For most players, walking into the Marquess’ manor was a near impossible task. They either needed high enough fame to get a special invitation, or a quest that gives the player the right to enter the manor.

I had neither of these. My quest, was one that forced me to go against the Marquess. By all rights I shouldn’t be allowed past the guards, not to mention entering the manor.

I smiled slightly, hiding my gaze from the guards as I approached the gate. I looked suspicious to say the least, I was wearing the standard clothes of a commoner, and didn’t really look the part of a new recruit. Cur had said he would get me the clothes I needed, but in the end he had only given me this crap.

I sighed, just before stopping in front of the two men guarding the gate.

“State your business.” The guard on the far left said. His helmet was shinier than the one on the right, and looked less suitable for a fight. He must have been the leader.

“Um.. I… um…” I started to speak while stuttering.

“Spit it out,” The man roared.

I handed the man an envelop. It had a red wax seal and looked important. The seal had the emblem of another person of nobility, I had no idea who it was. I didn’t really care about the politics in this world. Politics had to do with bloodshed, I wanted nothing of it.

The head guardsman accepted the letter, tearing it open. He eyed the contents for a brief moment before his face started to grow pale. His gaze moved slower and slower across the page. The man was visibly sweating as he forced himself to smile.

“Do you...” He paused, then brought his voice to a low whisper, “know what is written here?”

“S-S-s-shouldn’t it be about me starting to work h-h-here?”

Cur had told me the letter would allow me to enter the premise. My guise is that of a new employee, and the letter was supposed to be my excuse to walk in the door.

“I see. Are you sure you never read this message?”

“S-sir?”

“It’s okay then,” The head guard took a deep breath, “You can enter.”

“T-thank y-you.”

I passed through the heavy iron gates and entered the property beyond it. The Marquess’ manor was large enough to fit a small town. It was precisely because it was so large that it wasn’t uncommon to get new people admitted as servants. Players are never hired as servants, it may be because of the nobles pride. However, I think it may be the pride of the players and the unwillingness to work under another.

Most humans at some point in their lives are forced to obey the rules and orders of a higher power. A large chunk of them would be fine if they could work toward some goal. But serving the Marquess for no reason at all would be a heavy burden for the player’s heart. Sure, they may have entered this place with making connections with the nobility in mind, but not everyone in this building meets the Marquess, and those that do often lose whatever fame they had tried to acquire.

A few stares greeted me as I crossed the courtyard. I was currently a stranger, the sole fact that I walked in through the front gate was enough to steal their curiosity. It meant that I was someone that would soon join them in their isolated town. A new individual to work and fight with.

Several gardeners worked on a large field of flowers. The colors spread over the spectrum, ranging from dark blues, to stunning violets. I was glad that the red roses were placed on the far side of the courtyard. They were hardly visible, but the color still made me sweat.

I approached one of the gardeners, forcing a smile on my face. The older man was covered in dirt all the way from his shoes to his face. The dirt clung to him like it was clinging to a friend. He had a gentle appearance. It gave off the vibe of a caring man, someone who could even be gentle toward the smallest animal and the frailest plant.

“E-excuse me… s-sir.”

“Oh?” The man widened his eyes, “You look new, I don’t think I’ve seen you here before? Were you just hired?”

I paused, this was the rather risky bit. Cur had informed me on the way new employees had been hired. If we had made a mistake, they would instantly find out I shouldn’t be here.

“I-I think so.” I continued to say with a stutter. The reason I had been speaking in this manner was to remain in character. Only the truly dense or cruel would want to continue to question someone that looked terrified. Then again, someone who was so fearful could be suspicious in its own right. “I received a letter telling me to come here. I-I think it’s for work?”

“Another one eh?”

“Another one?” I asked.

He looked me over, his gaze switching briefly to one of suspicion. He quickly broke into a smile, and wiped his brow. “Hey kid, what do you think about our Marquess?”

That question caught me off guard. “I-I’m not sure…” That wasn’t a question I could answer easily. I think most people in my situation would have immediately hated the man. But, I find it hard to hate someone I had never met before.

“You’re not sure? You do live in this city right?”

I shrugged and answered as honestly as I could, “Yeah, but the nobility is separated from the lives of the commoners. They may raise the taxes and send out drafts, but that seems less like a person and more like a natural disaster.”

“What about all the horrible things, they say he’s done? They say he kills others in his quest for power. They even say that he goes out and kidnaps children to eat…”

“Haven’t met him, so I can’t really judge him as a person.” Saying this may seem somewhat insane. But I learned never to trust a story. Everyone thinks they have full understanding of what happens around them, but there will always be trickery and misunderstandings.

You say that now, but you will always remain a gullible fool

The gardener laughed, “Yup, Yup, that’s the answer I was hoping for.”

…?

“Kid, a lot of people have quit working in the marquess’ manor over the last few weeks. They all seemed to be in a rush when the left. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought them to be scared.”

I remained silent.

He shrugged his shoulders, “I’m sure they had their own reasons…” He smiled, his teeth were white and straight, “But it just means even more workers had been hired over the last week. I would reckon about half of the people inside this land, are new to the game.”

