Later that night, back at the house, we sat at the table to eat dinner. As we were enjoying our food there was a loud gagging noise followed by the sound of some kind of liquid splashing onto the floor.

Having attracted all of our attention we all turned to look at the source of the noise and noticed that baby Atticus vomited on the floor. Atticus is the youngest in the family, he's the son of Brian, Leon's little brother.

Gross. I thought as I stared at the puke that was splattered on the floor. Brian then turned to look at the maids, or rather slaves, that were standing by and was about to ask that one of them clean it up.

But by the look on their faces, they were hesitant to do so. But we're forced to do it regardless if called upon. And I happen to have finished my food so I'm about to head up to my room.

"Hey, Lize," I called out. "Come with me, there's something I need your help with," I told her. Lize is a slave that serves as a maid in this house. She is also my family's personal assistant.

"Yes, young master," She said with a low bow then followed behind me. As we got to my room I closed the door behind me and Lize plopped down on my bed.

"Thank you, young master. After a long day of work, I didn't want to clean up after young Atticus," Lize admitted, sounding relieved.

"I told you to call me Arata when no one is looking," I told her. Lize sure has gotten comfortable around me.

"If I do that, I might accidentally call you by your name in front of the others," She pointed out.

"I guess that's. . . Understandable," I replied, letting out a sigh. Throughout my time living in this house, Lize opened up to me. I let her come here to my room to slack off sometimes. It's our little secret according to her. It all started last winter.

Flashback to last winter

The capital of Iradale is too far south so it does snow here. But it does get really cold outside. And in this cold weather, Orin had ordered several maids to clean up dried leaves that had fallen off the garden trees.

Lize was one of them. No one bothered to give them proper clothing for the cold so they were freezing, Lize especially. She looked miserable and tired as she worked nonstop. I kinda felt bad since she served my family specifically. She'd wash my clothes, clean my room, prepare me baths, and lots of other stuff too.

So I decided to ask grandpa Orin for permission to borrow her. He said that Lize was bought for the purpose of serving my family and that since I was a part of the family that owned her, I was allowed to call on her anytime I wanted. Even if she was in the middle of something, either she'd finish it later or another slave would pick up her work.

"Hey, Lize," As she was obediently working outside in the freezing cold, I called out to her.

"Y-Yes," she replied turning to me while shaking from the cold.

"There's something I need your help with," I told her. "Come with me."

"W-What about t-this?" she said looking at all the fallen leaves. I wonder if she'd rather stay out here than go inside with me.

"Hm?" I let out, looking down at the dry leaves. With gravity magic, I swept up all the leaves that she was ordered to clean up and placed them on a cart that they used to take the leaves away.

"There," I said then turned back to her. "You are a slave that serves my family so when I call on you I expect you to follow. . . Now, come with me," my words might've sounded mean but If I want for her to get away from this cold weather she needed to come with me.

"I-I understand," she said then began to follow behind me.

As we walked inside the mansion the cold winds that were hitting us earlier immediately stopped. When we walked past the kitchen I grabbed two cups of hot chocolate that another maid had prepared for us due to the cold weather.

Having led Lize into my room I closed the door behind us and placed the cups on a small table. I then reached out for a blanket and gave it to her.

"Here wrap yourself up in this, and please, have a drink," I said signaling at the hot chocolate that was steaming on the table.

When I told her that she didn't move at all and just stood there still shaking from the cold. There wasn't any AC in this world so it was still cold inside the mansion unless you were by a fireplace. Huh? Fireplace?

"W-What was it that you needed help with?" She asked instead of doing what I told her.

"We'll get to that. But first, do what I'm telling you to," I replied.

"A-Alright," she seemed uncertain of my actions but did as I said.

I didn't have a fireplace in my room. So I just conjured up a flame and refined it to make it hotter. I then moved closer to Lize for her to feel the heat of the fire and asked, "Is this better?"

