Lameria was tentative to talk at first, but as the night wore on she opened up little by little. Did I use the fact that she'd been lonely for a long time to get the information I needed? Yes. That doesn't mean that I didn't care.
When possible I steered the conversation more towards more practical matters and this enabled me to learn a great deal from her. This house held between 30-50 people depending on the day, not counting the servants which made the number at least double. That number skyrocketed when they hosted parties which were a relatively regular occurrence.
Most people in the main Armingtage family lived here. That included the current head of the family, his daughter and only true born heir, Madeline, a number of the head's siblings and their children among a few others with a slightly more distant relation.
About half of the people who worked here were slaves and the other half were servants who had served the Armingtage family for years. They often worked closely together but the servants did have a rarely spoken of higher standing.
Then of course there were the guards. The three I saw with Madeline when I was first brought here were only the tip of the iceberg. Lameria told me she thought there were around twenty at all times but so far I've spotted less than half that. I imagined many were good at not being seen if they didn't want to be, which could be an issue for any escape plan, not to mention watch dogs or other security measures I may not even be aware of.
I thought I'd be relieved knowing a bit more about what I was up against, but I felt worse. Getting the beastkin to come with me was sounding more like a necessity than a kindness. Without her years of insider knowledge this was looking more and more hopeless. The question was could I talk her into risking it?
To be objective about it, our odds didn't sound very good unless a lucky situation popped up that distracted everyone. In any case it was something to consider for later. I would make it a point for us to have many more conversations in the future to see what else I could learn. I had no other ulterior motives for wanting to be around her, so don't even suggest such an improper thing.
Morning came all too soon to welcome in another day of hard work. I quickly got myself presentable for the day. I need to give the Armingtage house this; the rooms might be small and the beds uncomfortable but they knew how to dress their servants and slaves. Very fancy high end stuff. We must keep up proper appearances for our guest after all. They only deserved the best right?
I was starting with my typical kitchen duties. The good thing about being stuck on dishes is as long as you did them reasonably fast no one bothered you. Helen could hardly be called a kind woman, but at least when it came to humans as long as you did your job well she didn't go out of her way to give you crap.
Right after breakfast was served I was about to have one of my busiest times of the day, a servant told me that Madeline demanded my presence immediately. Perfect timing, have fun doing those dishes whoever else gets stuck with it. Better you than me.
I knocked on the door and was told to enter. I opened it to see Madeline and another woman I didn't know sitting on her sofa. I would guess she was about 30 years old and she looked a bit like Madeline. Maybe an older cousin perhaps? On the floor was a young boy who was too busy ramming his toys into each other to take notice of me. I was motioned to sit in the chair across from them. She gave me a look over that indicated she was far from impressed before she spoke.
“Lady Madeline has told me that while you may not look it, you may possess the ability to be an able instructor to my little Jeffrey. Do you believe this to be the case as well?"
“Yes Ma'am I do".
“Before I consider you I'd like to see your status screen.” I should have known this was coming. I did as I was told and kept silent. She wasn't about to listen to anything I had to say anyway. It was up to Madeline now to sell my abilities.
“What is this?" The woman turned towards Madeline and continued.
"You said this slave possessed the ability to be an able tutor. Not only does he lack any educational skills but he's level one. Is this some kind of joke?” She pointed toward me the entire time as if she could be talking about anyone else in this room and had to make it clear she meant me..
“He does have the ability. I know his status screen leaves much to be desired, but I assure you that Jeffrey's education will be in able hands." Madeline looked to me and then to the woman, she moved closer towards her on the sofa. Whispering just loud enough for me to hear.
"I shouldn't be telling you this but..." She hesitated and looked around. That was clever of her. If you want someone to listen to you, start off by saying it's something they shouldn't know.
"But what?" Madeline looked to Jeffrey and gave a look to the older woman. Well, now she was interested. She bent down to speak to her son.
"Jeffrey, would you be a big helper to Mommy and go to the kitchen and tell Helen that we'd like some tea sent up?" Jeffrey gave an annoyed look and pointed to me.