...game?

“A noble’s manor is a place for trickery and deceit. Lies are stacked upon lies, and truths are bent into something incomprehensible. Every person that walks through these gates should be prepared for that.”

“I-I’ll keep that in mind” I said.

He laughed heartily patting me on the back, “I’ll tell you something interesting. There have been a large number of fake invitations going out for new workers. So much so that the Marquess stopped caring about any new people coming in. Even that fake invitation of yours would have been accepted easily… Did you really have to go so far as threatening the guards? I could see him panicking from here...”

I froze in my spot. The gardener’s smile didn’t lower a bit. He kept speaking as if to ignore the strangeness of my reaction, “Not like I’m one to care. As long as I can sit here in my garden I’ll be happy. Just don’t go around killing everyone.”

Was that really something you should say to a person you know had threatened the guards to enter?

“If you are wondering why I’m so nonchalant about letting a guy like you enter the property even after threatening the guards, it’s quite simple. All the chef’s quit. And I would rather eat something poisoned than something accidentally gruesome. At least with the former I can complain as I collapse and die on the floor.”

“...”

Makes sense

He shrugged his shoulders, “What? Can’t I be honest?”

“...”

“Names Rosa, but my friends call me Ross. Well… I normally force them to call me Ross, but that doesn’t really matter does it?”

“I think it does, Rosa.”

“Ross,” he corrected, “Call me Ross.”

“A-are you treating me as your friend?”

“Can you cook?”

I had been working as a chef at a restaurant for a considerable period of time, so if I can’t cook by now I never will be able too. “Yes,” I answered honestly.

He nodded his approval, “Then as long as you stop that annoying fake stutter, you will be as close to a friend of mine as you can be in this mansion. After all the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” The gardener Ross smiled.

I froze for the second time since I’ve talked to him. I couldn’t believe my stutter was found out for a fake.

“You need more practice with your stuttering to fool a master like me. Everyone here has a character they try to portray in order not to give up on their goals. If I didn’t know any better I think all the chefs quit because they never knew when the compliments were threats or not. Two faced people are a real pain…”

I forced myself to smile.

Ross set the gardening tool in his hand down, and started to put everything away. His tools amounted to some rather old styled blades and shovels. I guess most of the things used for gardening nowadays had yet to be invented.

He slung his red work bag over his shoulder. It was the first time I saw it, but I unconsciously reeled away. He tilted his brow and asked, “Something wrong?”

I tried to hide it, “O-of c-course nothing is wrong!”

“THAT’S IT!” Ross shouted, “THAT’S A GENUINE STUTTER! I knew you had in ya boy, I just knew it.” He held the bag in his right hand, and walked to stand on my right side. Ross stood in a position to keep himself between me and the bag. This man was too perceptive for my liking. He smiled, “Now shall we get on with your enrollment test?”

“Test?”

“I need to sample your food, don’t I? I can’t let a suspicious individual enter the property without making sure the grub he cooks is actually decent, ya know?!”

•••

He brought me to an open courtyard after setting his stuff into a shed not far from where the garden had been. The closet was old and rickety and was nearly falling apart. It had been hidden from sight, but it only showed the differences in status within the property.

Inside the courtyard was something that shocked me beyond all words. It was something that should not have existed in this world... A playground complete with monkey bars and swings. Several children were playing happily together.

Several of them stopped when Ross and I had approached. His figure, that of an old man, made him seem like a loving grandpa when he smiled at these kids.

Don’t go forgetting why you came here.

‘I know that’, I told the voice in my head.

“Grandpa Ross!” One of the kids yelled out. It was a little girl covered in mud from her recent play. She had several tears in her eyes as she ran toward him in a flustered manner. “Grandpa Ross, they are getting in a fight again!”

He caught her in his arms as she jumped at him. His smile did not fall for a single instant, “Again? Haven’t I already told them to stop?”

The girl nodded. Ross set her down, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Today, I brought a secret weapon.” He winked at me.

What did he expect me to do?

Ross walked with practiced steps toward a blind spot on the playground, a spot hidden just beyond a climbing wall. There, two boys were in the middle of a fight. It was a childish match, both of them shoving each other back and forth.

Ross’ smile dropped, “Okay, you brats.”

Both of them stopped moving and turned their heads slowly toward the intruder. Without meeting his eyes, they brushed themselves off and slung their arms around each other's necks like the best of friends. ““Yes?””

“Don’t ‘yes’ me, boys, you were fighting again, weren’t you...”

They both shook their heads.

“If you don’t tell me the truth… “ Ross opened his mouth into a sly smile, “I’ll get the chef to add even more carrots to your meals.”

In an instant, both the boys were down on their knees, ““We’re sorry. It won’t happen again!””

He lightly thumped both of them on the head, “I’m sure it won’t.”

Ross then brought his hands to his face, and gave one long low pitched whistle. I could see the formerly two fighting boys shudder at the noise. ““Please no,” they said, “Anything but that.”

For two kids that had just been fighting, they really were in sync.

The gardener Ross nodded, his face grave, “That’s right…”

“B-but… we won’t do it anymore.”

