Noth had received many classes in the short time that he’d been taken back into the Kieran manor. Amongst all those classes were of course etiquette classes, although Noth didn’t tend to actually care what they taught him about that particular topic. If everyone was rude to him in their ignorance and arrogance, then why should he treat them in any kind of courteous way back? Yes, it was an important topic to know, and yes, if the need arose he could follow along and play pretend with everyone. But unless it was perfectly necessary, Noth would shove all that pretentious crap into the back of his mind.

Of course not all of the etiquette he learned was only for interacting with nobles or important company, some of it was really just basic manners from one person living in this world to another. For instance: It was generally frowned upon for people who did not know each other well to ask what someone’s [Gift] was. Sure, a job could inquire about that information, or family and friends could certainly be privy to it, but to the general public, it was quite a rude thing to want to know. It was akin to asking a stranger how much they weigh. Of course, no amount of rudeness could stop the spread of rumours, and if you were famous or infamous enough, it was likely that whispers of whatever [Gift] you may have could easily spread amongst a community. It was especially the case of forsaken people like Noth.

But no matter what, the takeaway is that directly asking someone you aren’t close with about their [Gift] was terribly rude.

Noth didn’t forget that fact.

Noth had learned that bit of etiquette just like the rest, in fact he knew it very well.

However, over a year of asking his angel what everyone’s [Gifts] were with impunity, along with his raging curiosity, had weakened his tongue.

The boy couldn’t help but blurt out the question.

“You’re not a [Maid]?! Then… then… But you work in the kitchen! You’re not a [Chef] if you work as a kitchen maid… Well then what’s your [Gift]?!”

Noth couldn’t help but lunge forward and plant his hands on the ground in front of him as he excitedly yelled his questions. He felt like he was going to explode with curiosity at the newfound revelation. His eyes were practically sparkling with wonder. But the eager look on his face quickly fell when Elillith suddenly stood up and walked away without a word. Noth was terribly confused and disappointed, and tried to call after her, but his angel gracefully floated down from the tree, stopping his attempts as she swept him up into her arms.

rude you just were, right?>

The boy bit his lip hard at her words, belatedly realizing just how he’d screwed up. He leaned his head against his angel’s chest, feeling himself start to tear up slightly in frustration. He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid, letting his curiosity get the best of him yet again. It was obvious that Elillith wouldn’t have liked being treated so rudely, no matter how nonchalant she seemed to be about everything. And now because he’d been so absentminded he’d lost the chance he’d been looking forward to so very hard. Noth’s voice trembled a little as he fisted his clothes.

“I don’t think I like today, angel.”

The statement felt partially untrue, since he’d had a perfectly good and enlightening talk with his father just earlier, but the hurt the boy was feeling wouldn’t let him express itself in any other way right now. His heartache wasn’t about to let him speak any kind of rational words on the situation.

Her gentle words really touched Noth’s bruised mind, sinking in like a cooling salve into his overheated and overworked head.

Yes.

Tomorrow.

Hopefully things will work out somehow then.

~~~

Tomorrow came. Noth tried his hardest once again with Elillith. He didn’t learn too much extra, but he was pleasantly surprised that the kitchen maid didn’t seem too obviously upset with him and didn’t particularly resist coming out to talk with him again. The people in the kitchen did their best to not show any reaction to her being called out, either. Noth wondered secretly if she was being alienated from the others because she was hired by his mother. He hoped that wasn’t the case.

Noth wasn’t about to let his tenacity go to waste. Just because he didn’t find out what he wanted after the first try didn’t mean that he was just going to roll over and give up. If he couldn't learn what he wanted from her until they were closer then he’d get closer. She’d become friendly enough with him to tell him what he wanted to know eventually. Or at least, Noth did his best to convince himself of that fact.

Persistently, Noth made time to visit with Elillith every single day.

The progress was slow, and it was hard to tell that he was making any real headway with the woman.

But eventually, his efforts began to show fruit.

It took the boy a year before he finally somehow learned that her real job was to be the food tester in the manor, doing the lesser kitchen maid chores whenever her duty didn’t call. It wasn’t until Noth was 13 that he found out what her [Gift] was. Elillith was [Unafflicted]. She was unable to get truly sick, only feeling the pain directly after being stricken with whatever illness or poison, and then immediately getting better. Noth felt so proud of himself for finally reaching his goal that he wanted to jump up and let out a victory cry, but the years of actually caring about his social interactions with Elillith had tempered him just enough to hold back his elation for now.

It wasn’t until much later, when he was back in his bed for the night, that he realized that he still hadn’t actually solved the mystery he’d originally set out for.

Still, Noth was very, terribly proud of himself.

