidrich stood up, nodded to the head maid before giving me another weird(?) look, before calmly exiting the room.
“…”
“Lyrina” The head maid, with a sympathetic tone.
“Being a personal attendant does not imply…It means you are to help with his daily tasks and alleviate the young master’s burdens…”
Yeah, but the term ‘burdens’ is vast and could involves many things, right? He is at an age when males are packed full of raging hormones, thus often times, causing them to think more with their…and less with their brain. Look, I was a guy, ok? I’ve been through this phase. Imagine what would happen, if Eidrich and Lyrina(me) were to be left alone inside his room, on this estate where his and his father’s words are considered as the law…
“Is there anyway I might be able to refuse?” I asked, almost pleading.
“No, I’m afraid not” Of course, I’m still bound by the debt contract.
“I see, thank you, head maid” For all that you have done for me.
I will not be following whatever plot this world has planned for me. No. I, Lyrina, former male, now a 16-year-old female, have made up my mind. To protect my future, chastity and sanity.
I, Lyrina, have decided to ran awa-
*Ding, dong, ding, dong
A blaring alarm, seemingly from the estate’s guardhouse, interrupted my internal dialogues. I looked at the head maid in confusion, only to be met with another confused face. We scrambled to the living room’s window, which is on the second floor of the mansion, thus providing a decent view of estate’s ground.
Outside, figures, most likely the estate’s staffs could be seen hurriedly seeking safety, abandoning whatever duties they were tasked with. The safest place in this situation is undoubtedly the mansion, with its thick and sturdy walls.
*Ding, dong, ding, dong
The persistent sound of the the bell, further hastened the guards from their posts. Dutifully arming themselves, each brandishing a sharp spear, whose tip shines under the glare of the sun. In unison, they marched towards the back of the estate, towards the part bordering a large dense forest.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“I-it’s a monster outbreak!” The head maid exclaimed, her face paled with fear.
“Monsters??” I had nearly forgotten what kind of world I had transmigrated into. The one where demons exist, naturally so do monsters. Unlike the Dawnspears, I possesses no power. With my delicate body, if I were to face any sort of beast, magical or not, I’m as good as dead. Now where can I hid-
*Ding, dong, ding, dong
The head maid who had gone silent, flinched as if she had realized something.
“Lyrina! We must go downstairs and check to see if any personnel are unaccounted for!”
Speaking of which, where is Catheline? I had last seen her at the bath I was cleaning…
With no time for further thoughts, I was dragged along by the head maid.
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The first floor of the mansion, specifically the main room connected to the front entrance, was filled with the estate’s workers. Thankfully, no one appears to be hurt, despite the serious and grim atmosphere.
The maids are huddled together, seeking each other's comfort. The butlers appears calm but their eyes kept darting around, especially at the huge doors leading to the outside, as if expecting something to burst in at any moment. The contracted workers, nervously shuffles back and forth, clearly more uncomfortable to be inside the house rather than facing whatever is happening outside.
The lord of the house, Rafford and his attendant, since they are seasoned warriors, naturally won’t be present inside this room which resembles a refugee camp. They would most likely be with the guards, fighting.
“Everyone quiet down! I will perform a roll call to ensure no one is missing or left behind” The head maid’s loud voice rang cut through the commotion, silencing the fearful whispering of the staffs. The head maid procures a note and began jotting down, as she calls each person by their name.
Senior Pasha is over there comforting a crying maid, whom I believe is Safina. The twin maids, Orphine and Pontine are accounted for, but no chestnut-haired maid in sight. I began to panick, as Catheline’s name was called twice, then thrice, to be met with silence. Is she perhaps still outside? This is bad, where could she be? The last time I had seen her, was at the bath I was cleaning…
The head maid, although hesitant due the absence of a maid, orders the entrance to be barricaded with any furniture deemed usable. The male butlers and workers got to work. We then moved on to the back entrance, which was kept last since it was smaller, thus faster to close off-
“Eek! H-help!!” A loud shriek pierced through the air, silencing everyone.
“D-did you hear that?”
“Somebody!? Eek!” Unmistakably belonging to a certain woman.
“!!”
“C-catheline?” Pasha exclaimed, attempting to exit the doorway that was about to be closed off.
“W-wait, Pasha don’t do anything stupid” She was soon blocked by the butlers.
“Heeelp!?” Catheline’s scream, this time a distance away from her initial location, as if being chased by someone, or something.
“No! I can’t abandon her! Let me go, Patrick!” Pasha struggled against one of the male butler, to no avail.
“D-don’t be dumb, if you go outside, you’ll die!”
“Let me go! Catheline!”
“The guards! The guards will save her!”
With Pasha unintentionally causing a distraction, I saw the back entrance now unobstructed. My senior, Catheline, who had been my only solace since arriving into this cursed world, a sharp pain stabbed at my guilty heart. Perhaps, spurred by the male’s instinct to protect, or stupidity. I steeled myself and rushed out of the door.
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Catheline’s approximate location seems to be coming from past the stable, a small distance away from the posterior of the mansion. As I follow her voice, the scene before my eyes resembles something out of a horror-movie set. The stable building was heavily damaged, its wooden walls had some parts missing or splintered as if slashed, or smashed by some inhuman entities. Entrails, blood, bits and pieces of furry flesh were strewn everywhere.