“Honest, we promise.”

Ross shook his head. The other kids in the area had started to gather around him, “It’s time for us to face the lunch table once again…”

Looks of horror spread across the children.

Many of the kids started to take a step back, in preparation to run. Ross laughed at their reactions, “Fear not, for I have found us a new chef! We no longer have to face that deathtrap... Eating can return to something enjoyable once again!”

Loud cheers erupted from all the children around us. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of food they had been eating to garner this reaction. You would think the food in the Marquess’ manor would at least be decent, right?

He pointed at me and the kids all turned to face me at once. “This is our new chef… He will be the one to shoulder our fates from this point on. His name is Chef…” He paused.

...All of the kids went silent. He leaned over and whispered into my ear, “What is your name, anyway?”

•••

By the time introductions were over with, half an hour had already passed. It had started with introducing myself (I only gave my name), but soon all the children in turn had decided to introduce themselves. Any kid with a hint of noble blood would spend what seemed like two minutes on their name alone.

All the kids were smiling, and they seemed like they were having the time of their lives dancing around and playing with Ross as they introduced themselves. The monstrous horde would have continued on with their introductions till the day was spent, if one of their stomachs hadn’t roared out.

I could have sworn that a few of them introduced themselves more than once...

That was lauren, she seems like a sweet girl.

‘...There was more than one…’ I rebuked.

Alfred, John, Ingred, Alphonse, Penelope also did it. But Lauren did it three times.

After the children had calmed down, Ross dragged me along with the kids to the manor entrance. Although I called it a manor, it wouldn’t lose in size to that of a castle. The entrance was one of the many smaller doorways on the side of the building. The main entrance a good fifty meters away and completely devoid of traffic. The main entrance, I guessed, was something only the Marquess and his invited guests could use.

The smaller entrance where we entered was completely flooded with traffic as everyone in the building went about their daily routines. However, most of the servants and nobles parted away quite swiftly as they noticed the group of dirt covered devils.

In fact, I think I was the only one not covered in dirt. Although I still ended up receiving glares of silent suspicion from everyone aside from Ross and the children, I didn’t mind it. From my perspective, it looked like they were all running away.

The walk through the manor was unnecessarily confusing, each turn would send us up another stairway, only to have to go down another. I had taken special care to memorize the routes and different passages we crossed, but since the route had taken so long, I doubted it would be of any use.

We entered a massive dining hall connected by a low counter to a large kitchen. The kitchen had several pots and pans stacked in the sink. The fumes alone had nearly caused me to breakaway running. I wasn’t alone, the kids had started to walk rather slowly as they entered the cafeteria. It seems their fear of food wouldn’t vanish so quickly.

They all sat rather politely down at the table in the large room. Grandpa Ross, which the kids had been calling him, had sat amidst them like it was perfectly natural. I walked towards the kitchen area and surveyed the supplies. I let myself leak a sigh, why was I even going along with this?

For the thirty or so kids sitting down, there was only half that many plates in the cupboard. You would think that with so many servants running around someone could cook and clean the dishes. Maybe the treatment of the kids is a blindspot for the many nobles in this manor.

Don’t you find that to be a little odd?

I opened up the cupboard that was stacked with fresh fruits and supplies. Hundreds of spices were lined in alphabetical order, many of which I had never heard of before. Seeing so many options, made me want to give up. There is nothing harder for a chef than having too many options to cook, and not enough dishes to serve it on.

I glanced towards the sink filled with dishes pots and pans. Was it just me, or was everything in this building made for giants? The sink alone was filled with enough pots, pans, and dishes to support all the kids and their families. How long had they gone by without cleaning them? I avoided visualizing it.

I leaned over the counter and yelled out toward Ross, “Hey old man!”

“What? Can’t decide what to cook?” He asked, leaning back in his seat at the large table.

I shook my head, “Well that too, but that’s not what I need help with.” I looked out at the kids, then back at the dishes, “I need help with something.”

•••

Working with kids is rather difficult for some. Adults tend to forget that kids don’t treat everything with disdain like they do. All kids are open to learning and playing at first, it’s only after we beat it out of them do they finally start to hate it.

I surveyed my handiwork. The kitchen was completely covered in soap bubbles. I needed the dishes to serve food on, but cleaning it all myself seemed like a pain, so I improvised a bit. There was way too many dishes for me to wash. If I had tried to clean them all, I would never have gotten around to cooking. So I got the kids to help…

Well, at least the dishes are getting clean...

“Watch this!” Ross screamed as he juggled a few of the expensive plates. The children watched in awe as he fluidly spun them around. The kids tried to do the same, but often tripped up, sending the plates falling to the ground.

Ross easily spun around the soap covered ground catching all the plates a second before each hit the ground. The kids just thought it was part of the game. Everyone was laughing and smiling.

However, the kids grew more careless as they continued to play and Ross wasn’t able to catch them all. A single plate shattered into a pile of sharp glass. The kids all stared in horror as one of the boys failed to catch it. Everyone gathered around the broken plate. Fearing punishment, they all tried to clean up the mess.

