Chapter Two

“Har-mon-y!”

The cry as she stepped out of the shadows was all the warning the lady maid had before her over-eager pet was upon her. The muscular prince lifted and spun her around. Chronostasis didn’t even kick in because this happened so frequently.

“Hemlock is back!” The prince added as he set her down.

“I know.”

“This will change everything!”

“I know.”

“Auntie can’t ignore you now!”

“I know.”

Harmony wished her pet would stop stating the obvious. If only she stayed ignored. After months of dismissals that could be read in the sheets, she’d positively soured on meeting the woman no matter the praises Adric gave the woman. As adorable as the prince was, he was a bit dull in the wits.

“Weren’t you supposed to be escorting this expert you found to the manor?”

“He’s in the lounge. Bates is serving him tea and biscuits now. I felt you arrive, and, you know, I couldn’t help myself. “

Ashed bones! She’d stayed at the concert too long. It would take time to get properly ready.

“He’ll want to see you in your armor,” Adric added.

Harmony swore he gained some ability to read her mind or anxieties with his new profession change to The Lady’s Pet Prince. He refused to show her his status. Still, she couldn’t go out seeing the man all sweaty and hair out of place. Focusing on her skills, she steeled her will to get control over the combination to refresh herself. They tried to rebel because of her current issues but she’d done this every morning, and only slightly adjusted her system as she gained new skills. [Mend] improved it, as the skill often crossed into healing professions and classes. [Recall] knocked off any morning mental fog.

She shed the dirt and the sweat while boosting her spirit and energy. All the stray hairs returned to perfect form. Perfect posture and a relaxed yet waiting appearance settled into her body. But it was like wrestling a pack of gnomes to get it all done. Why won’t you behave?

Hyacinth settled into his cluster of pillows.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re coming with me. If the man wants to see my armor I’m sure he’ll want to check out my fatigued familiar.”

“Grrwaa.” He complained.

“Suck it up. If I have to take my medicine, so do you.”

Milo had already cleaned and polished him, so his black armor-like skin shined. The truth was, for all her current issues, Hyacinth’s changes dug into her.

The lady maid marched out with her pet and familiar in tow, focusing on maintaining regal confidence with her movements. The lounge and entryway had been the first rooms repaired in the dilapidated manor they’d taken residence in. They had hoped to host the countess, but that had never happened.

The room projected wealth they didn’t have. The stipend for new aristocracy barely covered her two staff and the cost of housing. Hard work is what crafted the image, everything was polished and cleaned. Flowers decorated the room, presenting an illusion that they were freshly cut and delivered. [Beautician], [Manipulate Dead], and [Renew Spirit] allowed the dead flowers to maintain the fabrication of freshness despite having been cut and placed months ago. Harmony imagined how more perfect she could have made the image if she’d taken the taxidermist profession rather than maid, but then she’d have lacked the professional advantage of understanding the level of taste and meaning in the arrangements.

Bates stood unobtrusively to the side. The lack of color to his uniform almost made him invisible in the room, a master class in serving. Harmony questioned why the head butler had chosen to leave Lady Coodly’s service to serve her, but was grateful he'd done that.

“Expert Fei, thank you for taking the time to visit me during your brief time in our humble city.” Prince Adric had informed her about this expert. The man was from one of the evolved kingdoms, a tourist, keeping an eye on their nephew as they gained their early levels safely in the local dungeon, how Old Bones was supposed to operate.

The prince had been vague about details, but she was desperate. Here was a diagnostician from an evolved kingdom, the kind people even in the capital would fall over themselves for such a meeting.

“I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to see someone so uniquely raised to the peerage. And someone with a class among the forbidden fifteen. I’ll probably get as much a benefit out of this as you do.”

Forbidden fifteen. That stung. The necromancer class was not looked on kindly by many of the other kingdoms. Too much history there. Only ten classes were banned here, necromancer not among them. Fei obviously came from one of the places where that wasn’t the case, whatever punishments they put on those who made forbidden choices.

“A mutually beneficial meeting is the best possible outcome.” The fact that there was no monetary cost was a relief. The tutors before took gold, and hadn’t fixed anything.

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“Well, display your status and show us what we’re working with.” The man said with a smile.

Harmony channeled her mana into displaying her status.

Class: Necromancer (15)-F

Profession: Lady Maid (24)-C

Skills:

Familiar bond(15)*

Manipulate dead (15)*

Renew Spirit (15)*

Cold Touch (15)

Analyze (24)*

Poise and Bearing (24)*

Dust (24)*

Beautician (24)*

Style and grace (24)*

Mend (20)

Recall (16)

Small Armor (19)*

Mana Rotation (19)*

High Kick (19)*

Stats:

Synergy

Connections

Chronostasis

Primal Bond - Adric Highsmythe

Harmony had worked hard to advance her skills this much, reaching the end of most of her profession and skills, and pushing her class skills as far as she could for her advancement. It helped her issues a little bit, but ultimately the work hadn’t been enough. The act of displaying them had them all acting up. [Dust] spotting the faintest amounts on Fei’s suit. Flecks of pollen brought from outside. [Beautician] Noting that as cleanly shaved as Bates was, the hair on his face had grown since he’d cleaned up this morning and she could notice it. Each and every one played subtle havoc inside of her, from chilling the air to noticing the weak points of every object where a carefully placed kick would destroy them. Hyacinth’s [Familiar Bond] shared exactly how uncomfortable the toad was, and that he’d tried to hide it from her.