"But a slave's right here. Make him do it."
"Mommy needs to talk with him for a minute. Go on now and be a big help to mommy won't you?"
"Fine." He acted like a quick trip to the kitchen was a monumental inconvenience. Putting his toys down that were on the verge of breaking, due to him slamming them together over and over, he slowly walked towards the door. He really was a fucking brat. As soon as he left the woman asked Madeline to continue.
"Not long after buying him I inquired about his past to confirm if he had the abilities he claimed. It was highly difficult to discover as the whole event was covered up, but what I found was rather shocking." Okay, where was she going with this? She looked at me quickly and continued.
"You see, this slave use to be one of the most promising young scholars on the far side of the empire. While not a noble, his intelligence and wits were enough to make him one of the few commoners the empire took an interest in educating. He was groomed from a young age, destined for perhaps a job in the treasury or maybe even one of the assistants to an adviser of the emperor himself! The older woman was surprised to hear this. She looked at me and then towards Madeline.
"Then how is it he's here now?" Madeline tried to look embarrassed for what she was about to say.
"While it's true he has talent in certain areas, he has weaknesses in others. He couldn't seem to control his most basic male impulses." The older woman nodded but was unconvinced.
"That's unfortunate, but it certainly doesn't explain-". Madeline interrupted her to increase the dramatic effect on what she was about to say.
"You're right of course. But these weren't... normal impulses." The older woman's look told me she was even less likely to want me to educate her kid at this point. I hoped Madeline knew what she was doing.
"What were they exactly?" Madeline faked building up her courage to answer.
"He.... he seduced and bedded elderly women. Dozens and dozens of them. Maybe even hundreds. The older the better from what I was told." Really Madeline? I'm sitting right here you know. Couldn't you have made something else up? I couldn't help but get embarrassed at the look Jeffrey's mother was giving me. Madeline continued.
"He liked the Matriarchs of noble houses most of all. Poor old ladies who were left behind by their late husbands. Once he seduced them he would whisper in their ears all manor of depraved acts that he wanted them to perform."
"W-what kind of acts?" Madeline looked to me before leaning into the woman's ear with a hand on the side of her mouth. I couldn't hear anything they were saying but the look on the woman's face grew more and more pale. Did she really need to lay it on this thick? The woman's mouth open in shock.
"He did WHAT with their loose skin!?" The woman shrieked. Madeline brought her mouth closer to her ear and continued to whisper for a while more. Soon the whispering was done and Madeline leaned back on the couch.
"In any case once this was discovered it was agreed they couldn't have him in any position of power as the noble houses would be offended by such a thought. And they couldn't exactly let him walk free either with the potentially damaging information. Execution was thought of as a possibility but that would set a bad precedent and no one wanted a public trial. Assassination was becoming the most likely option, even though it could lead to other problems. Instead he chose to keep his life by selling himself into slavery.
Seeing as the mother already punished him by knocking him down to level 1 again it was thought as a good solution to be rid of him. No one would believe the word of a slave, particularly a level 1 slave. After that he was sold to the far side of the world and they were glad to be rid of him." Jeffrey's mother considered the situation.
"If this is true then I don't think I want someone like him teaching my son in any case." Madeline laughed
"You have nothing to worry about, he truly only likes old ladies. Nothing else interests him. Right slave?" She looked to me. I never thought it would come to this. Sigh.
"Yes ma'am. I only like old ladies. The older the better." Jeffrey's mother gave me a disgusted look, but Madeline jumped in before she could say anything.
"See? While he's a deviant, it isn't a problem for your son. As long as he's a good teacher what does it matter in the end if he has an unhealthy obsession with old ladies or not?" That was true and she considered Madeline's words. She moved in now to seal the deal.