“Stop!” Ross yelled, bringing all the kids to a standstill.

I continued to chop the vegetables.

The boy that dropped the plate suddenly burst into tears. “*Waaaaahhhhh!!!* I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” he wailed.

Ross patted the boy on the head, and whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear, “I don’t see anything you should apologize for.”

“But.. the plate…*sniffle*”

Ross leaned over the shattered glass, “What plate?” He swept his arm over the glass bringing it all into one pile, “You mean this?” Another sweep of his arm, this time the pile of glass had nearly vanished, replaced by a sparkling freshly washed plate.

The kids stared in amazement. Ross laughed, “See nothing wrong here.”

It hadn’t escaped my gaze the pile of glass sitting behind him, beyond the sight of the kids. It was a simple magic trick of replacing the broken glass with a proper plate, but at the very least… the kid had stopped crying.

“How about you guys go get changed?” The old man asked, “You all started off dirty, and now you are all dirty and wet. By the time you get back I bet something will be made… I’m not sure what is taking our chef so long…” He sent me a look.

I glared at him, “I can’t cook without being in a kitchen.”

“Strange…”

The kids started to gather around ‘Grandpa’ Ross once again, taking special care to direct their sight away from the broken plate. He must have wanted me to clear it after he had gotten all the children to go change.

One of them, however, didn’t try to leave.

“Awair,” one of the younger kids pulled on my sleeve.The girl was watching me as I expertly handled the knife and chopped the vegetables. She yanked my sleeve as she spoke, “Awair, can I help? Can I? Can I?”

Ross stood still for a moment, but went back to leading the kids out of the kitchen..

I looked down at the girl and then at the knife in my hand. Giving a kid a knife just doesn’t seem like a good idea on my part. If something happened, then…

She would bleed…

I smiled, “How about we make something a little special to eat afterwards.”

“Special?” She asked.

I set down the knife, and looked for the flour.

•••

“How did you do it?”

“How did I do what?” I asked.

Ross stood at my side as the kids tore through the lunch I had just finished making. The kids all wore fresh dry clothing, even the girl that had remained to help me changed after she finished with her special portion of the lunch. I wasn’t sure if having cake right after lunch would be a good idea, but the girl looked happy enough.

Children are so cute before they grow up into horrible adults.

“Nevermind then,” the old man shook his head, “I learned what I needed to.”

I tilted my head, “Huh?”

“Did you know that animals can judge someone just by being near them? Not a simple kind of judging either. They naturally know who is evil and who is good. They look past their external differences and only look at what lays inside the heart.”

“...”

He laughed, “The more fearful the animal, the kinder the person has to be for them to open up to them.”

“So, this was a test?”

“...If it was, I must be someone brilliant. I only thought about it after Auri approached you. Trust me, If I was going to test you, it would be with gardening tools in hand.”

I thought back on the gardening tools he had been using them. Most of them could easily be substituted as a weapon of somesort. I’m not sure whether to take that as he would test my gardening skills, or my ability to handle a torture table….

Torture table? Really? Making some fertilizer would be more accurate.

•••

The day had dragged on. I hadn’t been able to find a chance to wander off and look for the kids I needed to save. The entire day, I had been glancing at the time, watching as it ticked past. I didn’t want to be late. I was fine with everything else, but I just didn’t want to be late…

Ross had forced me to and let the kids help him garden. He, strangely enough, stayed away from the red flowers, working instead on the other end of the flower field. I wasn’t sure if that was his work area or not. The kids just having been cleaned not to long ago, once again found themselves covered in dirt.

The other gardeners remained silent, not one approached us to speak. There was an indescribable divide between Ross and the rest of the community. Ross was surrounded by children laughing and playing, while the rest had this deathly silence to them. It seemed they cared about work and nothing else.

I still wasn’t sure what most of their jobs were, especially since I seemed to be the only one Ross wanted to cook.

Before the sun had set, Ross once again set out on a walk around the manor. This time, with destinations in mind. We walked to smaller villas scattered around the property, dropping each kid off at their ‘homes’. A large number of the kids stayed in villas disconnected from the larger main building, however, most stayed within the walls of the manor. I wasn’t sure which were supposed to be the nobles’ here.

Why was this man so willingly showing me around? Was he really that kind of a man to accept me so easily?

“I already told you why. It’s because you looked like you could actually cook.” Ross said nonchalantly while looking forward.

I remained silent.

“What? With that melancholic expression on your face, anyone could guess what you are thinking. No one is truly blind to the world around them, most just don’t know how to look.” He stopped speaking and lead me down a detached hall within the manor. He pointed to a door.

The door was a old wooden relic, polished and inlaid with gold. The Marquess seemed to enjoy flaunting his wealth to the people within his land. Ross turned the knob, “This is the room you will be staying in. I would recommend leaving the sneaking out for a little more than 3 hours from now. Before then you have a good chance at being spotted by a noble going about their daily secret lives.”

I gave him a puzzled look.

He swung his arms as if to defend himself, “It’s a joke, a joke. But seriously though, it’s dangerous walking these corridors alone.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Do you know why there are so many kids at this manor?”

I shook my head.

