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Third Person POV
"That's the last one," Subaru announced, counting as the final woman, carrying her belongings and other essentials, crossed into the library. She gave Subaru a grateful bow before moving further inside.
"Hmph! Far too many footprints in my precious library! Who is going to clean this mess, I suppose?!" Beatrice pouted, her small arms crossed as she scowled at the now dirtied floor of the once-pristine library.
"Isn't there some kind of magic that can clean all this?" Subaru asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. However, Beatrice simply sighed.
"If there were magic spells for every little inconvenience, I would have already found you, dragged you here, and made you my contractor a long time ago, in fact," she grumbled with a slight huff.
"Uh, alright then. I guess I'll have to try something myself," Subaru said with a shrug. He quickly found a bag made from rough fabric lying around. Channeling his Telekinesis skill, he created an artificial vacuum by manipulating the air, sucking all the dust, dirt, and debris scattered across the floor neatly into the bag.
"There, all done," Subaru declared after finishing, dusting off his hands with a small sense of satisfaction.
Reina, who had been watching intently, clapped her hands excitedly. "That was amazing! As expected of my Lord! His finesse extends even to cleaning duties!" she praised him enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
'At this rate, even if he were to just sneeze, she'd still find a reason to praise him,' Beatrice thought, twitching her eyebrows in mild exasperation. Nevertheless, she quickly masked her expression and puffed out her chest.
"Well, as expected of my contractor, I suppose," Beatrice added, giving her own praise, changing her colours.
Subaru looked at the two of them, completely speechless. He could only pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself from the overwhelming, almost ridiculous amount of praise he was receiving.
Suddenly, a loud, desperate cry echoed through the mansion.
Without hesitation, Subaru grabbed Beatrice and bolted towards the source of the scream, his heart pounding. Reina immediately followed after them, her sword hand twitching reflexively. They raced through the halls and burst into the kitchen, only to find a chaotic scene unfolding before them.
Standing there was a woman wearing a maid's uniform, her blonde hair tied neatly behind her, and her green eyes filled with tension. She had one of the women hostage, gripping her firmly by the arm.
"Tell me! Why the hell are all of you here?!" the maid growled, her voice firm and demanding, though the confusion in her eyes was evident. However, her expression quickly shifted to one of shock upon seeing Beatrice—and beside her, Zero and Reina.
"Release her. Quickly," Subaru said, his tone sharp and full of irritation. How could things go so wrong within just a few minutes of taking his eyes off the situation?
"Do as my contractor commands," Beatrice added firmly, her voice carrying undeniable authority.
The maid—Frederica—recognized Beatrice immediately. Although she hadn't seen Reina or Subaru (Zero) before, Beatrice's presence was enough to make her reconsider her actions. Quickly, Frederica released the woman, who fled to another panicked woman standing nearby.
"I-I—what is going on here?" Frederica finally asked, looking bewildered.
Subaru rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Let me guess. You're one of the maids working here?"
"Yes, that's correct," Frederica answered, giving a respectful bow. "I am Frederica Baumann, one of the head maids of this mansion. A few days ago, I was called here by Ram to assist with household duties, as the workload was becoming overwhelming for her alone."
Subaru gave a small nod of acknowledgment. "Got it."
"You must be… Lord Zero if I am not wrong" Frederica guessed and Subaru nodded.
Frederica turned her attention to Reina, who she did not recognize. Although she had heard tales of the famous Sword Saint, she had never seen her in person. And frankly, she hadn't expected the Sword Saint to appear here, of all places.
"I am Reina Van Astrea, the current Sword Saint and a loyal knight sworn to Lord Zero," Reina introduced herself proudly, deliberately emphasizing her loyalty as she raised her voice slightly, shooting a proud look at Subaru.
Frederica's mouth fell open in shock. She looked between Reina and Subaru in utter disbelief, her mind struggling to process what she was hearing.
"I am also Zero's contracted spirit, in fact," Beatrice declared smugly, grinning wide as she dropped yet another bombshell onto the poor maid.
Frederica opened and closed her mouth several times, resembling a fish out of water. No words came out. What was she even supposed to say to all of this?
Sensing Frederica's distress, Subaru quickly decided to defuse the situation. "Anyway, why don't we move to the guest room? I'll explain everything properly there. Also," he added, turning to the women who had been held hostage, "Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?"
"We were startled, but we are fine. No injuries at all. Thank you so much for your concern, Lord Zero," the woman who had been grabbed answered gratefully, bowing her head.
Subaru smiled slightly, relieved to hear they were unharmed.
Meanwhile, several other women had gathered around the kitchen doorway, peeking inside with worried faces, clearly wondering where the earlier scream had come from.
Seeing the gathering commotion, Subaru sighed deeply once again. Could he not catch a single break today?
After patiently reassuring everyone and clarifying the misunderstanding, the women finally returned to their tasks, preparing dinner for everyone as originally intended.
Subaru led Frederica into the guest room, sitting down comfortably on a large sofa. Beatrice perched herself casually on his lap, and Reina sat closely by his side, both acting like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Subaru began explaining the entire situation to Frederica, who listened intently.
"I see..." Frederica said thoughtfully after he finished. "When I saw those women entering the kitchen with large bags, I found it extremely suspicious and acted purely on instinct. Thankfully, I didn't hurt them."
"We brought a significant amount of food supplies from the castle's storage to ensure the women would not face any shortages once they relocated here," Subaru explained, understanding the source of the confusion now that everything was laid out.
"I shall apologize to them later," Frederica said sincerely, bowing her head in remorse. "Furthermore, I will personally help organize their accommodations. This mansion is large enough to offer comfortable lodging to all of them for the time being."
"However," she added thoughtfully, "once the others return, we will likely need to discuss a more permanent solution regarding their residence."
Reina nodded in agreement, but her expression grew a bit colder as she turned to Frederica. "We shall address that when the time comes. For now, in the absence of Lord Roswaal Mathers, Lord Zero will be acting as the current master of this mansion," she declared with an edge of warning in her voice.
Frederica immediately straightened up, realizing her mistake. "I-I see. Then, please forgive me for my earlier discourtesy," she said, standing up and bowing once again respectfully.
Subaru waved his hand dismissively, smiling warmly. "No need for all that formal stuff. Just treat me like a friend. There's no need to stress yourself out over something so trivial."
Honestly, Subaru had no intention of becoming one of those prideful nobles whose arrogance was bigger than their penis. (Ayooo)
"Anyway," he continued with a relaxed sigh, "let's not dwell on it too much. For now, let's just take it easy and relax a little."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a different kind of commotion was beginning to brew back in the Royal Capital of Lugnica.
To be continued...
(A/N: Had to edit with Ai and then proofread again, I changed some lines and now it matches my story 95% perfectly. The rest of the 5% went to explaining everything in detail, so yeah it is 99% equal to what I have written.
Man, I miss Amon, he was doing such a nice proofreading job also.
Also we aren't first... I am kinda disappointed.
But listen me out, do you want stable updates for a longer period of time, or immense fun for a short period of time?
I am just 1k words from finishing the eighth chap btw.
We are currently in the sixth chap.
So yeah, let's be in top while we can, I don't ask for you to give me powerstones selflessly when I am not uploading a single chap any week, however I do expect support when I am uploading chaps.
You don't want it to be another Fate/Poseidon right?
*EVIL SMIRK*)