Chapter 2: Untrapped

The next day.

"Ready to go?" Ryan asked. Travis nodded.

"Do you really have to leave?" Rebecca asked. Rebecca is a small girl around twelve years of age with long, straight black hair and green eyes. Her round features and pale skin complement the color scheme of her face.

"I'll see you again, 'kay?" Travis said.

"When?" Rebecca asked with hope in her eyes.

"I'm not quite sure, but I'm certain it'll be soon!" Travis said. 'I hate to have to lie to her, but I would rather have her hate me than see her cry now...' Travis thought to himself.

"Okay..." Rebecca said as she looked down at her feet.

"Keep your chin up, more men will be attracted to you that way, and we both know how dad would react to that." Travis said. Rebecca giggled a bit. Travis's dad flinched.

"Okay, bye!" She said. Travis waved as he walked over to the carriage. The door was opened as Travis approached the carriage and he walked in, then sighed.

"Hi, Harry." Travis said. Harry waved slightly.

"Hey." Harry said with his signature high voice.

"Balls still haven't dropped, have they?" Travis asked jokingly. Harry became flustered. 'In all honesty though, if I wasn't told that he is a guy, I'd think he was a girl. His hair is so long, plus look at his build, it's just feminine.' Travis thought as he looked out the window and saw Rebecca waving. He waved back with a smile.

"I'd prefer to avoid that subject." He said quietly.

"That's fair, anyway, why'd they send you?" Travis asked as he looked at Harry's white hair and red eyes, the signature sign of an albino.

"I chose to come on my own." He said in almost a mumble.

"And why is that?" Travis asked.

"I felt bad for everything my brother and I did... So... Yeah... Plus, I'll be going to the school this year, I figured I would also give you some information about it." Harry said.

'Why are traps adorable? Like, why can't they just look like a fucking dude instead of a chick, it's so damn annoying.' Travis thought to himself. "What information in particular?" Travis asked.

Travis cleared his throat. "Uhm, well, the classes you get depend on your magical affinity as well as how much mana you have, so that's something to keep in mind. Also, Kel would always talk about how the royals would grievance him a lot, so I would be careful around them." Harry said no louder than any sentence before..

"Are you sure Kel didn't just cause a lot of trouble and that's why they bothered him so much?" Travis asked. 'Stop being so quiet, I can barely hear you!!!' Travis thought angrily.

"It's possible, but I still recommend being careful..." Harry said.

"Yeah, thanks for the advice, especially since I'm not actually a part of your family or any noble family at all." Travis said. Harry became flustered again.

"I don't think that will be too much of an issue around them... Or, at least, I hope it won't. You're not a bad person after all..." Harry mumbled more on the last part than any other.

The rest of the trip was fairly silent with only a few short conversations here and there. After around an hour, they reached a large mansion and the door was opened.

Standing outside waiting was both Mr. and Mrs. Gallavan. "Hello, mother, father." Harry said after he exited the carriage. After a few moments of thinking, Travis exited the carriage and nodded at the two individuals as if to say that he acknowledges their existence.

"Travis, this is Jeremy, he will be taking you to be measured and take a bath." Mr. Gallavan said.

"Thanks." Travis said as he walked over to the butler, who then lead Travis to where he needed to be.

...

'It's weird being so clean and smelling this way...' Travis thought to himself as he was dried off and dressed by servants. 'And these clothes... Why are these necessary?' Travis thought.

After being dressed in slightly baggy clothes, he was brought to the dining room where the table was being set. The Gallavan family is also sitting at the table. "We will be teaching you some basic table manners during dinner, please sit in the seat next to me and Harry." Mr. Gallavan said as he pointed to the seat on his left.

Mr. Gallavan is sitting at the head of the table while his wife is to his right and Harry is two seats to his left. "Makes sense." Travis said as he walked over to his seat.

"Also, tomorrow you will be taken to the cathedral for your baptism and magic appraisal." Mr. Gallavan said.

...