“It’s so all the nobles can play the games they love so much. If they all remained in their houses like the little rats they are, they would never be able to surpass the others in rank. Those with kids in this manor are playing a deadly game - they all want to achieve a higher standing for themselves. They leave all their children here to have an excuse to approach the Marquess at any time. These people use their own children as bargaining chips. They have no qualms of killing someone in an accident in these halls.”

“And the Marquess?”

“He enjoys it.”

I froze.

Ross smiled as he spread his arms, “When someone stands at the very top, they have no choice but to either look at the impossible above them, or look at the people beneath. The Marquess is no longer someone who desires the power to rise to new standing. As long as the king never speaks against him, in this land he is the law.” Ross stepped into the room, “He looks at everyone beneath him the same way you would look at two kittens smacking each other about. He finds the whole thing terribly cute.”

The room was furnished better than my own in reality. The bed was nearly as large as the room itself. Several doors lined the walls, each of them already opened to reveal a closet full of fancy clothes that only nobles should wear.

“Why are you giving me a room?”

“I can’t exactly have you cook for us if you have no place to stay. I doubt the guards would let you back in again, since you threatened them the first time around.” He shrugged, and pointed toward the closet, “If you feel the need, you can change into the spare clothes in the dresser..”

“...”

Ross sighed, “That’s not the answer you are looking for is it?”

I nodded.

“I hate it when children come to harm. Noble parents don’t care about their own children and they often use them in bloody feuds between themselves. I am the self-imposed caretaker of those children. I am the one to teach them, I am the one to feed them, I am the one to raise them. If any one of them came to harm…”

Everything in the room went still. Even the flickering of the candle flame seemed to remain motionless. A stinging cold sensation crawled up my arms like a million tiny bugs, gnawing and biting as they climbed. All of this, just from meeting Ross’ eyes.

“...I,” he continued, “I would slaughter anyone that allowed it.”

I swallowed, “I see.”

Ross broke out into laughter, harshly smacking me on the back with his palm, “Don’t be so serious, boy. The reason I want you to stay within these grounds is simply that you are not of noble birth. You are not one to follow those childish games. If you were, you would have noticed by now.”

Noticed what? I couldn’t help but think.

He smiled, “Goodnight Alair, breakfast is due three hours after sunrise. I hope you aren’t late. I doubt we can survive that cooking any longer…” He shut the door behind him. His footsteps echoed away as he traveled down the silent hall.

I reached my hand out and twisted the handle on the doorknob, it turned smoothly and without trouble. I paused, Ross hadn’t locked me in the room. Had he truly trusted me? Something was wrong here, no sane man would have let me in knowing all he had. He was far too perceptive for a gardener, but maybe hanging out with nobles in this place brought out that talent of his.

Nobles desired power. That is normally considered an absolute law in any world They manipulate, they deceive, they steal, they do whatever is necessary to make sure they are the ones with the highest standing. According to Ross, the Marquess wasn’t like that.

Was that really something I should believe? Was it something he told me to trick me? Would he gain anything from telling me something like that?

I fought off the urge to sleep while lying down on the bed. I had been forced to follow Ross and the kids around all day long. They dragged me around through hundreds of games. These weren’t noble’s games, but ones that were made to bring the children joy. Hide and seek, tag, a game of pretend, all of them were played without the slightest hint of subterfuge.

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to sink into the extremely soft bed. It floated up around me, almost as if I was sleeping on top of a cloud. I glanced at the time, watching it tick slowly by. I wasn’t going to trust Ross - I wasn’t here to become his friend. He had helped me get inside and I felt grateful, but being grateful didn’t mean I would believe everything he said.

You just don’t want to be late again.

I removed myself from the bed and walked toward the door. I stuck my ear against it and paid full attention to the sounds beyond. Silence. Not a single step echoed through the chamber. I could only hear the sound of my own breath.

I pushed the door open slightly and scanned the hallway. Shadows twisted silently around the lanterns, sending spirals of red floating down the corridor. Why did flames have to burn red? I clutched my stomach as revulsion crawled up my spine.

Oh, is little Alair getting sick from just this? Don’t tell me your hemophobia hasn’t gotten worse since you met that girl? You had barely spoken to her before you ran out crying, more than a few people were watching, you know. Alair the Crybaby, that title seems to suit you, don’t you think so?

I gritted my teeth, taking a moment to calm my stirring mind. The voice always came to me when I gave it an opening. I could chase it away if I focused, as long as I had a second to gather myself.

Look, behind you is a noble with their sword drawn. You really are bad at this sneaking thing, aren’t you?

I spun on the heel to face the corridor behind me. A tall man dressed in silver stood at the edge of the hallway, his metal sword on his hip. I nearly fell backwards, but barely managed to regain my posture. The suit of armor had been there before I entered my room, it was merely a decoration and a lifeless shell. The voice had started to laugh the instant I turned around. I clutched my head, trying to chase it away.

*Step* A sound traveled down the empty corridor. This sound was no delusion of mine.

*Step**Step* The sound of the footsteps got louder as the source moved closer to where I stood. I glanced around frantically, afraid to lift up my feet and make a noise. I looked up at the suit of armor and quickly made my choice.

