CHAPTER 10 - ESPIAL

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Children look up to adults, and I was no exception—except I saw their flaws, and knew I would surpass them.

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"I...I'm back!"

The manor was as Juliana remembered, an imposing figure outlined against the horizon. Yet it seemed smaller, diminished somehow, as if the years of her absence had stolen its once formidable stature. The imposing gates, though still standing tall, appeared to have lost some of their old character, leaving them rather dreary.

Fatigue from her journey bore heavily on her shoulders, yet the prospect of sleep felt distant. She was home, but the notion did not bring her the relief she had hoped for.

Kuro gently placed her bags onto the cold stones of the Wickten porch. Behind her, the garden sprawled, an untamed wilderness of weeds and wildflowers untouched by human care.

The door creaked open and a head peeked out.

She recognized the figure standing by the doorway. Leon, her brother, stood observing her with their father's quiet brown eyes. They shared the same features, yet Leon's were slightly softened: his hair shorter, his face devoid of any beard. His unassuming appearance might have been considered handsome, if not for his decidedly plain choice of clothes.

"Leon! You haven't changed."

"And neither have you, sister," he replied, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'm glad to see you made it back safe. And… this maid… a demihuman?"

The demihuman bowed respectfully, her actions smooth and deliberate. Leon took note of the unusual grace that contradicted the usual clumsiness of her kind.

"This… this is my new servant," Juliana murmured, her words barely audible. "Introduce yourself, Kuro."

The demihuman complied swiftly. "I am Kuro, nya," she responded, her voice a soothing murmur, her head bowing in a gesture of respect. "I am pleased to meet you."

Leon lingered on her a moment longer, his gaze holding a hint of scepticism. "It's unlike you, Juliana. To own a slave... it's unexpected."

"I mentioned it in the letter, didn't I? The Grand Exhibition.

"Of course… So, what did you buy from the auction? Is it in the suitcase?"

"It's right here," she puffed her chest out in triumph, pointing to Kuro. "She's what I bought. Kuro."

"Really…" He eyed her companion again. "Are you certain you attended the actual Grand Exhibition, Juliana?"

Juliana felt a slight stab of irritation at his words. "Yes, Leon. I did." Why wouldn't he just take her word for it?

He sighed, shrugging nonchalantly. "If you say so. Just remember, it's not my approval you need to seek." He moved aside, gesturing towards the open door behind him. "Father has asked to see you in his office."

"Father wants to see me?" Her heart skipped a beat as she crossed the threshold, Kuro trailing behind with her bags. "What about Mattias and Mariana?"

"Mattias is away at the Capital for his studies, and Mariana is out."

"Oh," she replied, a sigh escaping her lips. She had hoped to reunite with her siblings during her visit. "When are they due back?"

"Mattias will be gone for another month. Mariana should return by dusk, however."

The interior of the manor was as she remembered: silent and somewhat oppressive.

"Don't keep Father waiting," Leon said, breaking through her thoughts. "And ensure that your... Kuro, doesn't cause any trouble. We'll catch up later."

Juliana watched as Leon headed for the main stairs that led to the second floor of the manor.

The weight of uncertainty pressed heavily upon her as she navigated the quiet corridors of the manor, her footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls. Why did her father wish to see her so urgently? She assumed they would just have dinner together like they used to do when she was little. But Leon had made no mention of such plans. Father generally didn't involve himself in her affairs—could it be her letter had spurred his interest?

A bitter grimace twisted her features as she contemplated her father scrutinising her words, every sentence picked apart by his judgmental gaze.

Brushing off the unsettling image, she continued towards her father's study, the imposing wooden doors standing sentinel before the heart of his domain. Her hand rested on the cold metal knob, turning it gently. With a quiet, almost ominous click, the door yielded to her.

The study was as austere as she remembered: grand in size, yet stifling in atmosphere. Room enough only for the gargantuan desk and a few other pieces of furniture. A single window allowed meagre sunlight to filter through, though her father rarely welcomed it, preferring the room shrouded in semi-darkness. The presence of unlit candles only highlighted his preference.

"Father, I have returned," she announced softly.

Her father, engrossed in a stack of paperwork, glanced up to meet her gaze. It was a look she knew all too well—sharp, disapproving. It was a look given to servants who messed up, servants who were lazy, and servants who didn't serve him fast enough.

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She was very familiar with this look.

"I see you've forgotten your manners. Knock before entering next time." Albert's gaze veered to the figure lurking behind her. "And what is that... thing behind you?"

There was no doubt about it. She was in trouble.

"This is Kuro," she explained, her voice faltering slightly under the weight of her father's stern gaze. "I acquired her at the Grand Exhibition."

Albert's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Kuro, inspecting the demihuman with an inscrutable expression. He dismissed her with a cursory glance, focusing back on his desk. "You've always been gullible, allowing yourself to be deceived so easily, daughter."

Juliana swallowed hard and tried not to look too relieved that father didn't immediately tell her to get rid of it.

"I-It's true!" she insisted, her voice wavering. The conviction she felt in the decision to buy Kuro felt shaky now under her father's scrutiny. "I secured her for a single gild! She is quite useful, Father!"

"Is that so?" Albert's response was terse.

Her father didn't even bother looking up this time. Juliana couldn't tell if he was interested or not. She shot a glance at Kuro, who seemed to be taking in their surroundings with curious eyes. It was hard to read its face, but she was sure it was curious about her father's office.

