Once Mavis finished dinner, she returned to her room, prompting me to stay behind to clean the office for her the next day. Afterwards, I visited her room, standing quietly outside as I waited for her, spending half an hour mindlessly staring out the opposite window, gazing into the back garden.
'I fucking hate this.' Looking at the garden, which was comprised mostly of Lycoris radiata and Roses, I heaved a deep, depressing sigh at my current situation. When I heard Mavis's voice from beyond the door, I sighed once more and rubbed my face, masking my true emotions behind a calm expression.
"Alexander, you may enter." Entering the room while closing the door behind me, I glanced at Mavis, who had clearly just come out of a bath; she was still dripping with water, her pale skin a little flushed, and she had two towels, one for her body and the other for her hair.
If I didn't have a burning hatred for her, I don't doubt I'd be taken aback by the sheer sexiness she was exuding, but I couldn't care less; she could've been more beautiful than Vanye and sexier than Michelle, yet it wouldn't change my feelings about her.
"Polish my nails." Gesturing to a small dresser, Mavis leaned back and kicked her feet onto the ottoman while closing her eyes. "Red, Mistress?" "Hmm, surprise me." Nodding, I sifted through the dresser, searching for the ugliest color polish I could find, but I just ended up sighing.
'She'd look fantastic with all of them.' Frustrated that Mavis was simply too beautiful to easily look ugly, I grabbed a vial and kneeled before her feet.
Gently cupping her feet from below, I carefully painted her toes; once I finished her feet, I moved on to her hands. However, just as I did so, her nail rapidly extended to my eye, stopping just an inch away.
"If you'd tried to look under my towel, I would've ripped an eye out." Mavis's voice was calm and measured, causing me to briefly glance at her before painting her fingernails. "I'm your attendant, I wouldn't do that," Mavis responded by directing her finger downwards, extending her nail into my throat, piercing it.
"That was a lie… You know I dislike lies." Retracting her nail from my neck, which quickly healed, she brought her nail to her mouth, licking my ichor off her nail while looking at me. "Ah, I apologize, Mistress. I wouldn't look under your towel as I'm not attracted to you in the slightest." Grabbing her hand once more, I continued painting.
"Is that so? Why do I remember you being stunned by my beauty when we first met?" Mavis's little smirk froze at my response. "I admit, your beauty is truly marvelous, but your personality, your heart, it's utter dog-shit… How could I feel attracted to that?" Raising my head, I flashed her a genuine smile just as I finished her right hand.
As I moved onto her left hand, Mavis just silently stared at me, watching my every movement like a hawk, though even so, I felt a bit happier. 'Ahh, that felt good. I wish I could say that again.' "Hmph, I suppose I shouldn't expect much from a pet." Scoffing, Mavis closed her eyes, ignoring me while I finished painting her nails.
"It's done, Mistress." Standing back, I put away the nail polish while she observed the work I'd done. "Purple, hmm." "Do you dislike it, Mistress?" "I have no public appearances, so it'll do for now." Nodding, I got Mavis's night gown, hanging it on her bed before leaving.
"Have a good night, Mistress." Bowing slightly, I left the room, closing the door, my smile instantly cracking as a scowl replaced it. Storming my way down the hallway, passing knights and servants, who gave me a wide berth either out of fear or to simply not interact with me.
Arriving at my room, I slammed the door shut and plopped down in my seat. "How have I found nothing!" Raising my fist, I shut my eyes, quickly calming down while sighing away the month-long accumulated anger and resentment.
I've been serving as Mavis's dutiful attendant/steward. I have authority, I have access to nearly everywhere on this estate; the only places I can't go freely are Mavis's room and her office. "Yet somehow, I still couldn't find a way to break this pact!"
Grabbing my head in frustration, I nearly pulled my hair out of my scalp. She called it a pact of subordination, but I was basically her slave; if I refused her, my soul would be destroyed. If I disobey, my soul will be destroyed. If I try to escape, my soul will be destroyed! 'Not destroyed, Master, harvested. Goddess Nihil will harvest your soul for her domain.'
"Harvested, destroyed! So what!? It's basically the same! I'll die either way!" Shouting at Zartha, I groaned in frustration and plopped back down. "Zartha, how can I break this curse?" 'I'm surprised it took you this long to ask me that.' "As you could tell, I've been forcefully busy." 'There are two ways to break this pact. Die. Or get Mavis to break it herself; since she initiated it, she is the pact holder, so she has the power to free you.'
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. "Get her to break it? How? She's stronger than me, smarter, and I'm deep in enemy territory… I can't even blackmail her with my life; she'd rather I die before setting me free." Rubbing my face, I stared at the ground, grasping at any idea I could form.
"How long do Vampires live for?" 'A very long time, but you will outlive her. However, by then, save for MAYBE Lazuli, your family will have long-since perished, Master.' "Why did I even fucking ask that? Stupid." Tapping aggressively on the desk, I slicked my hair back.
"What if I secretly leak info about my ichor to her enemies? She intends to use my blood to get her competitors addicted to it, and then she'll control them through the supply of my blood… If I leak the information, maybe, maybe they'll work together to kill her." Unlike the previous one, this plan was far better, but it was still terrible overall.
'That is a likely outcome, Master, but so is you becoming the most prized possession of the Vampires. Mavis is already too strong for you to handle. How would facing several more Vampires just as strong as her help?' "Nothing would change much, even right now, they're all my enemies because I'm with Mavis." It was more of a cop-out answer; it was true they were my enemies, but it was a different thing from having them directly chase after me.
"It's not the best plan, not by far, Zartha, but either way, for this plan to work, Mavis needs to first get every one of her competitors addicted to my blood. In the meantime, I can come up with other plans." Although I was still deep in the abyss, I felt a bit more confident now that I had a plan; it wasn't a good plan, but it was a light of hope.
Heaving a sigh, I leaned back, closing my eyes as I entered Zartha and Trina's dimension.
Opening my eyes, I saw I was in the familiar endless ocean world with a perfect blue sky. I walked forward and arrived at an Island where Zartha was sitting in a reclining chair. "Master!" Rushing out from behind the foliage, Trina dashed across the sand and leaped at my chest. "You've been quiet lately, Trina. Is something wrong?"
Catching her, I set her down while she shook her head, her two pig-tails hitting my face from her aggressive movements. 'Huh, new hairstyle?' "Nope, I just know I won't be able to help, so I stay quiet! I'm at least that smart!" Smirking, Trina proudly puffed her chest out, causing me chuckle.
"In that case, how about doing something I know you can help me with?" "Oh, what is it?" "Relieving my stress. Let's play hide and seek." "Oh, hide and seek!? I'm hiding first!"
Trina's eyes practically glowed in excitement as she turned around, running back into the island while I started counting. "Hey, you join too, Zartha." "Heh? Why would I–" "Nope, too bad, you're playing with your sister." Grabbing her shoulder, I hurled her out of her chair and into the island, prompting me to sit down.
"Ah, this is comfortable… 9. 10. 11. 12…"
___
___
After enjoying several days playing with Zartha and Trina, I returned to the real world, where it was just dawn, and sunlight was peeking into my window, causing me to heave a deep sigh as I stood up. "Back to my miserable life."
Looking in a mirror, I cleaned myself up. "Looks like I'll need to shave soon." Looking at my growing stubble around my chin and jaw, I straightened my tie and exited my room, heading down to the kitchen to make Mavis's breakfast.