"Believe me, I checked his background as best anyone could. While he's odd to be sure, he was always highly professional when he tutored young children in the past. Truly your son could have no better teacher. Why not take the chance? If for any reason it doesn't work out we can just find someone else and it cost you nothing. You said you would need weeks to find an appropriate tutor anyway. Why not give him a trial run in the mean time?"
She didn't seem excited by the idea, but I could tell she saw the logic in Madeline's points. She looked me dead in the eyes.
"Because I have such a high respect for Lady Madeline's opinion, I'll consider giving you a chance. But if I suspect you're doing anything inappropriate or trying to corrupt my Jeffrey...." She looked down just below my belt and then back up to my eyes.
"I will remedy that problem immediately. Do you understand me slave?"
"Yes ma'am"
"You'd better. Dismissed."
I left the room as fast as I could. Part out of fear for her wanting the remedy the situation before it became a problem and part out of sheer humiliation. I could tell Madeline enjoyed that far too much. On the way back to the kitchen I passed Jeffrey in the hall. He stopped directly in front of me.
"Are you going to be my new tutor? I heard them talking about it before you came in." He looked me over not seeming too impressed.
"I don't know yet. I might be."
"But you're a slave and slaves are stupid." What the hell was this kid going on about?
"Some slaves can be pretty smart too."
"If you were smart then you wouldn't be a slave would you?" This little prick.
"Well, the world doesn't always let people pick-"
"Shut up slave. I know how this works. You have to do what I say. Those are the rules." Someone's mommy didn't teach him any manners it seems.
"It's more like I have to do what your mother says. Not you."
"Nu-uh, you have to do what I say. My mom told me I can give slaves orders if I want. If you don't do it or if you're mean to me than I'll tell mom you hit me, and then you'll be in biiiiiiiig trouble." He then proceeded to stick his tongue out at me before laughing with a 'ha-ha' and running back to his mommy.
Fucking little fucking Jeffrey you fucking brat. I'll be damned if I let some 6 year old brat ruin my plans. You hear me?
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The next day marked my first time as a tutor, and some 6 year old brat was ruining my plans. Over nearly 8 hours of tutoring nothing was accomplished. He never sat still. He didn't want to read. When I said I would tell his mother he wasn't behaving he threatened to tell her I hit him.
If his mother wanted to ask him what he learned today, he wouldn't be able to tell her one single thing. I knew she was going to be keeping tabs on my progress very carefully. If this kept up I wouldn't be a tutor for long. Later that day after the tutoring was over I was ordered to see Madeline. I walked into her open room and closed the door behind me.
“So how did it go?” Straight to the point. I can appreciate that.
“It didn't. I'm in a tough spot to be honest. I know I can't just put him over my knee and if I complain to the mother she'll take it as a sign of my incompetence."
We tried to think of what to do about the situation but no good ideas came forth. I told her what Jeffrey said to me as we passed in the hall. She was not the least bit surprised and warned me that his mother would take his side over mine as he had done the same thing to other slaves in the past, even when everyone knew it wasn't true, but his mother still sided with her little 'angel'.
We tried to think of an idea to help with my tutoring but nothing came to mind. I would just have to try again. Maybe I could reason with him. 6 year olds are easy to reason with, everybody knows that.
Tutoring didn't mean I got to sleep in but it did keep me out of the kitchen for much of the day. I still had to go early in the mornings and after my sessions were over. Susan saw to that due to her insistence that a slave like me shouldn't be idling around.
Thanks Susan, you heartless bitch.
The one good thing to come out of today's tutoring was I got to eat an extra big lunch. When dinner came around I was able to let Lameria eat her fill off my plate and not go to bed hungry.
That night after dinner I was thinking about my problem with Jeffrey. I had seen any number of movies where the wise old teacher corrects and guides the young but rowdy student and in the end both gain an appreciation for what they're missing in life, forming a deep bond.
That wasn't in the cards with Jeffrey. He was a fucking pain in the ass the likes of which I've never seen. I swear if Dennis the Menace acted like this Mr. Wilson would have buried him in his basement. Mr. Miyagi would've crane kicked Daniel-san back to New Jersey or wherever he came from if he acted like Jeffrey.