'Everything is just so different... I used to share a room with Rebecca, so it's weird having my own room. It's too quiet...' Travis thought to himself as he attempted to sleep.

The next morning he woke up at his usual time, the crack of dawn, and put on the clothes left on his nightstand. He exited his room and looked for something to do. 'Usually I'd do some work or something right now, but I don't know what to do right now since that usual routine is pretty much nonexistent now.' Travis thought as he saw a butler. The butler walked over to him.

"You are awake rather early, is there anything you need?" He asked. Travis shook his head.

"No, I'm just used to waking up at this time." Travis said.

"I will have the cooks start on breakfast immediately." He said.

"Ah, no need for that, I'd rather not mess with anyone else's routine just to fit mine, plus I still need to learn my table manners, so I'd prefer to have breakfast with everyone else." Travis explained. The white-haired butler with glasses looked at him perplexed.

"I understand your logic, however, your care is what comes first to the servants of this house." He said.

"Well, it's not just that, I'm also pretty used to not eating for around an hour after waking up, and now that I'm used to it, if I eat too early I tend to feel overly full from a small amount of food." Travis explained.

"I see, my mistake. Then I will continue with my chores." The butler said.

'That was close, I don't like having to lie like that, but those lessons may save my life...' Travis thought to himself. After exploring the halls for a while, a door suddenly opened and Harry, who is currently wearing women's nightwear, came out of the room.

"Huh...?" Harry said as he realized who he had just walked out to. Suddenly, his face filled with blush, and as Travis observed the young man he noticed something was missing from Harry's figure. "I-I-I-I, I have an explanation!" Harry said.

"Harry, do you not have a dick?" Travis asked.

"You really don't beat around the bush..." Harry said as he looked away with an embarrassed expression pushing his fingers together. "I... I'm actually a girl, okay?" Harry said.

"Say what?" Travis said.

"I'm a girl!" Harry yelled.

"No, no, you're certainly a guy, after all, Harry is a guy's name." Travis denied the belief that Harry is a girl.

"Well, I am!" Harry said. "And my full name is not Harry, It is Harriet." She said.

'Harry's being much louder than usual. Doesn't that mean... No...' Travis thought. "I have been convinced that you are a boy against my better logic so I am sticking with that until more evidence is shown or said." Travis said. "I honestly didn't expect the trap to be a crossdresser as well... I guess there are plenty of things in this world..." Travis extended his earlier statement.

"I am not a trap and I am not a- Actually, I would be considered a crossdresser..." Harriet said. "Okay, what can I do to prove it?" Harriet asked.

"Three ways, I guess, first, get one of your parents to tell me that this is indeed the truth, after all, they would know better. Second, show me, I doubt you'd want to do that one though. And third, if you're willing to kiss me then you would prove that you are either gay or a girl." Travis said, though the third one was clearly a joke.

"What even is that third one!?" Harriet asked as her face flushed red.

"Dude, chill, it was a joke." Travis said.

"Heh? Really?" She asked. Travis nodded. "Well, all I have to do is get my father to say that I am, right?" She asked. Travis nodded as something donned on her. "Wait, this is supposed to be a secret! Fuck my life!" Harriet said.

"Well, if you really want to prove it, there is one other way, but, as I said, I don't think you want to. Also, why even tell me this secret? It's not like I've proven trustworthy. You could stop here and I would continue believing you're a boy." Travis said.

"Erm, I just have to show you my underwear, right?" She asked nervously as she mumbled.

"Heh? You're actually willing to go through on that?" Travis asked.

"Yes, but only this once, okay!?" Harriet said.

"I mean, okay, but it's dark, I can't see anything that's below the waist." Travis said.

"Then how are you supposed to be able to tell?" She asked.

"Eh, well, there are two options, I can touch it, or you can show me the top half, but given by how small you are, I doubt there's much evidence up there." Travis said. Harriet opened her door.

"Just this once." She said as she went into her room, motioning for Travis to follow. Travis followed her in and she quickly moved to her bed and sat on it.

