Chapter 11: Servant N°1

Just as I woke up, my head felt like it was exploding. Pain came quicker than sight, hearing, or reason. As I tried to get up, there was only pain in my body. I could barely move.

Cough, cough.

*Wh-at...?* I murmured as I tried to remember what happened to me.

"Good evening, Miss Crowe. I wouldn't recommend you move right now." A man who was casually sitting at her desk spoke calmly as he stopped reading the book in his hands.

"W-who-?" Confused, I was about to ask who the man was, as he interrupted me.

"You can call me Raphael. The obedience seal on your neck was removed before I looked through some of your memories."

'Removed? But... That's impossible... How did he remove it? Is that why I'm in so much pain...?' As I started to understand what he just said, fear rose from the bottom of my soul.

"You broke an obedience seal and read my memories...? H-how did you- Who are you...?"

I forcefully sat up while bearing the pain and nearly screamed as I stared at the man who was now combing his hair and straightening his clothes in the mirror, as if what he was saying was the most mundane thing in the world.

"I'd thank you if you could keep your voice down." The moonlight shone upon his red eyes as he stared at me coldly, sending shivers down my spine.

"There's no need to be fearful, I've already got all the information I needed from you, Miss Crowe." Raphael said as he fidgeted with a reddish chunk of mana in his hand.

Gulp.

"A-are you going to k-kill me?" I asked hesitantly.

"...? No...?" He stared at me in bewilderment.

...

"... I will leave you alone now, but I would recommend you leave the city soon. Delacroix probably thinks you are dead, and he will definitely send someone to investigate who killed you." After telling her everything that happened and fixing my clothes, I started walking towards the door.

'I can't be so scary that the first thought someone would have in this situation is that I'm going to kill them, right...?'

Creak.

When I was about to leave the room, however, she pulled my sleeve slightly with her thin hands. As I looked down at her, her eyes were watery and her lips were dry, but her beauty was truly otherworldly.

"Lord Raphael, ple-please allow me to serve you... Since you've helped me so much, that's the least I can do..." Uhnm "Sir..." She bowed her head with a pleading look in her face as she asked me to take her as a servant.

"Miss. Crowe, I don't th-" How could I, however, take an elf as a servant? That would put too much attention on me... I don't even know how Delacroix got one as a slave, even after seeing some of her memories.

"Chloe, you can call me Chloe... I... In truth, I don't have anywhere else to go, Lord... Please..." She said as she looked at me with pleading puppy-dog eyes.

'... Aren't elves famed for their prideful nature?' I stared at her in confusion as she continued talking, as if I were an angel investor.

"I can..." Uhm "I can cook, clean... And, and although I don't look like much, I was one of the best swordsmen in my village." As she kept talking and talking about how useful she could be, I just got more and more confused.

'It's kind of cute...' I shook my head of any unnecessary thoughts.

Sigh

*... Fine...* I muttered as I started to think about how I could hide her ears and hair color with shapeshifting magic.

"I can... I can also..."

Uhm

"I said it's fine..." I said as I patted her shoulder.

"I-I will serve you to the best of my capabilities, Lord!" She said with her eyes slightly moist.

'What...?' My brows furrowed as I stared at her hair, feeling a slight amount of mana weaved into it.

"Is there something wrong...?" Her eyes widened in fear as I took a step closer.

'How much did this elf get humiliated to become like this...' I thought as I patted her head.

Sigh

"It's fine... It's fine... Your hair. Is it naturally white?"

Uhm.

"No... I'm actually not a pure high-elf... I'm a mix of..." Gulp "D-dark..." She seemed to lose her vitality as she started talking.

"Dark elves, huh? It's fine, don't worry about it. I don't mind it, really. Actually, I want you to return it to its natural color." I said as friendly as I could while trying not to scare her.

'That way, I only have to do something about her ears...'

"Oh... Yes, sir, I think I can do that." She said as she hobbled towards the bedroom mirror.

"You can call me Raphael." I said while feeling a bit unconfortable by the formality as I helped her.

"Y-yes, Lord Raphael." She bowed awkwardly.

"Just Raphael..." She didn't hear me, however, as she started to concentrate on deactivating the illusion placed on her hair.

Sigh.

As she started mumbling something to herself, her platinum hair started to take on a darker and darker shade of purple, spreading all the way from the roots to the tips. Slowly turning her hair pitch black, only leaving behind a few strands of purple.

"Done..." She had a slightly depressed look in her eyes as she stared at her long hair.

Hmm.

'Just the ears now, huh...'

As I approached her from behind and touched her ears, her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red, but she didn't say anything. It was the first time I was using shapeshifting spells in anyone else that wasn't me, so I took extra care to not mess it up.

"Stay still..." I said after a few seconds as she started breathing heavily.

"Done... It won't last longer than a few days, though, so I'll need to re-do it every one or two days."

"Uh? Oh, yes, my ears!" She stared with disbelief at the face she saw in the mirror, her eyes getting slightly moist.

"So, do you like it?" I said as I started to turn around.

"Thank you, sirr." She hugged me.

"Hmm?" My face twisted slightly in disbelief.

Sigh.

"Oh... Sorry, sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine... I'm glad you like it." A rare smile spread across my face.

...

Motivate me <3< p>

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