There was no enriching relationship to form here. Just my soon to be inevitable failure.
Then in my wallowing the solution came to me, and with the help of Madeline I would be able to pull it off. It was so obvious that I don't know why I didn't think of it before.
I was able to send a message to Madeline before the lesson started by talking to the slave that I knew attended to her in the mornings. I told the slave I had figured out a way to help Madeline with something. The slave looked at me strangely. Usually the messages only went one way. Masters send messages or summons to slaves, not the other way around. I insisted Madeline would like to be told this immediately and ordered me to try to get in touch with her the instant I had a solution.
I suppose I could've tried to walk up to her room myself but I saw too many ways that could backfire. Not because Madeline would be mad about it so much as other reasons. I thought it was better to let me be summoned to her instead of going upstairs where i didn't belong.
10 minutes after the slave went upstairs I was summoned by Madeline. Good, I think we'd have enough time at this rate. As soon as I got to her room she asked me what I'd come up with. Once she heard my idea she instantly agreed it was worth a try and told me she would make sure I had what i needed before the lesson.
Jeffrey arrived at the Armingtage library for the start of his second lesson. I was waiting for him sitting across the table. Here he was again, looking forward to another day of screaming and goofing off until his mom had enough of him being wasted on a failure like me. But I had other plans.
Before he could say anything I showed him a plate filled with the most delicious looking treats he may have ever seen. Madeline had Helen personally working on them for the past hour. They finished mere minutes before Jeffrey arrived. His eyes lit up and he ran at me to grab the plate. I instantly put it high in the air and out of his reach.
“Give them to me!” He ordered.
“No.”
“Give them to me now you stupid slave!"
“Are you suppose to have treats like these?” He paused. Jeffrey's over protective mother was very stern when it came to treats. Only on holidays and special occasions according to Madeline.
“You have to do what I say. If you don't I'll tell on you!"
“Okay, tell on me. Then I'll be sent away and you'll never ever get the treats.”
The 6 year old logic in his brain was working now. There is no way he could get what he wanted no matter what he did unless I let him have some. With me being much taller than him and placing them high out of his reach I've completely out witted him.
I reveled in my accomplishment of successfully out smarting a 6 year old. Check Mate. Flawless Victory.
I may only be 16 but I knew well that using bribery on a child to produce good behavior could lead to more behavioral problems down the line and was a bad parenting method. But I wasn't his god damn parent, and frankly I didn't care how he turned out. I needed results and fast. That means I needed to get Jeffrey to do as I wanted today. Not a year from now.
“I'll make you a deal Jeffrey. You want these treats and I want you to study. You can have me fired as your tutor if you want. But if you do then you'll just get a new tutor and he certainly won't give you any treats. If you agree to listen to me and do the lessons I tell you then I will give you one treat after each section of lessons we finish. That works out to several treats in a single day."
He considered my words. I wanted to press my point home.
“No matter what you'll have to learn it anyway. You can either learn it with me or someone else. Wouldn't it be better to get something you want out of it?”
That was very true. He could do nothing about having to do these lessons no matter what he did. He tried to get me to promise 2 treats per lesson to get him to agree. I told him if he wanted we could go down to 1 treat a day. In the end after his threats he relented and agreed to 1 treat per lesson.
Part of the reason I stuck to my guns was because I couldn't afford to have him get a stomach ache and tip off his mother. The other was I'll be damned if I'm going to let a 6 year old set the terms on me. Beat your heart out Anne Sullivan. You may have taught Helen Keller, but you never had to deal with Jeffrey.
Things started to work much more smoothly from that day on. With Jeffrey sworn to secrecy about our deal he started to make improvements. I would hopefully be his tutor for however long I needed to raise my status.
I hoped soon that we could work the treats out of the deal once he got accustomed to following my orders. The chance of him losing his sweets probably bought his silence but I hated having to depend on a 6 year old not to slip up, no matter how motivated he may be.