"What's the limit on a thorough check?" Travis asked. Harriet becomes so flushed with nervosity and embarrassment it almost looks like steam is coming off of her head.

"I-I... Do whatever..." Harriet said quietly.

"Harriet, you don't realize how far that means, do you?" Travis mumbled.

"Hm?" She asked.

"Lay down, it'll be easier for us both." Travis said. Harriet did as she was told, then Travis lifted up the silky nightgown's bottom. 'Definitely panties.' He thought as he began to touch her vagina through her panties in disbelief.

"Hey, that feels weird..." Harriet said. Travis stopped.

"Well, that confirms that." He said as his face became red. 'He's actually a she, and I just touched her... I should probably... Before something bad happens...' He thought.

"Was it that easy to tell?" Harriet asked as she sat up.

'Admittedly, I could tell the moment I saw the panties but was still in denial.' He thought. "Y-yeah. I should probably leave." Travis said as he went to leave the room. As he began walking, She grabbed his hand.

"Erm, sorry for my behavior when I was around my brother... I was expecting you to go further and was fully prepared for you to since I knew what I did to you was terrible... But, I'm actually kind of glad you did not go further... It looks like I'm indebted to you again..." She said softly and quietly.

"You're not indebted to me. Especially since you ignored me in that alley." Travis said.

"I'm glad you feel that way, but I still believe I am indebted to you and have to make up for what my brother and I did for over two years." Harriet said.

"Is that why you told me this secret? Also, why is this a secret?" Travis asked.

"Uhm, yeah... And the reason is... Well, my father went to a diviner when my brother was still unborn, the diviner said that my brother would be a rotten child no matter the efforts my father and mother put in, furthermore, he also learned that my mother could only give birth to two children, so he made the decision that if his firstborn son would truly be rotten, his second child, whether male or female, would be raised like a male. I'm basically a backup plan..." She explained.

"I see, I'm guessing this is also why the town never heard about any kind of engagement for either of you two since you can't really marry a woman or a man, all things considered..." Travis said. She nodded.

"But, I want to grow up and get married! I want to take care of someone, even if it's only a spouse... Plus, managing a territory is hard work, I'd rather just support someone who manages a territory..." She said.

"I see... Why not find a male candidate that would do well if they married you?" Travis asked.

"The reason is due to how our society works, that and familial structure. At the head of every family is whoever has the most powerful, so basically whoever has the strongest title. My father wants our family's strength to remain how it is, if not increase, so someone from our family would need to take the patriarch position, for that reason, I was raised to pretend to be a man so I can take that position, but I don't want it. Furthermore, if a male noble from another family manages to take the patriarch position in our family, we will lose a lot of power, in fact, it would be better if I married a lowborn individual and let them take the patriarch position since they wouldn't have any connections to any noble families." She explained.

"So you just need to find an individual who is lowborn, intelligent, and skilled in logistics. Okay, well, let's try to find someone like that for you, this way you can remain out of power and fulfill your dream." Travis said.

"Aren't you pretty much the only lowborn that fits even part of that description?" She asked as she fell back down on her bed.

"If it has happened once, odds are it's happened other times." Travis said.

"Travis, you idiot." Harriet mumbled. "Yeah, that's a fair point." She said.

"So, let's look for a man for you together." Travis said. Harriet sat up again and sighed.

"It's no use... My father won't tell anyone I'm a girl unless we already have a candidate and I want to know who the candidate is and if I actually like them." Harriet said.

"I see..." Travis said. "Oh, right, don't tell your father about what happened, please." Travis asked. Harriet giggled.

"No need to worry. The most I'll say is that you found out I'm a girl." Harriet said. "And if he asks how you found out, I'll say you were walking around in the hallway when I walked out of my room in my nightgown and you found out because of that." Harriet said.

"Alright, alright, that works... Also, does that mean you are telling him at breakfast?" He asked. Harriet nodded with a smile.