*Step**Step**Step* The footsteps drew closer, not stopping or slowing down. By the time they arrived near where I was standing, I could faintly see their appearance. One person’s shadow stood out to me. It reminded me of someone I had met over the last day or two. I couldn’t place who it was, not without seeing his face.

“Have you figured it out yet?” The taller shadow asked.

“The two beasts are not obeying us. Our efforts with the experiment are not proceeding as planned.”

The taller shadow laughed, it was a practiced laugh that traveled no farther than where I was hiding, “You expect those monsters to obey you? We only need them to feed, nothing else.”

“But, sir. The test subjects have not survived that manner of corruption.”

“Ohh…? And what happened to them?”

The shorter man paused, “They bled, sir.”

“A cleric can fix that much.”

“They didn’t stop, sir…”

The conversation continued on, but they had slowly walked further away. I could barely hear what they had been saying. I remained silent as the footsteps drew farther and farther away. Suddenly, their movement stopped, a fist slammed into the wall, sending a roaring echo down the building.

“That damn Marquess, if he had simply let me do as I pleased this would have been solved already. We already know the proper manner to use the [Requiem], why won’t he let us?”

I recognised the shorter fellows voice trying to calm him down. It seemed to be in vain.

“I don’t care!” The taller man screamed, “He may be my boss and he may have been the one to discover this power from that wretched journal, but he isn’t the only one here. I also desire power. I need enough power to kill those blasted foreigners like that man!”

I didn’t hear anything else as the shorter man managed to calm him down. Not that much, but enough that his voice no longer carried down the hallway. I remained as a statue for nearly an hour. I had nearly been caught already, and I couldn’t be sure if someone else wouldn’t follow soon after those two.

I slowly left my hideaway. The two beasts those two were talking about may have been the children I came here to save. I sighed, wanting to punch the man that called them beasts, but I couldn’t do that in this situation. No matter the situation, children are never evil. I clenched my fist.

Don’t forget what happens when someone is punched.

“They bleed,” I mumbled.

•••

I knew my way around the manor well enough. I had just been given a tour lasting the entire day. If I hadn’t known this place a little by now, I must have been an idiot, or cursed with no directional sense.

I checked the map in my head, thinking of any route that could send me farther down. In most stories, they always keep the monstrosities in the basement. It was a rather weak premise to go on, but that was the only one I had currently.

Finding the way down was rather simple. I just had to take all the turns that Ross had avoided. Well, in all honesty, the fact that I knew where the staircases were helped. After a good hour of walking I finally managed to find myself….

Lost.

“I’m not lost.”

Out of the twelve doors you peeked in, 5 of them were secret deals, 4 were making unethical bets, and 3 were… ugh…I wish I could forget that.

“I know the children should be around here.” It was the only place I could think of looking. I didn’t want to give up and patiently take my sweet time to find them. What if I was late?

“The children aren’t here though…”

“How do you know that?” I asked the voice…Only to spin around on my heel and fall on my butt. I recognised the voice, and it wasn’t the same one as the delusion I was bickering with.

The girl that had just spoken tilted her head cutely to the side. The black clothes she was wearing, swamped with frills, melded easily into the darkness of the manor. “Because the [lamentation]’s center is that way.” She pointed off behind her. Her hand was was so small and fragile looking. She was no more than a little girl.

Yet, why did she terrify me? Just like when I had met her yesterday, she was someone that made me experience fear for no reason at all. The things she said picked at wounds that I didn’t want to remember, and those that I couldn’t remember even if I tried.

She grabbed my sleeve, “This way.”

You really don’t have much to lose. Well, you can treat this as the date you promised her.

I wanted to grumble that I didn’t remember making any such promise. However, I felt it wasn’t the time and remained silent.

I started to contemplate the many ways in which I could punch the voice in my head. I knew one thing. If I did manage to succeed, voices couldn’t bleed, so I could smack it as much as I wanted.

“You have a scary face.”

“Huh?”

The girl shook her head, “Never mind, it went away.”

She kept on dragging me around the hall. To my surprise, we hadn’t come across so much as a peep. When I had been walking around before, I had occasionally come across someone walking around. I hid myself each time, but I couldn’t stop myself from encountering them to begin with.

She stopped, “Here.” She pointed to a rather large doorway. “You should wait for someone else to open it.” She bowed, “Bye bye,” and skipped away.

I just stared, gaping. What the heck was that?

I looked at the tall iron door, the weight of which looked far more than I could simply move. I paused, thinking about it. How the heck was I supposed to get this open?

By taking the girl’s advice and waiting.

“Is it just me? Or have you been speaking a lot more lately?”

Is it just me? Or are you going more and more insane lately?

“I’m not going to wait.” I gripped the handle.

Yes, you are.

“I don’t want to be late again.”

Will you really risk endangering those kids by opening the door? We don’t even know if the children are behind it. What is the point in rushing in?

I let go of the handle, “I was late once. Never again, I won’t be late ever again. I would rather shred my limbs off with a nail filer than be late. I can’t be late. I can’t. I can’t. I really can’t be late. Late… Late…” I gripped my head, a splitting headache thundering against the back of my head.

