The Stars Children cult is a major religious organization in the Orlos Kingdom. Raianna, the Goddess of Stars and Vengeance, is the Deity they follow and pray to. Following the principles taught by her, they guided the Orlosian society. One of the main characteristics of the Stars Children followers is that the day they are born will influence their entire lives. Each day of the year is blessed by one of the many stars created by the Goddess and has a unique name that helps guide all mortals to unveil their real potential.
As every rule has an exception, there is one of the stars that never shines, the Void Star. On the first day of the cold season, there are no bright stars in the sky, so it's believed there is no blessing. This is considered an omen, and anyone born on this day is called The Guideless, a poor soul that didn't get showered by the Goddess' blessing.
One month has passed, and Manila is finally out of her punishment. The peaceful days are gone, and with good memories of everything she learned through the available books, she dresses up in the same old maid uniform. The first task of the day is always to clean the dining room before breakfast is served to master Mellorus and the heirs, the dining hall any room in the mansion was of an impressive size, and with swiftness and care she cleaned under the tables and chairs, changes the tablecloth and put the plates and silverware at the right position, the three size glasses were the last pieces to complete the set.
Reaching her faithful ragged piece of cloth, she cleaned all the windows and polished all the metal objects. After roughly forty-five minutes, everything was clean and shiny, another good job for her, but it was far from ending. Leaving the dining room before being spotted by anyone, her next target would be the greenhouse. First, the plants need to be watered to a specific amount for each species so they don't lose their beauty. Second, she needs to dust off all the chairs and tables that could be used in the afternoon for guests or family members for some tea.
The third task was the most time-consuming. In the greenhouse, there were exactly twelve magical stones enchanted with a spell to control the temperature. At each stone, she needed to recharge them using her mana so the garden would never suffer from cold or hot days. She remembered that it was Luccio who gave her that task when she was seven. That was his way to bully her. With the many tasks she was given, at the start, she would always be scolded, but with impressive speed, she learned how to do it properly, and he would lose his way to torture her. The last thing in the greenhouse would be in certain spots to feed all the birds that would live inside.
Finally, the break. Eating in the servants' refectory was a moment of peace and rest before the afternoon routine. The servants of the Felnatus family would always have a good meal, which made them all happy to do anything the masters of the house ordered, except for Manila, who would always receive half of the meal. Luccio ordered when she was twelve, and he punished her without any reason, and no one would question him, fearing that they would be the next target.
Others tried to give her part of their food because of pity; however, she refused, fearing that Luccio would do the same or worse with those who helped her. When she was fourteen, in another fit, Luccio forbade people to approach Manila in a friendly or helpful manner. Manila then did everything alone to avoid punishment falling on others, which made her almost invisible to any servant in the mansion.
Only those who work directly under the headmaster can defy Luccio's orders. Heading to the next task, she goes with her fast-paced steps toward the knight's barracks. The weapons should be properly polished, and everything needs to be in good condition for the training sessions. The uniforms need to be sparkling clean and ironed for the next day, and the medical supplies should be all organized in case of an accident. While she was fixing some of the uniforms for the next day, a cheerful and rough voice called her.
"I love your sewing work, my dear Manila, you make our lives so easy." A tall and burly man, near his forties, with a short, well-kept golden beard and luscious, long curly hair.
"Just doing my job to the standard of this house lord Boltu, I'm glad you are satisfied with my services." Her reply was devoid of emotion.
"Stop being so formal when the masters are not near dear, we are friends, aren't we?" He puts a hand on her head and messes with the worn maid's hat.
With a shy smile, she bowed her head acknowledging his request. They would have a friendly conversation about her isolated period and when the sword classes would resume without interrupting her work.
"Look who is here…the traitorous snake that disguises itself as a maid." Luccio walks in with a strange smile that mixes anger with insanity.
"So, after one little month of the deserved punishment for being disrespectful to your betters, you thought it would be nice to be here being lazy and flirting with the sword instructor, eh?"
"I am doing one of the tasks I have been given for years, and nothing else, master Luccio." She stands and bows without looking at him while speaking plainly.
"So what you are saying is that you need more tasks since you can be speaking with the other employees of this mansion. I think I can arrange something for you to avoid such sloppiness on your part." He put his right hand on his chin and glared at her. Boltu's muscular body appears between the two young people, and with irritation in his voice, he will not let this continue.
"Young master, Lady Manila is doing her job in a masterful way as always. If you want to be mad at someone, you can be mad at me for initiating a friendly chat with her." Said the tall instructor, who could intimidate even the most dangerous thug in the city, looking down and glaring directly into Luccio's eyes. Annoyed with this interruption, he starts to shout.