There was a decapitated head of something, next to its huge body, strikingly similar to that of a great wolf, except for its dark, obsidian-colored fur. The head of the beast, with its maw agape and drooling, sporting fangs as big as my fingers. Its eyes, dead but still open, are hellish red, glaring with hatred. The horses’ corpses were mangled beyond recognition, as if they were simply torn apart.
I suppressed my fear and continued on. Not far away, emerged about a dozen guards, gone are their shiny armors and spears. The majority caked with dirt and blood, some, of their fiendish enemies, some, of their own.
The guards, despite putting up quite a fight, are slowly losing, they are being overwhelmed and pushed back by the horde of the 1-metre-tall wolf-like monsters. Each guard, taking on, not just one, but two beasts at a time, unable to deal decisive blows.
The modest wooden fence, bordering the estate and the forest, provided no safety against the swarm of monsters.
A golden light suddenly flashed, somewhere amongst the trees followed by a loud booming sound that seems to shake the earth itself. Causing the monsters who are engaged in combat, to hesitate and pause their relentless assaults in confusion. Then it happened again, this time deeper inside the forest. With each thunderous boom, the guards cheers, before continuing their fights with renewed vigor, slashing, stabbing the beasts as if possessed, their initial struggle long forgotten.
“Aargh!”
A petite figure enters my line of sight. Catheline, her uniform tattered, is being chased by a small wolf-beast. Ignoring my instinct which urges my body to run away, I dashed towards her.
“Senior Catheline! Over here!”
“L-lyrina! H-elp! N-No wait! don’t come over here!” Still thinking of my safety, amidst her own life and death situation, Catheline squealed at me to go away.
I caught sight of a discarded spear, its tip coated with blood, with a slight hesitation, I picked it up or tried to.
“Shit, it’s heavy!” The polearm, ridiculously head heavy, nearly caused me to lose my balance as I lifted it up, the sharp metal tip pointing straight forward. With all the strength I could mustered, I hefted the heavy spear and ran straight for Catheline, my slender arms screaming in protest at the weight.
“Senior! To me! To me!” I bellowed, as loud as my voice allows, hoping to distract the monster chasing her. With both my hands barely grasping on to the wooden shaft of the spear, I urged my long legs, pushing myself forward.
Catheline, now seeing my new weapon, made the correct decision of changing course towards me.
“When I say dodge, you dodge!”
The wolfish monster, smaller than its fellow brothers, is hot behind her tail, its maw snapping closely at her heels.
“Eek!”
Filled with adrenaline, I built up speed, hefting the heavy polearm as I gains momentum. Rapidly narrowing the ground between us. As she came within the right distance-
“Dodge!”
Catheline threw herself to the side, leading the confused monster behind her, with its jaw agape, carried by its own unstoppable velocity-
*Schwurp!
A sickening sound as the spear enters the beast’s maw, its sharp metal tip, ripping and exiting the back of the monster’s throat. I had leaped to the side, right after placing the butt of the spear into the ground, allowing the beast, with its weight and momentum to impale itself.
“Urgh, my body hurts” I groaned, trying to sit up. My muscles are pumped, fatigued, making it difficult to even move.
“L-lyrina? Are you okay?” A battered, bruised and snotty-faced Catheline worriedly inquired about my well-being, while crawling towards me. I would have hug her and call her cute, if we weren’t in a life and death situation just a moment ago.
“Senior? I’m okay, I should be the one asking you” My body hurts everywhere.
“I-I’m fine, just sprained my ankle, anyway is it…” Our gazes turned to the wolf-beast, still impaled.
“…Dead?”
As if to spit us in the face, dark ominous mist lightly floats around its body, healing the beast. It emits a deep ferocious growl, drooling excessively before lifting itself up, snapping the wooden shaft of the spear like a toothpick with just a shake of its head. With half the spear still protruding from its neck, the monster turns toward us.
“Eek!” Catheline, eyes wide with terror, unable to move due to her large swollen ankle. Prompting the beast to advance upon her, sensing an easy prey.
I desperately glance around for a weapon, but there was nothing that could be used. My body long past its limit, Catheline wouldn’t make it with her busted ankle. No, if I just leave her and save myself, the monster would be occupied with her-
“Fuck it” I cursed, throwing my disheveled form on top of her, shielding my little senior. Hopefully buying her some time as a meat shield. I wouldn’t be able to call myself a man if had abandoned her to save my own ass. I’d rather die a second time, rather than live in this stupid world as some rascal’s slave.
The monster brandished its sharp claws, preparing to turn us into minced meat. Then it lunged at us. I closed my eyes as I faced my imminent death…
*Swish! Thud…
“…”
But death never came.
I slowly open my eyes. The head of the beast, decapitated, landed not far away from us. Its jaw still wide open, as the light fades from its eyes.
“Eek!”
“…!”
Standing over its collapsed body, with his sword out, his impassive face streaked with the beast’s dark blood, stood Eidrich Dawnspear.