Why was I late before?

[p=center]Due to the Hemophobia Stat’s decision, you have been paralyzed.

Agility is down by 99%

Strength is down by 80%

Intelligence is increased by 5%[/p]

[p=center]Hemophobia Stat -10[/p]

“What the hell?” I nearly screamed, but managed to keep it at the base of my throat.

Wait patiently so you don’t get yourself killed.

•••

In total, I had to wait three hours. No, I was forced to wait three hours. Through sheer force of will, I had managed to hide myself behind another suit of armor. I would be visible if someone so much as glanced around, but it was all I could do.

I started to worry that I would not make in time to make breakfast for the kids, after the sun rose, but then I realized I shouldn’t be worrying about staying here for too long to begin with.

My goal is to get her children and get out. I don’t need to worry about anything else.

The tall man and the short man returned. They walked patiently toward the large iron door. When they came to the iron door, the taller man paused for a moment, as the shorter man played with something on the wall. After a large click, the tall man started to pull. It swung open with a large groan. The weight of the door could easily have crushed me… I didn’t want to have to fight someone like that.

The door groaned loudly as it opened. I was surprised at how little the sound carried past - it didn’t echo down the hall. The two men walked into the room. I could barely glance inside from where I was hiding.

It was a jail.

Large metal bars came down from the ceiling. The room was well lit and I could see clearly without the shadows twisting my vision. Two children were leaning against the wall, a boy and a girl. The boy had his arms raised, loosely hanging off some chains that held him. The girl was free to move around within the cage, but sat in front of her brother. Their eyes were closed and calm. They seemed at peace. They looked like two individuals content to die where they stood. Frankly, I felt sickened by the sight.

“Come on, now, we don’t have all day.” The short man said, holding out his exposed hand toward the two children. I could finally get a good glimpse of him, he wore an old labcoat full of ratty holes. The short man looked like a sketchy doctor that would scam any low life needing treatment on wounds they needed to hide from the public.

The girl opened her eyes gently, her skin giving off a gentle white light. When she saw the man, she opened her mouth and bared her teeth in a snarl.

“Tch,” The Doc drew his hand back, “You know what happens if you bite me, don’t you? I shall hand you your brother’s head on a platter. I can do that much from outside this cage.”

The girl closed her mouth and spread her arms wide, hiding her chained brother behind her. She then kept her mouth closed as she cautiously reached out her hand.

The Doc was hesitant in grasping it. He slowly reached his hand out to take hers. She smiled, violently baring her teeth once more. He fled backwards, hitting his head on the wall. The sound carried a bit farther down the hall then the door had managed before.

“What are you doing? Just grab the damn brat.” The tall man shoved the doc aside.

“I can’t let her bite me, sir.”

“Why isn’t she wearing a muzzle?”

“Where am I supposed to find a muzzle for children? Do you want us to be found out?” The doc finally managed to stick out his chest and fight against the taller man. The taller rat faced man only laughed in response.

“You think those beasts are children? Have you not seen what happened to the men you used as test subjects? If anyone finds out, I would be less worried about being punished, and more worried on whether they could survive the [requiem].”

“I understand, Ranthus.”

Ranthus glared. “Hurry up already.”

The Doc quickly grabbed the girl’s hand and yanked her along. He quickly tied what looked like a piece of cloth around her mouth to keep her from biting.

I clenched my teeth..

I glanced at the two men. The tall man by the name of Ranthus looked familiar, but he gave off an odd, overbearing presence that I didn’t recognize. His face was partially hidden by the long metal neck guard of his armor. It was a strange, dark reddish metal that twisted the lights into an even darker red. It looked like blood was constantly covering him. After getting a good look at him from my hiding spot, I drew a blank. I didn’t remember meeting anyone wearing such disgusting armor.

I gripped my fist tightly.

Time to jump in and fight the bad guys right?

I nodded.

Bzzzt. Wrong. The correct answer is that you still can’t move.

I checked my limbs, they still couldn’t move. The paralysis status effect still hadn’t been removed. I wasn’t sure how long it was supposed to last. From what I read about this game online, most only lasted 5 to 10 minutes. However, this one had already lasted three hours.

“I’m going first.” The doc called out, dragging the girl farther into the Jail like room. It seemed that there were stairs inside leading farther down into a dungeon. I could hear them as he stepped down. I was surprised they hadn’t kept the children hidden away, down in the deeper depths. Anyone that opened that metal door could have found them.

A rhythmic dripping noise cancelled out that thought. A small red puddle had started to form at the base of the door. *drip* *drip* I tightly closed my eyes, and tried to chase the noise away.

[p=center]Hemophobia Stat + 1[/p]

A thin red line surrounded the edge of the door. I should have noticed it before, but the red light of the lanterns hid it from view. I gently sighed, the door really had been booby trapped, and I was going to open it so carelessly.

The sound of footsteps faded as they both went inside down the stairs. Was it carelessness on their part for leaving the door open? Was it another trap? Did they not suspect someone would come around at this hour? Or was it a honey trap inviting it’s prey?

