Chapter 1 - A Fake Noble Awakens

"Alex! What will it be?"

Eh?

I blinked a few times in confusion. As my dizziness faded away, I saw a disturbing scene.

The surroundings were unfamiliar to me, but I can only describe it as the most luxurious room I've ever seen in my life. From the gold framed paintings and velvet carpets to the crystal chandelier hanging overhead, everything just screamed "old money" to me. Any random item here would cost more than my life's savings. Not that that's saying much.

But despite all this luxury, what was in front of me totally ruined the room's pleasantness. There were two women - one was a young lady dressed in a fine silk dress, with long, fiery red hair styled into extravagant ringlets. She was beautiful enough to be a celebrity, with an outrageously hot hourglass figure to boot, but the smirk on her face sent chills down my spine.

Kneeling next to her was the other woman, a thin maid looking up at me with watery eyes. She was shivering in terror, one hand gingerly touching a cut on her cheek. Blood slowly dripped from it and mixed with her falling tears.

And that was when I noticed that I was holding a whip. Did… did I do this to her? A deep sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach at the thought.

There were other people here as well. Stone faced guards stood imposingly near the doorway, as if to prevent anyone from trying to leave, while some maids dressed identically to the kneeling girl were huddled up fearfully at the far side of the room. When I made eye contact with one of them, she let out a tiny squeak and hurriedly stared at the floor, looking just like a frightened mouse.

I realized that everyone seemed to be waiting for me to say something. But I didn't even know how I got here, so all I could do was look at them blankly.

"Hic… please, young master! Have mercy on me- GUHA!!!"

"Silence worm. How dare you speak without permission, especially after what you just did. Say another word and I'll have your tongue ripped out."

Damn! The noble girl viciously kicked the maid's ribs, causing her to cry out in pain. But the latter didn't even try to fight back. She just shielded her face from the kicks that continued to land on her frail body. "Hua… ghk…!" Even her cries were muffled, like she was terrified of really losing her tongue if she made too much noise.

This was going way too far. "Stop it!" I said angrily, reaching out and grabbing the violent girl's arm. I pulled her away before she could do anything else.

"Hmm?" She seemed confused at my interruption, but soon nodded in understanding. "Oh sorry Alex, it's inappropriate for me to punish one of your family's servants. So what will it be? Should we just have her arm chopped off like I suggested, or do you have something else in mind?"

The maid trembled. Not daring to look up or speak any longer, she thumped her head on the ground, begging silently. I glanced at the other maids watching quietly from the sidelines. No one dared to meet our eyes, and I suspected they were deeply afraid of being dragged into this.

This was really messed up. My memories seemed to be covered in a haze, so I didn't know who this crazy bitch thought I was or how I got caught up in this, but the details could wait. I sure as hell wasn't going to just watch.

"No! Absolutely not, no cutting off limbs! What did she even do to deserve this treatment?"

Crazy girl raised an eyebrow.

"Ha? What kind of question is that!? You saw it! This clumsy idiot spilled tea on me," she spat. Every word was dripping with malice. "It's ridiculous, dear Alex. Your family has trained, fed, and sheltered this woman for who knows how long now, yet she repays your kindness by harming a guest. Taking one of her arms would be a light punishment! But she doesn't look bad for a commoner, she might fetch a good price…"

The maid choked back a frightened sob.

Looking at little miss lunatic, there really was a small stain on her sleeve where the tea must have spilled, but it was so tiny that I doubt she felt it at all.

That's it? Is that really why you're tormenting the poor girl? How can someone be so petty, so callous?

She's pure evil. This girl was a psychopath who can casually talk about chopping arms off and selling people into slavery. Maybe pissing her off any further wasn't the smartest idea... let's try to talk her down and reach a peaceful solution, one that didn't involve grievous bodily harm.

"Look, I'm sure it wasn't on purpose. Right?" I asked, turning to the crying maid.

"Young master, I swear on my life that it was an accident!" The girl said, practically slamming her forehead onto the floor again. Ouch, just watching it made my head hurt. "Please have mercy on me, never in my dreams would I mean to harm Lady Francesca."

"Do you think that your life means anything, girl?" Crazy bitch - apparently also known as Francesca - snapped. "Alex, you're acting weird. Just have her punished and let's be done with it!"