"Um? Y-Yeah?" she replied while taking a sip of the hot chocolate. After a few minutes, she finished her drink and unwrapped the blanket she had around herself. "Now that I'm finished, what did you need help with?" She asked, now being all warmed up.

Standing up I walked across the room and plucked a book off the bookshelf. "Will you read me a few stories?" I asked her, showing an innocent smile. "Uh. . . To help me fall asleep."

"Huh. . . Um? Of course," she said with a slight tilt of her head.

Hopping on top of my bed I signaled for her to do the same. "Take your shoes off before you get on," I told her.

Doing as instructed she took off her shoes and sat beside me. Once I handed the book to her she began flipping through the pages. "Let's see. . ." The book itself was comprised of all kinds of famous stories and old myths.

"The Tale of Myrtle," she read, landing on one of the many pages. "Through the sunny days. Through the foggy nights. Through the rainy days. Through the cold nights. There. Walked a turtle. Through the seemingly endless road that stretched ahead.

"Slow and steady as turtles are. The path ahead seemed infinite to the small turtle. For as long as the turtle remembered walking on the path was the only thing he has done.

"He didn't know why. He didn't know what drove him forward. But the turtle had the desire to reach the end of the road. He knew that at the end of the path laid an ocean. Oh, how long has the turtle yearned to swim in the sea?

"One night he heard a voice ahead. 'Myrtle o' Myrtle' the voice called. The Turtle kept walking forward to the voice. Until he came across a blue glowing orb. 'Myrtle o' Myrtle' it repeated. The blue orb expanded as it spoke. 'I see you've found me, I grew tired of waiting' it said.

"The Turtle unable to speak just stared and listened. 'At this rate, you will not reach the sea. And yet you still keep walking' the voice told the turtle. The Turtle knew this but decided it was too late to turn back.

"'If you want the power to reach the sea take me in' it said. The Turtle with nothing to lose reached out and made contact with the blue orb. As he did, the blue orb got absorbed into the turtle's body.

"The turtle with newfound hope continued walking. For many years the turtle walked without having aged or eaten until. . . It reached the sea. In front of him laid a huge ocean that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"With impatience and happiness overflowing inside of him. The Turtle entered the sea and kept swimming along the now invisible path. Many predators hunted this sea and threatened the Turtle's life. But the Turtle used its powers to outrun these dangers.

"Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. The Turtle found that it had not aged a single day since making contact with the blue orb and its size just kept getting bigger.

"Ten years, 50 years, 100 years, 500 years, 1000 years, no one knows truly how long the turtle has lived. But the now Island-sized Turtle with plants, vegetation, large trees, and even mountains that grew on its back still walked the path.

"Many animals called his back a home. To where did he walk? What drove him to keep walking? So is the tale of Myrtle the turtle.

"Many have claimed to have seen him. Others have said that they have climbed atop his back. The most famous story is that deep inside of him resides the blue orb. Now named Myrtle's Orb. If you find it and say the phrase Myrtle o' Myrtle it will transfer itself to you and grant you the gift of eternal life.

"That's the end of it," Lize said, closing the book. By the time she finished the story, she seemed to be taken away by all her exhaustion from earlier as she struggled to keep herself awake.

"Lay down with me," I told her as I comfortably laid down on my bed.

"Hm?" she let out, unsure of my words but did it anyway. Since she knew that whatever orders I gave to her she was supposed to follow.

I didn't need to say anything nor did I need to do anything as she was overcome by her exhaustion and fell asleep almost immediately. About two hours later she woke up.

While she was asleep I kept watch over her to make sure that no one would see her slacking off. "Did you have a nice nap?" I joked as I watched her slowly sit up.

"Huh?" She looked around all groggy and confused. "F-Forgive me!" She quickly got up and bowed realizing that she had fallen asleep in my room.

"Don't worry about it," I told her dismissively with a wave of my hand. "Anyway, that's all I wanted, so you can leave now."

"Y-Yes," she said quickly. Putting on her shoes she then walked out of my room.

