Shiro nodded in appreciation. With gentle strokes, he gently caressed Layfia's gray tail.

From the remarkably soft feeling he received, he confirmed they were genuine and as lovely to the touch as he had imagined in his previous life.

While he lost himself in enjoyment, Layfia squirmed around and had a terribly embarrassed look.

Curious, she asked, "Is it that fun...?"

"Of course! Do you not know that it is the dream of all men to touch tails like this at least once in their lifetime?!"

He could not do it in his previous life, but he could at the beginning of his next. Ah...what a blessing!

His emotional reaction stunned Layfia.

Oops. He berated himself inwardly. Those were not the words a ten-year-old child should be saying. Thankfully, Layfia did not show any strong reaction to his sudden outburst. If he had done that publicly in his previous life, he would probably have been seen as a weirdo.

" How old are you, Layfia?"

"... I'm 13..."

"13, and you're already working under someone. Are you....being mistreated?"

"No, no, no! The Master and Milady kindly took me in and even gave me a job and place to stay. So while I sometimes get work pushed onto me by the other servants in training my age, it's nothing serious, and I'm very grateful to the Lords for their kindness."

She cutely waved her hands in denial at his claim. Clearly, she found it absurd.

That's right, he couldn't use his old world perspective now that he was in a new one.

He noticed that whatever had caused her to be so nervous in the first place had diminished, allowing her to speak somewhat fluently now.

She was much more coherent and easy to talk to. Shiro preferred this version of her compared to the bumbling mess that she was before.

"I'm going to ask you a couple questions that are going to sound weird. Is that okay?"

Layfia tilted her head in confusion but did not protest, "Of course."

"First, who am I?"

From the perspective of those who knew Cael, this question would be very odd. So he decided asking Layfia over any adult or older servant would be better.

By asking someone younger, he hoped she would not suspect anything amiss about his behaviour and only see it as a fit of strangeness.

While it would not get him into any significant trouble to ask an adult, at least it shouldn't, he reckoned he would be interrogated to some extent. And he wasn't entertained by the prospect of trying to explain his actions.

While blaming it on memory loss was an option, it would cause more trouble than anything.

Moreover, no tragic or momentous event had occurred to him to back up that excuse. Not any he was aware of anyway.

Layfia doubted Shiro's words at first but complied anyway. They were the orders of her superior, after all, "You are young master Cael Roya Lamgas, the son of Lord Lamgas."

Her answer did not leave much for him to work with.

The girl sensed his dissatisfaction with her answer and hurriedly expanded on her response, "Ummm. Lord Lamgas is a high-ranking noble in the Empire, and he serves as one of the close aids of the Emperor."

This explained why every single detail and aspect of the building, left, right, and centre was sparkling with the utmost expensive gleam. So it turned out his new family was loaded.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Where are we?"

Layfia suddenly let out a giggle.

"What's wrong?"

"No, I found it funny since you really are asking some strange questions."

Alarmed, Shiro prepared many excuses for her should she ask anything, but they were unnecessary.

Layfia covered her mouth after realising her laughter could be seen as rude," I'm... sorry.. "

This girl really apologised way too much. It felt tiring to listen to it.

She continued to answer his questions, "We are in the Empire of Anakrys. We are currently in the main residence belonging to the Lamgas family in the Imperial Capital."

Again, this was not much to work with, but he refrained from asking any further.

"Who... hmmm. No. Why did I get slapped?"

Directly asking the woman's identity who slapped him wasn't very smart. He had an inkling that he should definitely know her identity.

"You were playing with the second young master, and well... you both got into a fight."

So.. nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Layfia opened her mouth and closed it hesitatingly.

Shiro caught her troubled actions and reassured her, "What's wrong...? You can say it."

"Umm. You weren't at fault, young master, your elder brother started the scuffle, and in the end, you were blamed for it... I think Milady should've considered it for longer... it was unfair of her to blame it all on you..."

Shiro raised his eyebrow. From what he had seen, she was a soft-spoken, weak-willed girl. For her to say something like that was rather daring, considering she could get punished. Servants weren't allowed to speak ill of their masters.

"You're a kind girl, aren't you?"

Out of habit, Shiro patted her head gently.

Layfia felt extremely weird. The young master in front of her was younger than her, yet why did she feel like she was talking to someone older? These thoughts fled her mind as she lost herself in the comfortable head pat he gave her and closed her eyes in relaxation.

Moments later, she regained her senses and again became embarrassed.

"But you should keep those thoughts to yourself. You never know who is listening."

The girl covered her mouth and nodded.

Shiro sighed as he watched this.

Does that mean the woman from earlier is my mother...? I've heard of parents playing favourites, but this is extreme. Wait, that doesn't make sense. I look nothing like her and my supposed brother. I actually resemble myself in my previous life more. Unless... I take after my father... Lord Ramgas...

"Next, why do they... the servants all look at me like that?"

From what he remembered, the aversion they felt towards him was extreme. It had no relation to his spout with the other young master, so there must be another reason.

"They uh... we were instructed to avoid interacting with you at all costs unless it couldn't be helped. They say... you are cursed."

"Cursed?"

"Ah... I don't know the specifics... but you bring misfortune wherever you go..."

Wait a minute, seriously?

"For example...?"

Layfia wanted to end the topic there, but Shiro did not compromise and waited for her to continue. Then, reluctantly, she recounted what she had heard from the other servant's gossip.

"Several servants mysteriously passed away when you were a child."

"When you were younger, you caused the Lady to have a miscarriage."

"Also, several times when your elder brother has been injured, you were also present."

"..."

It irked him slightly that the girl knew more about rumours and gossip than the critical information he wanted, but he couldn't find it in himself to blame her. He also hadn't been very interested in history and geography at her age. That, and his questions were extremely vague since he didn't want to expose himself.

Essentially, what she said implied that he was the equivalent of an innocent person being accused guilty via circumstantial evidence.

He shook away this depressing discussion on curses and rumours and moved on to his final question.

"And..."

Shiro deflated like a balloon, There's more?!

"And... no, never mind."

She stopped herself before she finished. Shiro saw no need to prompt her anymore since he had heard enough.

"My final question is... uh... the floating screen... the status s-"

"The status?"

"Yes, the status."

He thanked her silently for being quick on the uptake. Of course, since she knew about it, maybe it wasn't a privilege exclusive to him?

"Remind me what it is."

"Umm. I'm not very knowledgeable about it, but supposedly it's a blessing from the gods to those summoned from another world."

"Summoned from another world...? Then... you don't have one?"

"Of course not." Layfia gave him a weird look. He said something she considered extremely bizarre, so he stopped there.

"I see..."

After finishing his questions, he asked something that he just remembered.

"Come to think of it, why did you return after running away?"

"AH. I was supposed to inform the young master that your presence is required tonight since the master will return."

"Return?"

"Yes. Master rarely returns home since it is his duty as one of the Empire's generals to command the army at the frontlines."

Oh. He could figure out his family situation sooner than expected.

"If that's all, I'll be taking my leave... young master." Layfia bowed lightly and began to leave.

"Wait a second."

"Yes...?" she turned around fast as lightning at his call.

"Do we have a library?"

For a powerful family, having their own collection of records and literature would make sense.

"I've never been in it, but we do. Do you wish to visit it, young master?"

"If you don't mind leading the way."

While he could continue asking Layfia, he wanted a more concrete and detailed description of the world. And where else would be better than a library?