房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

"Healing... so... my face can be restored?"

"Hmm... I\'m not sure, magic inflicted injuries are supposed to be problematic for your people."

The black-haired boy asked, touching the thick bandages covering his face to which the red-haired girl shrugged her shoulders dismissively.

"...alright... Virgo."

Aku took a deep breath and focused, trying to repeat whatever he did before with the law of Aquarius.

"And...?"

Kierul leaned forward, putting her hands on the mattress and looking expectantly at the boy\'s face.

"...I am not sure, my lady... My face feels numb... but my leg started to itch a little bit... I can\'t tell whether it\'s working or not..."

Aku lowered his head apologetically and sulked.

"Meh. Apparently, the wound in your leg will heal up by itself anyway and should not hamper your mobility too much, that\'s the only thing that matters. As for your face... I will find a solution for you so don\'t think about it."

Kierul scoffed, waving her hand dismissively, and got off the boy\'s bed.

"My lady...!"

"Hmm?"

Having said everything that she wanted, the red-haired girl walked towards the door but was stopped by Aku\'s timid voice.

"Thank you... I will do my best to become a good attendant."

"That much is obvious, Aku~ After all, everyone would love to serve me~"

The black-haired boy took a deep breath and declared, to which the red-haired girl snickered and shrugged her shoulders before leaving the room.

Aku soon discovered that the law of Virgo that Kierul told him to use did work – partially.

Thanks to it, the hole in his leg closed up and healed within a week – but unfortunately, there was no change to his face.

His jawbones and teeth were completely exposed and he had to relearn how to eat to not spill out food from the right side of his face.

Although it wasn\'t an easy thing to do, he began getting the hang of it within a week.

Within the said week, Kierul would visit him all the time to check on his health and make sure that he will be up for the task of starting the attendant training.

"You see, my territory is well known for training the best attendants, maids, and butlers in the whole kingdom. I might be just the fourth daughter of the fifth son of the Helterose family, but it is absolutely unthinkable for me to have a subpar attendant. That\'s why I expect you to perform better than anyone else"

Kierul informed Aku while putting on a white mask that would cover the whole face.

The mask had a somewhat fox-like shape and didn\'t actually have holes for eyes, mouth, or nose.

It was basically a white ceramic slate.

"My lady...?"

Aku reached out and took the mask, raising his brow and looking at Kierul for an explanation.

"I said that I will do something about your face, haven\'t I? You said that you discovered that your ears are so sensitive that they can basically replace your eyes so this should be perfect... or were you lying just to impress me? I do not like empty boasts from my servants, Aku..."

The red-haired girl explained while squinting her eyes, leaning forward and flaring at the black-haired boy and tapping on the white mask in his hands.

"I was completely serious, my lady."

"Good."

Aku straightened his back and declared to which Kierul smirked and nodded with satisfaction.

The black-haired boy looked at the mask one more time and then put it on, adjusting it so it would become a good fit.

"Whoa, I kind of expected it to look odd, but this might surprisingly be right up my alley~"

Kierul tilted her head and her eyes widened when Aku faced her very clearly waiting for her opinion.

"Learn to eat without taking it off or at least to eat in such a way that you don\'t need to completely remove it. Also, I notified the head butler that you are starting the attendant training tomorrow so don\'t be late. It\'s time for you to learn how to earn your keep."

"As you wish, my lady."

The red-haired girl instructed wagging her finger at Aku and the masked boy bowed towards her without a second of hesitation.

--------

The large ballroom was decorated in the most pompous manner to the point that only the parties in the royal castle could compete with its splendor.

Such a thing was both a declaration and a challenge – the up-and-coming Helterose family was extending its power and reaching toward the title of one of the great families.

After all, even though there were no records of the six great families ever-changing their members, at the same time there was no law or tradition forbidding any additions...

...not to mention that the sixth great family ceased to exist a few years prior...

Bellcephora, Banemor, Espine, Derizno, Victureo, Moyena... amongst them the Banemor line was extinguished because of the alleged treason and rampant corruption, leaving a nice vacant spot that Helterose was eyeing out hungrily.

As for the reason the party was organized in the first place – it was a joyous occasion, the eleventh birthday of the youngest child in the Helterose family.

Young lady Kierul Berra Helterose.

Normally, a fourth daughter of a fifth son would not get nearly as much recognition nor money put into a celebration under her name, but Helterose\'s family head was desperate to show off to other nobles.

Truth be told, young lady Kierul was destined to play second fiddle at her own birthday, if to gather any attention at all.

All of her older siblings and cousins would use the opportunity to make contact and hopefully befriend the youths from other noble families.

...and even before she had her grand entrance people were already whispering amongst each other pointing at her father and talking nonchalantly with the current family head.

Honestly, not being accompanied by the male parent while that parent was alive and well during a female\'s birthday was the ultimate sign that the family had no hopes for the girl.