The butler woke them up as soon as the sun rose. From the mansion, it was possible to have a clear and clean view of the rising sky, which Light fell in love with at first sight. His arms extended as if trying to embrace the sun.
"Screw my mission, I'm staying here forever!"
This place could theoretically hide even from the eyes of the gods. Maybe he had finally found an opportunity to escape his fate. It was certainly a bit strange to live among mutant animals, but he had already gotten used to worse things.
He went down the stairs and reached the table, waiting for his meal. This time, he was sober, so he looked around more carefully. Soon, a chill ran through his body as he looked at the mansion's servants. He repeatedly opened the status of all the servants; they were all disciples and extremely powerful, but that wasn't what worried him.
"Excuse me..." He struggled to remember the name of the butler who had been with him all this time.
"Dominic, my lord."
"Dominic, why do all of you look like humans?" Dominic frowned in response and tried to contemplate the question, without success.
"What is a human?"
"Let me rephrase: why do you resemble my species?"
"Oh yes, everyone in the city mimics this appearance; it is the official standard in Aegon, and we take it very seriously here at the Red Chess Mansion."
"Official standard?" Remembering that he was a newcomer, Dominic continued to explain.
"Just like the currency and flag are standardized in Aegon, our faces and bodies are too. You usually need a minimum resemblance to register as a citizen. All regulated by law, of course."
'What kind of law is this?'
"And who the hell imposed such a strange law?"
"Ito, of course, my lord. He hated being surrounded by demonic creatures and monsters he described as ugly and rude. So, one day he declared that everyone should be like him..."
'Of course, I already knew Ito was human, but he forced everyone to look like him?'
"...except for their horns! He didn't like horns or tails."
"Ito had horns and a tail?"
"Yes."
"Wasn't he human like me?"
"You are very similar, my lord, but clearly, Ito was more evolved. Don't worry; when you grow up, I'm sure you'll be just like him."
'Now I'm a child?'
"It's been a while since I've seen him; can you show me any portraits of him?" Every passing second made him more curious about this figure. The language the letter was written in was foreign. And he had already encountered information about this man before.
"Unfortunately, he ordered all portraits in the mansion to be burned one day, as well as all mirrors to be locked away."
"I see. That makes sense, really. Those things are very dangerous" Light's head nodded back and forth in agreement.
"I never knew why they were dangerous. If it pleases you, could you satisfy this humble servant's curiosity?"
"I don't like to remember those things. Just know that mirrors and portraits can be terrible."
"What did his face look like?" This time, he stopped being evasive and asked the golden question. The butler Dominic smiled and started laughing. Light looked at him, confused.
"My lord should know it's impossible to describe all his glory." Instead of explaining why, he simply went to fetch their meal. At some point, Lara had been by his side, carefully observing the place. She turned and whispered,
"Something is very wrong here!" Her expression was tense and worried.
"What could be wrong?" Light still didn't understand what was happening, but he wasn't worried either.
"What isn't wrong! A stranger left you an inheritance, and his servants don't question your authority, even though you don't even know what he looks like. They destroyed portraits and mirrors..." All this had a degree of normality and was expected to some extent, and he could understand the reasons.
"People dressed in white walking around the mansion, red chess pieces scattered throughout, not to mention the animals screaming at night!"
"Wait, I didn't see or hear any of that."
"Not to mention I walked around the mansion a bit last night and this morning; new statues have taken the place of the ones that were in front."
'Okay, now I'm scared.'
"The servants also won't stop gossiping about us; I feel growing hostility in them."
"I don't feel any of that." Taking a deep breath, she said,
"My noble knight, you were too busy drinking to notice anything. You need to pay more attention to your surroundings!"
"There was also..." At that moment, the door opened with the arrival of the meal, and Dominic had returned. He placed the dishes on the table, both somewhat incredulous about the meal.
Cough cough
"Mr. Dominic, may I know why my meal is only a pea with some leaves?" Lara also protested.
"I'd also like to know why there's so much meat on mine... I can't eat all of this by myself."
"Well, it's quite simple: both of you are not taking good care of your health, and after a blood sample, we created a new menu adapted to your needs." For the first time, Light found it difficult to smile.
"Mr. Dominic, I own all this, so please don't do things behind my back and bring me a very luxurious meal..."
"Unfortunately, sir, the servants remain bound to Ito and serve him only. And in the papers you signed, there were clauses related to the servants; in short, you don't command us."
"Lara, was there something like that in the papers I signed?" Having realized she was more sober than she seemed the whole time, he preferred to ask her.
"I remember there was something written about hiring and firing servants, which could only be done by the butler under special conditions, even..." Her ears pointed downwards, her hand on her chin, and her eyes on the chandelier.
"Then I'm leaving here to buy something decent. There's no way someone my size can stay upright with just a few leaves!" Light stood up, preparing to leave. Soon he felt the butler's hand weighing down on him.
"Unfortunately, little lord, getting in is easy..." a devilish smile on his face.
"But getting out is a bit complicated..."