[p=center]Paralysis has worn off[/p]

I slowly moved out from behind the armor and prepared to charge in, but a sudden voice stopped me, I had forgotten about Ranthus.“So brat, are you ready to give up your sister?”

The child remained silent. I shuffled behind the suit of armor once again, keeping special care not to alert him.

“It’s a good offer. You give up on staying by your sisters side and work under me. I wouldn’t mind having a monster on my side. Fellow creatures get along well.”

“I won’t.”

“You won’t what?” Ranthus asked.

“I won’t become such a sickening creature like you. You may be human, but you lack the class you need to be a intelligent creature. If you're not classy, you’re better off in the pig pen where you belong.”

“You brat. That was your last chance.”

Ranthus drew his sword.

The child laughed, puffs of white coming off of him as he did so. “You won’t kill me. You can’t. Not until you figure out how to use that. If my sister stops being so compliant, you won’t be able to achieve your goal.”

Ranthus sheathed his weapon, letting loose one final glare before heading down the stairs. I slowly entered the room after I was sure the footsteps had been become faint enough.

“That was scary,” I murmured.

The child tilted his head and looked at me, “Who are you?”

I gave a quick bow, surveying the room for anything to hide behind, “I’m Alair, and I’ve come to rescue you.”

“Best save it for later then.”

“...”

“I’m not leaving without my sister.”

The boy was right. Even if I rescued him at this point, his sister would still be confined. And who knows how hard it would be to get them both out if the kidnappers panicked and raised security. I was happy that they were still alive, at this point, I didn’t want to get them killed in a half planned escape.

I sighed. So troublesome.

“Why are you thinking about saving us? Don’t tell me you actually think of us as children?”

I paused, crinkling my brow. The child was tied up to the wall and looked infinitely frail and weak, yet still spoke with such confidence. “I do.”

“But that’s not all to it, is it?”

“Eli, your mother wants to rescue you.”

Eli widened his eyes for a mere moment, before closing them slowly. It was almost as if he was breathing out the last of the life within his lungs. He slowly leaned back against the wall. The chains rattled as they moved around. “I’m better off staying here then.”

I went silent.

The flickering of the lanterns flames was the only sound between us.

“Why?” I finally managed to ask.

The frail child looked towards the roof, almost as if to look at the starry sky beyond it. “How much do you know?”

“Your mother rushed into a burning building to save you, only to find out you were kidnapped by the marquess.”

Eli started to laugh. The boy laughed with such gusto the swinging of the chains made me panic and frantically look for a place to hide. No noise of steps came from down below, but I still ended up peeking down the corridor all the same.

“Doesn’t that seem odd to you? Why would she think we were in the burning building to begin with? Do you remember her saying anything about checking the surroundings for us before hand. It would only have taken a glance.”

“She was in a panic.”

“That’s a lie. The reason she thought we were inside that house was because she locked it. She always locked it. She locked it from the outside. She locked it so we could never leave. She kept us close to death so that we would die the instant we forced our way through the door. Any strong enough force to knock down the door would be strong enough to tear this body apart.”

A ghoul’s death was a simple one. The body lost its ability to maintain itself. When a ghoul was close to death it wasn’t as simple as them falling apart. It was as if they started to shatter piece by piece, in a snow white cloud.

Or at least, that’s what their mother had told me. The boy was constantly shedding the white powder, it wasn’t too odd for him to say that he could die if he tried knocking down the door. I could believe a child. He wasn’t someone corrupted by adulthood. If he was, I would rather fall for it now, than regret ignoring it later.

“...”

“I love my sister. I want to get out of here and live a happy life with her. But that won’t happen as long as my mother remains in the picture.”

Sounds like the boy has been putting on a facade for a long time for his sister’s sake.

Eli continued, “The reason we weren’t in the building wasn’t because they caught us and burnt the building as an afterthought. The one who burned the building had been my sister and I to begin with. We burnt it when we were running away. I had dug a hole without my mother knowing and escaped with my sister the moment she left us. I burned the house down with my own hands. Not some petty soldier of the marquess.”

Eli’s body was shaking. The chains rattled like the death throes of a dying man. He was a child that had seen his last hope stolen from him, just when he thought he was free. He was a child that had risked everything to save what was precious to him, and he had failed.

With a shaking voice, Eli uttered, “I did it so my sister and I could be free.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spoiler : Hello everyone,

Once again, thank you for reading this chapter. And once again I’ve failed to match either Snow or Curv’s word counts… I’m getting closer, but that just makes it so I take a longer amount of time to write.

I am sorry for taking so long to write this Chapter. I am in the midst of midterms that had completely caught me off guard. If they weren’t the type in which I had to do something in front of the class I could have procrastinated a bit more…

A tip for the spoiler coding. Only one works per page, I have no idea why. So if you want to read someone’s spoiler after this you have look at the coding of the page. Or quote the person in question.

Thank you for your time,

Tui

PS. Would you like me to start naming each chapter? I hadn’t thought about it before, so I’m not sure if I should or not.

End Chapter 5

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