~~~

At 14 Noth had finally gotten close enough to the reticent Elillith to learn a bit about her past. Of course, it took several snippets of conversation for him to piece it all together, but in the end he was finally able to put together the basic picture of the puzzle that was his stoic kitchen maid.

Just like him, the woman’s life had fallen apart due to receiving her [Gift]. It hadn’t happened the day of, like in Noth’s case, but instead when she was 10. Elillith’s poor family, located in the slums, was concerned that someone [Unafflicted] like her wouldn’t serve any real practical purpose, and therefore wouldn’t be able to find any kind of good paying job. Besides her being able to eat the most rotten of food available, they were never properly shown a way that her ability could be truly beneficial. Her parents were in desperate need of money, and having 6 mouths to feed wasn’t helping at all. And so, in the winter, when things had gotten the worst they’d ever been, her parents decided to sell her to a slaver who’d shown an interest in her. They didn’t even spare her a second glance as she was dragged away screaming.

At first, Elillith was horribly scared of what would befall her. She was locked away in a cage in a dark shack behind what she could only make out as a big building. When the slaver first came, she cowered as far back in her cell as she could, but all that ever happened was a plate of meat getting pushed in under an opening in the bars. The man demanded for her to eat the food, and when she finally gave in, the man clapped and smiled at her. Elillith was only allowed to be confused by this for a moment, however, before she let out a harsh, throat wrenching cough.

But that was all.

Nothing else bad happened while she kept eating her meal.

The excited eyes of the slaver never left her mouth, even after she’d finished every bite. It didn’t even seem like he cared about her face in the slightest. Honestly, that fact made Elillith feel a tiny bit safer. She was scared what might have occurred if he’d had any interest in the rest of her looks.

The man went on to tell her that what she’d just eaten had been sprinkled with a fast acting moderate poison. He sang the praises of her [Gift] while also demanding for her to tell him how the poison had tasted. The young Elillith had never had a proper education, so she could only trip over her words and use the blandest of expressions to try and communicate to the man. He was clearly displeased at her lack of knowledge, but still praised her and promised that she’d learn to communicate correctly one day.

And that was the basis of her enslavement.

Every day she’d taste the slaver’s meals.

Every day he’d make her describe the taste.

Multiple times a day she’d get very briefly sick or hurt.

Sometimes she got lucky, and the poisons or contaminants were too slow acting, which never even affected her at all. Sometimes she got unlucky, and the poisons were so horrifically deadly that she’d collapse from the organ rending pain. But even those awful reactions only took a few minutes at most before her body corrected them.

The most unlucky occurrence, however, was the fact that Elillith’s vocabulary wasn’t getting any better as the months and years went by. Even though he demanded for her to become more eloquent, the slaver never actually did anything to help the young girl learn. Perhaps he thought that she’d just pick up fancier words while she had her multiple communications with him throughout the day. And of course, because she wasn’t getting smarter as he’d wanted her to, the slaver grew more and more angry with her. What started as verbal abuse steadily grew more and more physical. And Elillith, who learned that no matter what she said it would never be enough, gave up on trying to say anything to him at all.

Eventually the slaver decided that he no longer needed such a faulty slave.

And so, he had Elillith disposed of.

Noth never learned exactly how, but somehow his mother had found and saved the dying Elillith, which is how she eventually came to work at the Kieran manor.

~~~

Noth was in a funk all the way back to his villa. His mind was completely clouded by how unfair his kitchen maid’s past had ended up being. He felt it was even as sorrowful as his own story. It only made sense that he’d steadily warmed up to Elillith over these past few years, just as she had with him, but the sudden realization of similar past suffering easily solidified their bond inside his young heart. Noth honestly had to stop himself from hugging her when she’d finished the story. He could understand why the massively unfazed woman had immediately left when he’d asked her about her [Gift]; She’d probably be very wary about anything to do with it after the experiences she’d had. Perhaps if Noth hadn’t eventually been blessed with his angel then he’d also react awfully to someone bringing up the [Gift] that had ruined his life.

“Was this why you wanted me to get to know her? So that I’d learn how similar of circumstances we share?”

The disheartened teen leaned against the shoulder of his angel as they both sat on his bed. She placed the side of her head on top of his own and muttered a reply as she laced one of her hands with his.

Noth was silent for a little while, turning over what she’d said in his mind for a short while before squeezing his angel’s hand and smiling.

“Thanks, angel. It almost feels like I’ve gained a new family member.”

His angel lifted her head and smiled back at him with the most contented smile he’d ever seen. She hugged him close and rested her head on his shoulder.

However, the frustrated, maddened look in her eyes said otherwise.