After that, for about a whole season, I'd call her to my room frequently so that she can take it easy and relax. I didn't do it every day, just when she seemed the most exhausted. Little by little, she began to look forward to it. As she talked to me more and told me stories about her past.

According to her, she was born into a poor family close to the City of Bryxton and her father sold her off into slavery for money when she was only six years old. Since she was the youngest of her siblings she was chosen to be sold off, which is pretty messed up.

While she was in the market they moved her to the capital. At that time, the Arumani house was looking to buy slaves for them to be ready for our arrival. Lize is seventeen years old if I remember correctly and has been a slave for over ten years now.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something," Lize spoke up one day as we were relaxing in my room.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why is it that you call on me very often just to do nothing?" she asked, finally questioning my actions.

"You'd rather be out there, working?" I said trying to evade her question by raising my own.

"Well. . . No," she said, hesitating a bit. "I'm just curious."

"I enjoy your company and I'd hate to see you collapse one day from exhaustion," I answered. In turn, she seemed taken aback by what I said. "You're also my family's personal assistant. Think of this as thanks for all your hard work," I added.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, bowing lower than usual. "Young master."

"I told you to call me Arata," I said for who knows how many times now.

Back to the present

And that's the story of how me and my personal maid became friends.

"Anyway, I better not stay here too long, or lady Mia might see me slacking off when she arrives," Lize said, getting up and ready to leave.

"You were here for just a second and now you want to leave?" I asked her before she walked out the door.

"Yeah, the other maids are getting suspicious. They keep asking me about what you make me do when you call on me," she said.

"Well, that's none of their business," I said. "Should I tell them off?"

"No! No! No!" she said intensely while making an x shape with her arms. "If you do that then they'll call me names like blabbermouth or something even worse."

"I know, I know. I get it, I was just kidding." I said. Slave drama. "Go on, you can leave," at my words, she bent her upper body forward into a low bow before taking her leave.

"At first she seemed very wary and uncertain but now she speaks her mind freely," said Flare, my wolf companion who's been with me for a long time now. Somewhere along the line, I found out she was able to pronounce words so I did my best to teach her different words and phrases that now she's able to understand and communicate to others without my help. She only ever talks to me though.

"Yup, I'm kind of happy we became friends. She's such a wonderful person. . ." I replied to Flare who sat in front of me as she listened closely to my words. But then again, maybe I'm just saying that because she does all my chores. "I'm just glad that she's able to be herself and feel comfortable here in my room."

"Well, I think Nina is also a wonderful person," she spoke. Flare has taken a liking to Nina more than anyone else. That's why I always ask her if she can watch over Flare when I'm not around. "She pets me, gives me food, plays with me, and what else. . ." she said then stopped to think.

"So, you're saying that you like her more than me, huh?" I joked as I pinched her snout shut.

Bringing her paw up she pushed away my hand. "Hehe, of course I'd choose you over her," she said, letting out a small giggle while walking closer to me. "You're my family and the one person who I feel most comfortable around."

Hearing her words, I was left speechless. This is the first time she's referred to me as her family, I never even thought of it that way. Now I feel guilty for not realizing it sooner.

"Aww, Flare," I spoke while gently petting her fur. "Know that I'll always be here for you. Whenever you feel sad or alone, I'm here. . . Never forget that," I told her, lowering my head until our foreheads tapped.

Right when she was about to respond the door to my room opened. "Who are you talking to?" said Mia as she was on the other side.

"Who are YOU talking to?!" I told her in a bit of a panic. I know that Flare doesn't feel comfortable to be heard speaking by others.

"What?" Mia said confused with a tilt of her head.

"What?" I repeated, unsure of what to say. While Mia just stayed silent, waiting for me to give a proper answer. "A-Anyway, come in," I finally said, signaling for her to sit next to me. "It's time for your training to begin."

"Alright?" she said, sounding a bit confused, but didn't question me any further as she sat in front of me in a meditative posture. Just like that, her training began.