Chapter 6

The carriage rumbled back towards the manor. "I think that went well," Adric stated toward a contemplating Harmony.

Getting back to the carriage was not without incident. The crowd of newshounds and fans had swelled outside while they were inside waiting. Using [Stride Before the Fall] to leap ahead and avoid the crowds had been a mistake. Knowing she wasn’t going to stay in the crowd the Harmony left behind had been emboldened. Toes weren’t stepped on, but some might have frostbite. [Style and Grace] had her looking good while doing it, and when one particularly aggressive questioner used a barrier skill to block her way. She’d gone all out [Small Armor] and [High Kick] for the weak spots. Nails turned to claws coated in ice with [Manipulate Dead] and [Cold Touch]. The fear in the man’s eyes when she pierced his shield, nearly punching her hand into him, until poof she was gone. Harmony enjoyed it, the amusement of a last act. Her with nothing to lose, and yet she lost nothing out of the experience. Of course, if she had something to lose she’d never act that way. She forced herself away from that internal struggle to the present.

“Adric. Let me ask you a question. How long did it take you to go from level fifteen to twenty-five?”

“A couple of years. … Oh. “

Not all pets were smart enough to speak multiple languages or count to ten like Ambrosia’s birds. Yet, you love them all the same. She hadn’t known him before he’d died, so maybe bringing Adric back from the dead had removed some of his brain? That wasn’t to say gaining those levels would be impossible.

“Evolved citizens do it, I’m sure we can too.” She assured him. With her current issues, she’d planned to push hard, but probably not forty days to evolve hard. Old Bones and Hemlock couldn’t be blind to how people in this area usually advance when they made that agreement. It can’t be a coincidence that she also needed to advance because of her authority issues?

Harmony continued. “It still isn’t a lot of time. I’m sure Hemlock will release this information soon. Assuming he didn't do that as soon as we exited the building. Because of that, we’ll leave for the capitol tomorrow instead of in a few days. I'm sorry your aunt will have missed the opportunity to visit.” She wasn’t sorry.

Prince Adric frowned. “And she’s been telling me privately how much she’s been looking forward to meeting you. All this space between you is so she can maintain propriety.”

The rest of the day will be busy enough getting packed up. Though maybe not that busy, as she remembered her sparse wardrobe. She’d help Ambrosia with whatever the beast teamer needed before the trip. They hadn’t had much time to talk outside of the Maid/Lady relationship since the concert. How well her friend switched roles was always impressive.

Using [Recall] Harmony focused on stabilizing memories after the earlier excitement, one way to train the skill was by seeing how far she could dig into her memories. First being hired at Coodly Manor. Moving off the streets. A smile from her mom, before the actress focused only on herself. With all her energy there the other skills calmed. [Recall] wanted to reminisce, it made her drift off, lost in thoughts as a side effect after acquiring it. That and dwell on things she didn’t want to.

Home, when the door didn’t swing open for Harmony, Adric stepped up and opened it for her. The entrance was empty of Bates and Ambrosia, yet she didn't notice. Training [Recall] had flaws, her attention drifted to old memories rather than the present. She stepped into the lounge having not missed the subtle hints around the lack of service at her arrival.

The two servants stood with refreshments in hand. In the lounge sat Countess Mayes, her sketches graced the news sheets as much as Harmony’s. The tall elderly woman with black hair, streaked by a line of gray, sat benevolently in one of the chairs. A bit of panic gripped the necromancer’s chest at the unplanned meeting. [Poise and Bearing] and she could handle this. Mayes however was not alone. It was the second woman sitting with her, whose familiar skills tugged at everyone to pay attention to her, that set Harmony off. “Mother!?”

[Stride Before the Fall] The retreat didn’t fully work. Harmony stood outside the manor doors. It was the greatest distance she’d ever managed with the skill. Her gut told her it was because it was along the path she’d just traveled. It was hard to come to grips with what exactly her newest skill was. The fresh air and space calmed all of her with the idea that this was where she could stay. When constantly assaulted by internal impulses one gets good at forcing calm. [Cold Touch] couldn't even numb her feelings anymore, not that she did that unhealthy tactic these days.

Facing her mother after all these years was the last thing she wanted. The pressure to choose got heavy after nearly a minute. There was no pain, but the act of existence got heavy. Taking her last moments alone with gratitude, Harmony let the her that sat outside their little manor disperse.

While part of her was getting fresh air, the Harmony that stood shocked at the company analyzed the situation, grateful at the bit of space she was receiving. If everything went wrong she could merely disappear here.

“Color me surprised when I heard you haven't invited your poor mother to celebrate your rise to the peerage. Since I had an open invitation, I thought I’d kindly invite the woman as my guest for the visit, Lady White.” Countess Mayes spoke up in the silence.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The extra calm helped prevent Harmony from lashing out after what had already been a tiring morning. This bitch brought her mother, and if anything was counted as a hostile act, that was. Her social skills under the influence of her new aristocratic status demanded a response to such an intrusion. The slow grind of being ignored had been bad enough.

“Such a timely visit. It saves me the task of notifying you that I’ll be departing with your nephew in the morning for the capital. My responsibility towards Hazeldown and the kingdom demands it.” Hemlock had implied that this competition would be a benefit for them.