"What can it do?" Albert finally broke the uncomfortable silence that hung in the room. "Explain to me why I should tolerate its presence."

Caught off guard, Juliana stuttered to find the words, "She can do basic housework, and she can cook too, I think..."

"'I think?" Albert parroted mockingly. "I will give you another chance to explain with certainty. What. Can. It. Do?" He reiterated, this time more deliberately. "Otherwise, you'll face the consequences for wasting my time."

"W-Well… She can do light cleaning and she can carry heavy things like my luggage." Juliana responded, mustering as much confidence as she could.

"That's it?" Albert leaned back in his chair, arching a brow. "Everything procured from the Grand Exhibition has some sort of exceptional quality. What exactly is so special about this creature?"

"It can learn!" She hastily added. "Kuro can learn whatever I teach her!"

"Can it, indeed." Her father was clearly not impressed. He mulled over his daughter's words, contemplating how to dispel her misplaced optimism.

After giving the issue minimal thought, he came up with a particularly demanding test. One that even a well-trained elf would struggle with.

"If that's the case, instruct it to fill out these ledgers," he said, pushing a stack of papers across the table and pointing to a specific page.

Juliana cast a quick look at the ledger before returning her attention to Kuro. She wasn't sure how well Kuro would handle such a complex task but she didn't want to disobey her father either. She gestured towards the ledgers on his father's desk. "Kuro, do you know how to read these numbers?"

The demihuman approached the desk, her tail flicking back and forth as she examined the ledgers.

"I'm afraid these symbols are beyond my ability to read, nya. However, if you could read them aloud to me, I believe that I would be able to understand what they say.

Somewhat relieved, Juliana decided to give it a try. She began pointing at the numbers on the page one by one. "That symbol stands for one... this is two..."

As she continued, she noticed Kuro was intently following along, seemingly making an earnest effort to understand.

"Finally, this is nine."

Once Juliana had finished, Kuro carefully picked up the quill from the inkpot, and with a level of precision that betrayed her previous unfamiliarity with the task, began to write.

"What is it doing?" Her father's voice broke through the silence of the room. "It's just scribbling nonsense on the margins."

A wave of anxiety washed over Juliana at her father's words. "Kuro, please, try to focus! I went through the numbers with you!" She looked back at Kuro but she couldn't tell if Kuro was even paying attention to them. "Kuro!" she tried again, though it was becoming progressively harder to decipher Kuro's writing.

"Which column signifies purchases, nya?"

Juliana paused at the question. She glanced at the parchment, which had two columns running down its length. Expenditures were on the left, and purchases were on the right.

"Um, it's the one on the right-hand side."

Kuro resumed scribbling in the margins. It seemed as if she was attempting to write words, but she quickly abandoned that task in favour of drawing skewed circles. "Kuro!" Juliana tried to catch Kuro's attention once more, but she sensed that her servant was just as exasperated as she was. "What are you doing?!"

Juliana glanced back at her father, only to find that he had returned his attention to his paperwork.

She didn't understand why he didn't care what Kuro was doing but then again he rarely ever cared what anybody was doing. She looked back towards Kuro but it seemed like it was also completely ignoring her at this point.

She regretted not spending more time teaching Kuro how to read on their journey back home. If only she'd known this kind of test was waiting for them, she would have been better prepared.

Suddenly, Kuro halted her errant doodling and started filling in the ledger properly.

"One thousand… three hundred…" Kuro muttered to herself.

Juliana stared, perplexed at Kuro's page filled with indecipherable scribbles, and then at the newly written numbers in each row. She saw her father's gaze shift briefly to Kuro, but he offered no comments.

After a while, Kuro reached the bottom of the table and appeared to be fixated on the final entry. Juliana could tell she was grappling with something, but it was beyond her understanding.

"The accounts don't balance, nya?" Kuro mumbled under her breath, a hint of confusion creeping into her voice.

Her father's face hardened ever so slightly at the demihuman's words.

"Juliana," He called her by her name for the first time that evening. "Ensure your slave does not set foot in my office again. Am I clear?"

A knot formed in her stomach at his stern tone. She was at a loss as to what had gone wrong and how she had managed to incur his displeasure to this extent. She glanced quickly at Kuro, who was looking at her father with an unreadable expression.

"I-I apologise, Father!" She stumbled over her words, a rush of apology escaping her lips.

"However," he continued, the intensity of his gaze unhindered, "I admit, your precious servant has demonstrated its capacity to learn new tasks. You are excused for the day." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, his attention returning to the ledger Kuro had filled out. "I will consider what I want to do with it later."

"Y-Yes, Father!" Relief washed over her, and she quickly bowed, accepting the cue to leave with gratitude. She signalled for Kuro to follow, and the two of them exited the office. The wooden doors closed with a heavy thud behind them, sealing away the day's tensions.

The familiar corridor that lay before them was quiet, devoid of any judgement. Juliana let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing for the first time since her return. The reassuring rhythm of Kuro's soft footfalls beside her was the only sound breaking the manor's hush.

She glanced at her servant disapprovingly.

"Kuro, what did you do?"

A brief silence unfolded between them. Kuro responded, her voice measured and calm. "Me? I did nothing, my lady. I think the more interesting question would be, just what has your father been doing?"