“Bitch! Lowly ranked whores ought to remain low and speak respectfully to those in power. And you, dog of Earl, learn to recognize your rank before you start preaching me. I am the daughter of Marquis, not your lackey. Learn proper etiquette before teaching others.”

I mentally acknowledged my lady’s words and took the slap meant for her. The crisp sound resounded in the corridor again, and I kneeled down immediately, much to the surprise of Letitia. She was about to glare at the newcomer when I pulled her gown slightly, and she stumbled before regaining balance using my head. The faces of both the Earl heir and the heroine were worth capturing.

“This humble one greets Your Highness.” I didn’t raise my head, for it would be a sin in the eyes of the royalty without their consent. As ironic as it sounded, I couldn’t help it. I came to this world to have fun, so I would play by its rules and not resort to killing every second person daring to stand against me.

Letitia stared at the crown prince in dismay, her rough tongue nowhere close to hurling curses. She bowed her head, and I saw shame in them. I sighed. The [Devil eye] still loomed above everyone, and I kept an eye on the prince and his sword. He was the only one in the Academy allowed to carry one, but I had to make sure he didn’t have any funny ideas.

“Who dares to flaunt their status in front of me?!” His dark red hair fluttered in the breeze, giving him a majestic appearance. I cursed the creator multiple times for the ambiance effects. “You are an abandoned daughter of the Marquis, so you don’t even have the right to flaunt your paternal status. Was everything you showed me until this moment an act? Did you try to earn my pity by spoiling your sisters’ names? Did you try to distance me from Gladiata by saying that she was fooling behind my back? Was everything your ploy to get closer to me?” The crown prince appeared genuinely hurt, and I heard gasps all around me. “I never knew you were a despicable villainess.”

Letitia stayed silent, her eyes closed, her hands tightly gripping her beautiful gown that I had handpicked. No one had publicly humiliated my lady like this, and as much as it hurt, I knew this was necessary for her to nip her feelings toward the crown prince. If I talked about her antics to garner his attention, even my demons would turn their heads away in embarrassment. Not that I domesticated demons, but it was the undead figure of speech.

Murmurs followed his outburst, and I pretty much knew the reputation of my lady would be tainted from this day on. I laughed inwardly but held exemplary conduct in the presence of the crown prince. He hadn’t even asked me to get up. I felt my lady’s hand on my arm, and she pulled me up, much to the displeasure of the redhead.

The prince, in the meantime, had reached out to the heroine and encased his hands around her shoulders. I wanted to puke naturally at the moment, but the bread in my stomach was too precious.

“Please, Kyle.” Tears glistened in the eyes of the heroine. “She just needs some time.”

Oh, so noble demons, I wish you eat this epitome of mercy.

Obviously, nothing happened because I wasn’t casting a spell. Spells didn’t need any long-winded invocations, for only stupid mortals who couldn’t garner the true essence of mana indulged in such pointless deeds. And no, it didn’t look flashy.

Nevertheless, for now, I wanted to take her away from this commotion because she was frozen in the spot. That was probably her premeditated reaction to the scene, but we would soon get out of this mess.

“No, Kyle…” Letitia looked vulnerable at the moment, and I felt her nails digging my left arm.

“It’s Your Majesty for you,” his cold voice had delivered the final blow, and I saw hatred in my lady’s eyes as much as hurt. This was an exciting blackening scenario, but I didn’t voice out my elation.

“That bitch plays around with men,” Letitia let go of all the pretense in an attempt to regain her lost honor. “I wasn’t lying to you about that, Your Majesty.”

The prince clicked his tongue and turned around in disgust. Her entire entourage followed the heroine, who was crying genuine tears in the prince’s bosom.

The crows disappeared in a short while, leaving me alone with my lady and a few murmuring commuters. She was gazing at the white ceiling of the corridor, lost in thought, and I leaned beside the open window on the left. I waited for a while, perhaps for more than a few minutes, but my hunger for bread got the better of me.

“My lady, we need to eat before they close the mess.”

There was no immediate comeback nor any curses as she nodded vacantly. Perhaps, my maiden’s heart was softer than she let out. With a sigh, I held her hand with my gloved hands and led her through the corridor, ignoring the repulsive stares directed at us. She was silent throughout the meal, and I didn’t necessarily pull her out of her thoughts. As long as she fed me bread, I was good.