The countess shot to her feet at that. Her full height stretched out a head taller than Bates. The head butler was not short, even standing a little bit taller than Prince Adric.

The news bits Harmony had glanced at wrote of her larger-than-life personality, [Recall] scanned to see if Adric ever mentioned exactly how tall the woman was, but the lady maid pulled up a blank. As intimidating as such height could be, her head could rest under the woman’s bust and there would still be clearance. People trying to use their height against her was nothing new, as even short men had attempted it.

“As much as your purported control over my nephew. It is the prince's choice as to where he goes.“

There was some logic to that. Harmony loathed to boss her undead pet around. He’s an intelligent being. Though, so was his rainbow coatl. Bowe. Ambrosia preached independence. She also preached never to abandon one's pets or to make them feel that way. Too much distance or worry caused them to act out in outrageous ways. Rather than try to force her way into the primal bond she had with him she looked at Adric. [Poise and Bearing] suppressed a shudder, as she’d forgotten to remove the leash she’d crafted for him at the guild house.

The man fiddled with the end of it. Nervously looking back and forth between his aunt and his master. Harmony suspected he was a people pleaser before his class changed to the-lady’s-pet-prince giving him a more subservient bent. How classes shaped who you were weighted more on her thoughts since her own change. A common worry that often comes post-evolution. Mid-progression-crisis it was called and often came with changing friendships, buying flashy outfits, and general misbehavior. Whole chapters in Tyler’s old How to Be a Lord Handbook covered it, including topics on whether you should feel guilty about interacting with subservient classes. The book said “no” but [High Kick] wanted to find the author and kick him hard.

“Does that mean he’s been acknowledged and can draw funds again for his care?” Harmony asked.

Having been declared dead had caused the man’s accounts to be frozen. Similar to the issues discovered with his guild membership. It was a pain for them. The whole operation of the manor was solely funded on her stipend as a new aristocrat. Adric assured her the countess would have loved to help, but needed to remain impartial.

The fraction of a wince smoothed out by a social skill gave the woman away. “That’s a bit complicated. I don’t have… well Adic is a resourceful boy, his tales of how he slummed it after his restoration show that he can have full independence.”

That had been without the cost to house and feed Bowe, and the cost to house and feed the large exotic pet was not insignificant. While he’d have access to the manor. Costs at the capitol were rumored to be double or triple that of Hazeldown, so maybe his staying could be best?

The whole argument was moot. The Necromancer knew her pet wouldn’t leave her. She couldn’t even break the bond if she tried. There was no retreat. The Harmony that stood outside the manor had already let go.

“Adric, dear, why don’t you discuss this with your aunt. After all, this is your choice.” Harmony wished it actually was. Then she’d feel better about their situation-ship.

The risen prince stepped forward and the countess embraced him. “I don’t want to lose you again.” the woman cooed. At their height difference, the embrace pulled his face into the woman’s bosom. That hug was much more than a family embrace. Harmony controlled her reaction. Adric could deal with his own messes. Considering she wouldn’t touch her mother in any embrace, maybe she was reading it wrong.

Bates opened the exit to the lounge, directing the two to more private spaces, accelerating the departure of the two like any good servant. As soon as the door shut behind the aristocrats. Harmony let her attention snap to the uninvited guest.

Ice crystals radiated out around the Necromancer, crackling and popping at the speed they developed, creating an effect like she was standing at the center of a snowflake. “What made you think I wanted to see you, mother?” Cold fury, rather than the usual numbness of [Cold Touch] let loose. [High Kick] booting its power up a notch.

Was that guilt on the woman’s face, or her acting skill pretending to feel guilty? After all the years the woman hadn’t reached out. Harmony reminded herself that a lady did not throw out guests. Ambrosia who had barely contained anger on her face waited almost eagerly. One of course had their servants do that.

“I couldn’t refuse an invitation from the countess. She’s a patron of the arts. She didn’t even tell me where we were going. If I’d known…" Hazeldown's beggar queen of the stage adjusted herself. “You’ve done well for yourself and you’ve every right to be upset with me “

Well for herself? She was dancing towards death or being crippled by her skills. Hyacinth was hurting under the burden of it all. The woman would only see her position. “All of this advancement. The good. The bad. I’ve done it without you.” The way her mom had siphoned off some credit in the gossip columns bothered her, and those were only what she had seen glimpses of.

“I know that.”

“Do you, mother? I’ve read the interviews.”

“That’s business.” The actress insisted with a hint of frailty in her voice.

The cold inside Harmony thawed a little. Maybe… [Mana Rotation] kicked in and Harmony could sense little threads of mana coming from her mother and the rush ripped the skill out of her system. [Beggar’s Lament] a skill to evoke sympathy.

“How dare you. Ambrosia, escort our guest out.”

“I’m sorry! I want to connect with you. When I heard you got the manor job I figured you were safe, and work was so busy.”

“With pleasure,” Ambrosia announced. The maid stepped between the two of them and started to politely remove the woman. Rather than watch, Harmony closed her eyes, it was only after she couldn’t feel the effects of her mother's presence she worked on getting under control and assuring herself the threat was gone.

Arms wrapped around her and shivered from the cold. She let Ambrosia’s warmth finish thawing her, grateful she wasn’t in this alone. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Harm.” Her friend answered.