"Please…" The terrified maid was fighting back sobs again.

I pretended to stroke my chin in contemplation. Everyone was convinced that I'm this Alex person and they were leaving her punishment up to me.

Something was seriously wrong here.

Now, I was tempted to just say that they had the wrong guy, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of my head, telling me to keep playing along. So I decided to just give the maid a harmless punishment that would hopefully be enough to placate this crazy bitch.

"Then let's do it like this," I said in a fed up tone before turning back to the maid. "First, apologize sincerely to her. After that you must clean this room until it is spotless, and you will also have no dinner tonight. That is all."

Taking the opportunity, I threw away the whip in my hand and plopped down on one of the nearby chairs.

The maid, Francesca, and the other servants in the room all looked at me in shock.

"Alex!?"

Francesca was the first to snap out of it. She grabbed my arm, looking both livid and completely baffled. For a second I seriously thought that she was going to stab me. "What's gotten into you? Don't you understand? She stained my dress! My. Dress. You bought this for me on our last trip to the capital!"

I don't care if she spilled the entire pot over your head, you damn psycho. That's not something you ruin someone's life over.

I shrugged, trying to look as casual as possible. "Decent help is getting harder to find these days, and I just happen to be in a good mood. Don't worry, I'll keep her on a tight leash from now on. Can you let it go with this? Please?"

"Ugh, but… she's just a… bah, FINE! If that's what you want!" Francesca gave up reluctantly. Then after glaring venomously one more time at the maid, she stomped towards the door. She didn't even wait for the apology that I ordered. "I'm going back to my room!"

SLAM!

There was silence for a few seconds after she left. Then suddenly, the maid scrambled forward while still kneeling.

"Thank you, thank you young master!" She wailed, tears overflowing. Before I could stop her she lifted my boot and placed her head under it. "I swear that this foolish servant will serve you faithfully and diligently from now on. I will never fail you again."

It was the relief of someone who got pardoned after thinking for sure that her life was over.

"There's no need to go that far," I said feeling mortified, and quickly took my foot off her head. All of this was too weird.

"Young master Halesworth is truly gracious and merciful."

"He is as broad-minded as the great saints!"

"We are fortunate to serve such a magnificent person."

There was a chorus of embarrassingly over the top flattery from the peanut gallery too. With Francesca gone, they had mustered up the courage to speak again.

...Wait.

Did that first one just say young master Halesworth?

Oh.

Oh no.

Nooo way. No, no, god damn it no! An intense feeling of dread washed over me at that moment as the pieces finally clicked. It was an insane theory, but...

Without thinking, I stood up and helped the maid to her feet. She stared at me blankly.

Now that I got a good look, I realized that this girl was actually pretty cute. Her short black hair was a mess thanks to Francesca, but her features were delicate and attractive despite wearing no makeup. There was a bright red mark on her forehead from her earlier thumping though, not to mention the bleeding cut on her cheek. Anyway, the gears in my head started turning rapidly… I needed answers, and this girl I just "saved" would be the safest person to talk to.

"What is your name?"

"It's Emma, young master," she answered with a tiny sniffle.

If it was strange for me to not know her name, she certainly didn't show it. Good, this might work out.

"Emma. Work hard and be more careful from now on, okay?"

"Yes, young master! Thank you!"

"Also, I'm feeling a bit tired, so please take me to my room."

First things first, let's get away from this place before anyone becomes suspicious. I'll press her for information once we're in private and find out if my suspicions are correct.

But for some reason Emma's face paled. She then nodded while avoiding my gaze.

"U...understood, young master."

The other servants had complicated expressions too. Weird. While wondering what was wrong, I left the opulent room with Emma in tow. The guards at the door bowed as I passed by, as expressionless as they were in the beginning.

…

"It's that, isn't it? Alexander isn't satisfied with just touching us anymore, he's really going to do it now."

"No wonder he was acting so strangely and went against Lady Ettrick's wishes. Poor Emma! But I guess it's better than what the bitch had planned for her."

"Shh! If anyone hears you two gossiping about the young master, we're dead! Come on, we've gotta get back to the quarters before he decides that one girl isn't enough."

"How can you just leave her!?"

"I don't want to, but there's nothing we can do. Trying to save her would just make things worse."