The whole day, my lady gazed at my eye amid classes, unusual emotions brewing at the bottom of her eyes. Was there guilt? I didn’t quite know because she was usually more thorough with hiding her feeilngs. I wasn’t bothered by the fact that she didn’t heed to any lectures because they were mostly on magic and one on the geography of the realm. Both of which were easily manageable on her own, for that was pure knowledge, one discovered on our own.

“Wasn’t I a foolish woman?” She finally talked on our way back after staying mute throughout the day. The setting sun bathed the entire city in orange shades, and she had decided to walk home, with me tagging along. “He never really liked my vicious tongue, nor me myself. All he did like was the fake persona I portrayed. Then again, it hurts to see that my unrequited feelings were wasted on such a man.”

I nodded silently and watched the steaming bead encased in a bakery close by. I earned a smack, which surprisingly made me feel better. No, masochistic tendencies are different.

“Mongrel! Your lady is moping here, and you are wagging your tail for a loaf of bread!”

As I said before, if you want to see my lady cry, then you are better off learning undead magic.

“I’ll take you outside the town tomorrow,” I said, deciding to do something to elate her mood. Grumpy villainess meant less bread for me.

“What?!” She stared at me in surprise. “I’m fine, so you don’t have to concede.”

“If I bring the crown prince here, I know you will go all mushy,” I sighed. “You are one tough girl, my lady, but you are still a girl.”

Indeed, I earned another clout, but she bought me bread too. I munched it down happily, deciding to inform Garlan about our little adventure outside the city. Tomorrow was the weekend after all, and my lady had all the time for herself. That’s one advantage of being ignored, whether you like it or not.

“What is your mage rank, my lady?”

Carriage crossed by almost at the same time, so I pulled her closer to me. She was taken aback, and I cast her an apologetic glance. She didn’t like to be touched, so I usually wore my gloves around her.

“Apprentice mid-tier,” she replied plainly, her head bobbing restlessly throughout the market plaza. Many shops warranted attention, but only bread could grab my attention. Nevertheless, the mercenary guild was the second-largest establishment, only next to the merchant’s guild. Both gave away money regularly in this world in exchange for help from the mages. Usually, Apprentice mages were never allowed to go beyond the gates unless a high-level mage accompanied them.

“What is the requirement for graduation?” I asked, despite my apparent dislike toward the Academy. As far as this world was concerned, nobles without the recognition of the Academy were like horses without legs. Or undead without bread.

“Amateur high-tier,” she looked impatient. “Can’t you just check it with the Academy instead of troubling me?!”

Three more months before the final examination, which meant I could train her to be a progressive mage if she showed promise in self-learning, that is. The levels of mages were divided into four ignorant categories depending on the strength of spells one used. Internal mana reserves, as they said, served as a good measure of the expertise of a mage. Each category, from Apprentice to Amateur to Progressive mage, had three tiers each, while the final Cognoscente had just one. They were called wizards for reasons unknown to me.

“What spells can you use, my lady?” I asked, and she almost exploded. I added hurriedly, “If I am to teach you magic, I should know that much.”

It was hard to get her to talk about her magic prowess. She always thought that she had no aptitude for it, so her grunts and kicks were all I got in the past. She had even refused to learn from me since I was a mongrel, one that was beneath her. She had changed recently, though, and I owed much to the heroine in that regard.

Letitia took a deep breath and replied, “I can use [Ice Shards], [Fire wall], and [Freeze].”

She was a fire and ice attribute mage. According to the mages of this world, it was a bad combination, but I begged to differ. It was indeed surprising that she had managed to learn only three spells in her four years of education in the Academy, but I didn’t blame her for it. Her ignorant teachers ought to be responsible if no one else.

A kid dashing through the locality collided against Letitia, and she pushed him away, her cold eyes boring into the child’s listless face. His dirty hand left clear prints on her gown, so her expression wasn’t good. The boy started crying until his mother dropped by and prostrated before us. Letitia glanced at them, longing in her eyes, and coldly walked away, not reprimanding the commoner with her poisonous glib. Her mom was her dragon scale, which not even I, undead who had killed dragons, dared to touch.

Well, there were many drawbacks of being a servant, despite the novel and thrilling experiences.