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO CORRECT ME, INSTRUCTOR! YOU ARE ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR TEACHING YOUR LOUSY SKILLS AS A FAVOR MY FATHER DID TO YOU AND NOTHING ELSE!" Boltu's enormous hands grabbed Luccio by the collar and threw him to the ground. When he was lying with his back on the ground, his big boot stomped his chest, making him moan in pain.
"I know my dear friend loves his kids enough to spoil them, but there is a limit to everything. While you were not even an idea to be born in this world, I was fighting together with your father during the Sskazzar's invasion." The pressure he put in his chest grows a little more, and the always-looking gentle instructor is now serious and terrifying.
"Together we helped the kingdom in a perilous time and both of us got rewards for our efforts, i was happy to see that he got the title he deserved for all his actions in that war, but I would never think he would approve such a blatant and spiteful act like you, young master, is doing right now."
"RELEASE ME YOU…"
"YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Boltu's voice echoes through the barracks like a powerful thunderclap. "EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS THANKS TO YOUR FATHER, not to you, you are just one person who had the luck to be born into a prestigious family and thinks you are more important than everyone in the kingdom."
"So you better learn how to speak with those with real power, rather than trying to use your family's name or status to try to intimidate or worse, to diminish those that work hard for this house to continue growing gloriously in the path it already is." He lifts his foot, releasing Luccio from the painful feeling, then, with a bow and offering his hand to Manila, he smiles.
"My lady, please, if you could follow me inside the knight's quarters, I would like to ask you to check on all the uniforms you already fixed." Manila looks at Luccio, who doesn't even try to hide his anger, but is powerless against Boltu. He signed with the head, granting her the permission she needed. After that, she was escorted by the gentle instructor to the knight's quarters. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The time she spent in the knights' quarters with other knights while fixing and preparing everything for their training was enjoyable. At the start of their training, she went to her last task of the day: to take care of the stables.
Peaceful and stinky as always, the stables were her third likable place in the mansion. Luccio would never come here, and the horses were all obedient to her. After cleaning, the sun was already gone, and the gentle stars were covering the entire sky. There was no presence of the gentle light of the moon tonight, and a gentle breeze helped to dry the sweat on her face. Alone, she took a bath in the servant's communal bathroom and put on a well-kept greenish nightgown. At a peaceful pace, she walked towards her room. A faint yellow light was stationary next to the room door. Holding a normal mana lamp in his left hand and a spiky whip in the other, Luccio was waiting with a disturbing expression.
"Go inside and don't say a word, or I swear today will be the day you will be visiting the goddess of death." Offering no resistance, she entered the room with him. The sound of the door being locked was normal to her, and without any guidance, she kneeled and faced the wall.
"You guideless piece of shit, I will show you how to treat those that are better than you, it was a long month and I was waiting anxiously for this day." The hate in his voice would make any normal person start to cry, but that was a common occurrence for her. She opened the back of her nightgown and let it touch the ground, revealing her naked back. Her tanned skin was marked with scars of different sizes. Holding her breasts and closing her eyes, she heard the metallic tip of the whip hitting the ground.
"You will know your place, and if you let any sound come out of your filthy mouth, I will make sure to punish those knights you care so much about." In silence, she braces herself for a few seconds before feeling the spiky whip hit her back once…
Twice…
Thrice…
Four…
Five…
Six…
For an entire hour, her teeth were grinding not letting a single sound escape out of her mouth, the warm feeling of the blood dripping in her back was the only thing she tried to focus on, her back was already numb from all the hits and only the exhausted pants from Luccio could be heard that moment.
"You…you better remember this feeling…you are nothing to this family…you filthy guideless." With a satisfied tone and almost breathless, he got a bucket full of water close to the door and threw it on her back. The wet feeling of cold water was almost a relief, but a burning and prickly sensation intensified her pain. The wounds were throbbing through the numbness.
"Now you can go back to your filthy pigsty, the salt will do wonders to clean your disgusting presence." He throws the bucket, hitting her back, and leaves the room with an exhausted smile on his face. Feeling an immeasurable amount of pain at each little movement of her body, she stands and slowly gets the wet and bloodied nightgown. After finding an old towel already smeared with blood in her dresser, she dries the floor while quietly working with her mana to close the wounds of tonight's punishment.
Dressed in her dirty maid clothes, she went to the laundry room without being seen by anyone and worked hard to remove the bloodstains from the nightgown. Close to exhaustion, she returns to her room, locking the door behind her before leaving the nightgown to dry and her dirty clothes on the ground.
Finally, she let her body drop into the bed, and everything went dark.