Jeffrey's Mother was satisfied when she saw his remarkable progress over the next few days. Soon I didn't have to go to the kitchens early in the mornings on the days I tutored. I was instead told to spend that time focusing on Jeffrey's lesson plans for the day. I still had to go to the kitchens after the tutoring was done to help with dinner but getting that extra hour in the morning to relax was a big relief.
I could have tried talking to Madeline about getting out of it but i decided against it for a number of reasons. Susan would feel better if she had this small meaningless victory and that may keep her off my back a little more. It gave me an excuse to move around different parts of the house and get a better layout. And I got to keep bringing Lameria her dinner every night which would make any other contact we may have slightly less suspicious.
Overall I felt good about the direction things were going. It was still a long climb uphill but in under 2 weeks I've gone from a slave bound to the mines to a dish washer to the tutor of a young noble. I told myself that it would only make my story better to start out as a level 1 slave and climb all the way up to greatness. Of course I would have preferred and easier road over a better origin story.
That night I wondered about my sister. Not the one from my world of course. I've been so focused on recent events and trying to work things to my advantage here that I've hardly had time to think about her. She was told by my horrible father that I left in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye. After over 12 years of seeing me, or the other me, every day. What must she be thinking right now after I promised she could live with me?
And it was all his fault. I'm going to make that bastard pay. Not just for me, but for everything he's ever done wrong to my sister too. I've been In this world for under 2 weeks and I'm already thinking of making a list like Arya Stark.
Helen was no trophy but I would leave her off for now. She never gave me a reason to think of a nice thing to say about her and often did the opposite. Lets keep it to Susan and father for now with Susan in the maybe category.
Things were really starting to settle into a routine. Each night I would talk to Lamaria and learn more about this place as well as about Madeline. I probably could've asked Madeline herself, but I thought better of that. She seemed pretty open with me but I didn't want to test just where that line was unless I had to. This felt like the safer option and I could just add my first hand impressions too.
Ever since I met Madeline I had thought she was about a year younger than me, but it turned out she was around a year older. I didn't think that she looked that young, it was just the way she acted sometimes. She went from calculating woman to immature girl pretty quickly. I guess growing up in this situation with no outlet and not being allowed to have a real childhood may do that.
I could say the same for Lameria. She clearly never had the chance for a real childhood but unlike Madeline she didn't have any opportunities to act out about it. It made her an odd mix of contradictions. At times she acted like a young scared child if she thought she may have done something wrong. She never showed any agency or tried to take the lead. At other times she had complete focus and a no nonsense attitude when it came to details. Both were no doubt beaten into her daily as a child and even now.
I learned she was about 4 years older than me and clearly looked it. A woman grown and fully developed. With all the time I spent with her it was hard not to notice.
Trying to be her friend wasn't easy. Not because she didn't want a friend but because she had no idea how to act as an equal. Since the day she came here she'd been forced to treat everyone as a superior and it had fully become internalized at this point. Whenever she mention anything and I stated an opinion on it she would immediately drop any opinion she had and side with mine.
The conversation we had as she just finished eating a moment ago was one of many examples.
"Which of these foods do you like the most?" I asked her.
"I like the potatoes the most."
"I prefer the corn myself."
She nodded at my proclamation. "You're right. The corn is better."
It's gotten worse recently due to my new position. She still had a hard time calling me William, In some ways more than when we first met. I was a tutor now. A person who was put in a position of authority over a young lord. Even if he's only a six years old brat, that's rather prestigious.
As I looked at her, flashes ran across my mind of us tangled on her bed. Thoughts of my hands running over her. My lips on hers. The delicious mix of firmness and softness that her body promised.
She almost certainly has never had anyone do those kinds of things with her before. Coming here at the tender age of five and being despised by every person she's ever met. Most of them couldn't see her beauty through their hatred of her.
Even if some of them did see it, they wouldn't dare take her. Not because they would be told they did something wrong most likely, but because they had sex with a filthy beastkin.
