The madam stood up from her table, slowly approaching the two young girls, her face was still kind, but just as Eina had expected, she looked at the two of them like objects, estimating their value.

The original Eina had been beaten and locked up the day prior for screaming and crying that she wanted to go home, so she obviously didn't look at her best. But the madam couldn't help a shallow smile appearing on her face.

'She probably thinks that a weak minded girl would be easier to mold into whatever she wants' Eina thought.

After appreciating Eina, she moved her eyes over to the girl beside her. The calm, indifferent expression felt a little strange to the madam, but looking at her demeanour, she could still tell that this girl was high born.

Although keeping the child of some noble is a very dangerous prospect, but she had been bored for a long time. Different from the one next to her, this expressionless girl is far more appealing to her. However why give up one for the other, she might as well have both.

'How greedy I am' the madam thought jokingly.

"You've done well, Rin. Both these girls are to my appetite. Go down and receive the reward" the madam said plainly.

Rin was ecstatic, she quickly bowed to the madam speaking excitedly "Thank you madam".

Rin walked out as if running, she knew those two girls could catch the madam's eye.

The maids outside obviously heard the madam's order, so one of them took Rin towards the treasury to receive the reward.

Back in the house, the madam stared at the two girls before speaking, "You two will be taught by me from now on. You will enjoy a much higher status than the other girls here, but correspondingly your responsibilities will be greater

I don't expect you to understand what that means yet, but in time you will".

The two girls remained silent. Perhaps that made the madam happier. She had long lost the patience to deal with loud and ignorant people. After all, she had to listen to it every night when she managed the brothel. In her rest time, she just wanted peace and quiet. So she looked at the two girls more fondly.

"Since the two of you are to be taught by me, then I think I should give you two a name." the madam spoke, pointing at Eina "Your name will be Lily. Delicate and innocent. I have high hopes for you". Turning towards the other girl, the madam explained "Your name will be Rose. Brilliant and sharp. I'm sure you won't let me down".

Eina and the girl named Rose both understood what the madam expected, bowing their heads and saying "Thank you, madam".

The madam seemed to be very pleased with their self awareness, so she said "Good, you two go to my treasury and pick out something you like. Treat it as my welcome gift as your teacher".

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The maid that had taken Rin to the treasury had already returned, hearing the Madam's order she showed no impatience about having to go back, and led the two girls towards the treasury.

The handsome, scarred man walked towards the madam, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Are you able to rest now, Sia?"

Alessia didn't bother giving the man a look, only saying "Don't you have some hapless soldiers to train, Dain?"

"Haha, nothing's more important than you, my Sia" he said coaxingly, caressing Alessia's thin waist.

Alessia put down the account book she was reading, stood up and pulled the man towards her bed. "Make it quick, Dain. I have a busy day today".

Dain had a far-fetched smile on his face, thinking 'When will you look seriously at me, Sia?'. He hid his melancholy expression, putting his sword against the nightstand, taking off his and Sia's clothing, then pulling down the bed curtain.

The sounds of intimacy resounded throughout the yard, but there was no one in that yard who could appreciate it.

Eina could hear what was happening in the bedroom, but she didn't feel happy in any way. That man was far stronger than the ones that hid in the shadows. She could estimate their strength, but his level of strength was like a fog in front of her. If he was the lover of the madam, then she'd have an even harder time dealing with the situation.

When reaching the treasury, the maid led them in, past the guards in the open and the many in the shadows. Eina counted at least twenty peoples gazes falling on her outside.

Thankfully they disappeared as soon as she stepped into the treasury. Looking around, she wasn't excited about the gold and silver bars, nor the colourful array of gems.

The maid stood at the entrance staring at the two of them,she repeated the information she always had, "Madam has said you can choose one item from the treasury. Look around and when you've chosen, bring it to me so I can cross it off the registry".

The two girls replied "Yes" and then began to walk around.

Eina didn't think there would be anything that interested her, she was going to go through the motions, until she saw a pile of books gathering dust in the corner. The books had strange names. However, she fully understood from the title that these were the so called 'Martial Techniques'. She understood why the people in this courtyard were so powerful. When she was younger, and had more time free she used to like to escape her monotonous life of training and missions, by reading or watching movies.

A common trope she saw was the use of martial arts to run across rooftops. Possessing a type of strength stored internally, that could be used to enhance the overall strength of a person, so that they could achieve inhuman abilities.

She scoffed at the idea back then. If it was possible to become so powerful by meditating, then why did she have to suffer so badly when undergoing the experimental testing?

Now she has come to a world where it does seem to exist. The pile was covered in dust, obviously if there was anything in it of value, it would have been given to the guards in the shadows, to improve their ability.

But to keep it in the treasury showed that it wasn't useless, and she just happened to be missing the blueprint for how to train this exercise.

If she could add this internal strength technique to her original training, who knows how much stronger she could become?

Although she knew that these techniques wouldn't be the strongest, but maybe she could comprehend how to create her own technique from viewing this book. However the madam wouldn't allow her to become stronger on her own. She wanted a docile and obedient little girl, so Eina pretended that she was interested in the jewellery next to it.

Picking out a delicate necklace, she used her body to cover her hand grabbing one of the books, slipping it into the waistband of her pants.

Hiding from the maid that was staring at them took all of Eina's focus, so she didn't notice the perceptive little girl's eyes, gleaming when she snatched the booklet.