When the foreign touch brushed up against her display it was like pins and needles inside her body. Her connections stat let her feel the effect of the expert. While no maliciousness was sensed, a part of her wanted to kick him. [Poise and Bearing] reminded her neither was appropriate for a lady or a maid.

She put up with it as the man muttered “Fascinating.” Then “Interesting” as she felt every bit of her being prodded and poked.

“You have a free skill spot you haven’t used?” The man asked.

“With how my current skills are bothering me, I didn’t feel it was wise to do that.”

“Do that as quickly as possible. It should cause minor relief as it expands your space, even if it might be more problematic than the usual new skill acquisition. I’m surprised you’re able to maintain composure as much as you do. The lesser regions really are barbaric with their lack of support.”

Prince Adric shifted uncomfortably at that criticism.

“So what’s wrong with me and what do I do to fix it?” Harmony asked even as some of her skills advised her to be more circumspect. She chose to go with [Small Armor] and [High Kick] to strike for the root of the problem and how best to defend herself.

“Your profession wasn’t made to handle as much authority as you’ve been given. Perhaps if your class changed, but having your authority tied to such a thing would certainly make something that those in power couldn’t choose to ignore. So be grateful you’re not a lady necromancer. No one wants a queen of death. I suspect your familair has been taking on much of the burden. “

She’d just gained a small bit of authority from Ambrosia’s band. Harmony looked to Hyacinth who was now shifting uncomfortably at the fact that his secret had been revealed. Had the performance hurt him? “Do I stop…”

“No… no…no… trying to reduce authority is the worst thing you can do. Your profession is like a container that you’re filling up with authority. Letting it sit stagnant makes survival harder as the weight would settle down on the bottom without the new influx. Removing authority would cause things to crunch in, which would be very bad. Adding your free skill will help. Advancing your skills has helped strengthen the container, but it is too much.

Maids were not meant to become ladies. If you’d initially gotten the class then the structure would have been built in to help with that authority, that’s why most of the time advancing to peerage happens during evolution. It lets things be made right. Ultimately you need to evolve as quickly as possible. Evolution will restructure you to handle authority. “

Evolve or die. Fei didn’t say die, that would be impolite, but Harmony could read that very bad things would happen if she didn’t fix this soon or her authority dropped. She could feel worry spike from both her familiar and pet. She closed her status and immediately felt relief as none of her skills were being tugged on to display themselves.

“I appreciate the information,” Harmony said with an incline of her head.

“I’m ashamed this support wasn’t available for you when you gained authority. Barbaric. Totally Barbaric. Just being able to brush such a case has advanced my [Skill Diagnostic]. To get into such a state, I’d hoped to help, but this is beyond me.“

Where the other, local help, she got information from had pulled theirs from dusty texts or pulled from common wisdom. Explaining her issues were because she wasn’t disciplined enough and needed to shove her skills away, or that simply advancing them would solve it. Fei seemed to believe in what he was saying. The thought of trying to shove skills aside to mute the effects had hurt her brain, and the one attempt had sent shooting pains through her body. Evolve. That made sense.

The expert stood up, Harmony offered her hand. The man bent down and kissed the back of it and the lady maid could feel a new source of authority. Through the connection, she felt amazement at how she was handling her issues. That reverence evolved kingdoms have for aristocrats, and there was a little fear at what she was that mixed with attraction. A forbidden necromancer. Nothing to cause her to doubt his words.

He left. The door clicked shut behind him. The strained control of maintaining herself collapsed. A ring of icy chill radiated out. The half-finished tea in Fei’s drink froze and the rapidness of the water’s expansion cracked the tea cup. [Mend] immediately wanted to repair it. Every flaw appeared to her. Bits of death from the wood danced in her vision.

The world shook slightly. The shaking pulled her back inside her body. The tremor was Prince Adric. Her pet had his arms wrapped around her and he was shivering from the cold. Poor Adric. Harming her pet brought her inward. Clamping down on the skill might work temporarily, but it felt wrong.

Instead, she confronted the feeling. That icy detachment from her suffering, being stoically strong for her friends. Stop that! Feel! As the hurt flooded in the world started to thaw. Tears rolled out and froze, dropping small balls of ice, continuing until finally they stayed wet and she melted into Prince Adric’s embrace. “We’ll fix this.” She told him, wiggling an arm out to stroke his hair.