Having almost certainly never been touched or kissed before, wouldn't she crave such intimacy if she only knew what it felt like?
As I looked upon her beautiful face I found myself getting lost in it, My eyes glanced up and down her perfect body that was curved in all the right places. All thought vanished from my mind as I gazed upon this perfect creature.
Without realizing what I was doing, I shifted closer to her on the bed. My thigh touching hers. My arm went around her waist while my other hand cupped her beautiful face. The heel of my palm was able to feel the edge of her deliciously soft red lips. I slowly leaned forward and pulled her to me, unable to take my eyes off them.
For one single instant in time, a dark thought crept across my mind. More of an impulsive feeling than a fully formed thought, but to my ever lasting shame it was there. Even if only for single moment in time. As if the devil on my right shoulder whispered into my ear.
You want her, don't you William? To make her yours, all you have to do was command it. You know she'll obey.
I instantly pushed the thought away. What the hell was I thinking? Why was I trying to justify this? I wasn't that kind of person was I? Didn't I always say that I hated those kind of people. How would I feel if someone ever tried to force themselves on my sister?
As I was beating myself up for being such an asshole I finally noticed Lameria and the scared look on her face. She moved her hands up slightly as if she was planning to push me back but decided to let them drop. She diverted her eyes from me but stood completely still in my hands. Her face went back to the blank and emotionless visage she had when I first met her.
She was afraid to turn me away. What if I got angry and made her life even worse? I saw the look of betrayal and acceptance of that betrayal in her eyes, like she expected in earlier. I let go.
“I apologize. I've forgotten myself and must beg your forgiveness.” I took the empty plate and left to go to my room.
I sat on my bed red faced. Filled with shame and the memory of her thigh touching mine. Of how good my arm felt around her tight smooth waist. The memory of the moment when I pulled her in and I could feel the softness of her chest against me.
In the end the shame left after half an hour and those other thoughts won out. I was glad there was no one in the room next to me and I didn't think Lameria could hear across the hall.
It's been building up for over a week at this point. Give me a break.
The next night I quietly knocked on her door with food in hand but she didn't open it. I tried to tell myself she just fell asleep early but with me holding her bowl and knowing she hadn't eaten all day I doubted that.
The night after that I knocked again. Probably due to hunger since she hadn't eaten for 48 hours she opened the door, took her bowl and then quickly closed it. I didn't dare try to talk to her at any other time. It would only cause more trouble for her and that was the last thing I wanted.
Later that night I heard a quiet knock on my door that woke me. Luckily I was a pretty light sleeper. I opened it to see Lameria.
“May I come in sir?” I wanted to tell her to call me William, but the hallway wasn't the place to have that conversation
“Yes, please.” It was the first time she's entered my room, something about that made this feel rather exciting. No, now was clearly not the time to think like that.
I didn't know what to say so I said nothing and decided to let her speak first. I figured she wanted to give me a piece of her mind and had the right to do so.
“I must apologize for the past few nights. I realize now I was being selfish taking your food without consideration of anything you may have wanted. I also resisted you when it's not my place to do so. This slave begs you to overlook her foolishness and is willing to do whatever is required of her.” I stopped her before she could get her shirt above her stomach. It was a perfect stomach by the way.
“I was in the wrong, not you. I apologize for my actions and I want to be clear that you don't owe me anything. I shared my food with you because I wanted to. I just got lost in the moment and made a mistake. You did nothing wrong.” She gave me a look as if she wasn't sure she believed me. I continued on.
“I would still like to share our meals together and I promise I'll never ask you to do anything you don't want to do. All I want is your company, but that's entirely up to you. I don't know about you, but I don't have any friends here and I could really use one, if you're willing”.
She let her shirt drop to cover her stomach as she thought over what I said. I got the feeling she believed me, at least a little anyway. and that was a start.
“Okay, I'd like that too.”
For the first time since I met her, I think I saw the hint of a smile on her face. But I could've just been seeing things.