Chapter Two

  “Har-mon-y!”

  The cry as she stepped out of the shadows was all the warning the dy maid had before her er pet ohe muscur prince lifted and spun her around. ostasis didn’t even ki because this happened so frequently.

  “Hemlock is back!” The prince added as he set her down.

  “I know.”

  “This will ge everything!”

  “I know.”

  “Auntie ’t ignore you now!”

  “I know.”

  Harmony wished her pet would stop stating the obvious. If only she stayed ignored. After months of dismissals that could be read in the sheets, she’d positively soured oing the woman no matter the praises Adric gave the woman. As adorable as the prince was, he was a bit dull is.

  “Weren’t you supposed to be esc this expert you found to the manor?”

  “He’s in the lounge. Bates is serving him tea and biscuits now. I felt you arrive, and, you know, I couldn’t help myself. “

  Ashed bones! She’d stayed at the cert too long. It would take time to get properly ready.

  “He’ll want to see you in your armor,” Adric added.

  Harmony swore he gained some ability to read her mind or aies with his new profession ge to The Lady’s Pet Prince. He refused to show her his status. Still, she couldn’t go out seeing the man all sweaty and hair out of pbsp; Fog on her skills, she steeled her will to get trol over the bination to refresh herself. They tried to rebel because of her current issues but she’d dohis every m, and only slightly adjusted her system as she gained new skills. [Mend] improved it, as the skill often crossed into healing professions and csses. [Recall] knocked off any m mental fog.

  She shed the dirt and the sweat while boosting her spirit and energy. All the stray hairs returo perfe. Perfect posture and a rexed yet waiting appearatled into her body. But it was like wrestling a pack of go get it all done. Why won’t you behave?

  Hyath settled into his cluster of pillows.

  “Oh, no you don’t. You’re ing with me. If the man wants to see my armor I’m sure he’ll want to chey fatigued familiar.”

  “Grrwaa.” He pined.

  “Suck it up. If I have to take my medie, so do you.”

  Milo had already ed and polished him, so his bck armor-like skin shihe truth was, for all her current issues, Hyath’s ges dug into her.

  The dy maid marched out with her pet and familiar in tow, fog on maintaining regal fideh her movements. The lounge aryway had been the first rooms repaired in the dipidated manor they’d taken residen. They had hoped to host the tess, but that had never happened.

  The room projected wealth they didn’t have. The stipend for new aristocracy barely covered her two staff and the cost of housing. Hard work is what crafted the image, everything olished and ed. Flowers decorated the room, presenting an illusion that they were freshly cut and delivered. [Beauti], [Manipute Dead], and [Renew Spirit] allowed the dead flowers to maintain the fabrication of freshness despite having been cut and pced months ago. Harmony imagined how more perfect she could have made the image if she’d takeaxidermist profession rather than maid, but then she’d have cked the professional advantage of uanding the level of taste and meaning in the arras.

  Bates stood unobtrusively to the side. The ck of color to his uniform almost made him invisible in the room, a master css in serving. Harmony questioned why the head butler had chosen to leave Lady Coodly’s service to serve her, but was grateful he'd dohat.

  “Expert Fei, thank you for taking the time to visit me during your brief time in our humble city.” Prince Adric had informed her about this expert. The man was from one of the evolved kingdoms, a tourist, keeping an eye on their nephew as they gaiheir early levels safely in the local dungeon, how Old Bones was supposed to operate.

  The prince had been vague about details, but she was desperate. Here was a diagnosti from an evolved kingdom, the kind people even in the capital would fall over themselves for such a meeting.

  “I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to see someone so uniquely raised to the peerage. And someoh a css among the forbidden fifteen. I’ll probably get as much a be out of this as you do.”

  Forbidden fifteen. That stung. The neancer css was not looked on kindly by many of the other kingdoms. Too much history there. Only ten csses were banned here, neanot among them. Fei obviously came from one of the pces where that wasn’t the case, whatever punishments they put on those who made forbidden choices.

  “A mutually beneficial meeting is the best possible oute.” The fact that there was no moary cost was a relief. The tutors before took gold, and hadn’t fixed anything.

  “Well, dispy your status and show us what we’re w with.” The man said with a smile.

  Harmony eled her mana into dispyiatus.

  Css: Neancer (15)-F

  Profession: Lady Maid (24)-C

  Skills:

  Familiar bond(15)*

  Manipute dead (15)*

  Renew Spirit (15)*

  Cold Touch (15)

  Analyze (24)*

  Poise and Bearing (24)*

  Dust (24)*

  Beauti (24)*

  Style and grace (24)*

  Mend (20)

  Recall (16)

  Small Armor (19)*

  Mana Rotation (19)*

  High Kick (19)*

  Stats:

  Synergy

  es

  ostasis

  Primal Bond - Adric Highsmythe

  Harmony had worked hard to advance her skills this much, reag the end of most of her profession and skills, and pushing her css skills as far as she could for her adva. It helped her issues a little bit, but ultimately the work hadn’t been enough. The act of dispying them had them all ag up. [Dust] spotting the fai amounts on Fei’s suit. Flecks of pollen brought from outside. [Beauti] Noting that as ly shaved as Bates was, the hair on his face had grown since he’d ed up this m and she could notice it. Ead every one pyed subtle havoside of her, from chilling the air to notig the oints of every object where a carefully pced kick would destroy them. Hyath’s [Familiar Bond] shared exactly how unfortable the toad was, and that he’d tried to hide it from her.

  When the fn touch brushed up against her dispy it was like pins and needles inside her body. Her es stat let her feel the effect of the expert. While no maliciousness was sensed, a part of her wao kick him. [Poise and Bearing] reminded her her ropriate for a dy or a maid.

  She put up with it as the man muttered “Fasating.” Then “Iing” as she felt every bit of her being prodded and poked.

  “You have a free skill spot you haven’t used?” The man asked.

  “With how my current skills are b me, I didn’t feel it was wise to do that.”

  “Do that as quickly as possible. It should cause minor relief as it expands your space, even if it might be more problematic than the usual new skill acquisition. I’m surprised you’re able to maintain posure as much as you do. The lesser regions really are barbaric with their ck of support.”

  Prince Adric shifted unfortably at that criticism.

  “So what’s wrong with me and what do I do to fix it?” Harmony asked even as some of her skills advised her to be more circumspect. She chose to go with [Small Armor] and [High Kick] to strike for the root of the problem and how best to defend herself.

  “Your profession wasn’t made to handle as much authority as you’ve been given. Perhaps if your css ged, but having your authority tied to such a thing would certainly make something that those in power couldn’t choose to ignore. So be grateful you’re not a dy neancer. No one wants a queen of death. I suspect your famiir has been taking on much of the burden. “

  She’d just gained a small bit of authority from Ambrosia’s band. Harmony looked to Hyath who was now shifting unfortably at the fact that his secret had been revealed. Had the performance hurt him? “Do I stop…”

  “No… no…no… trying to reduce authority is the worst thing you do. Your profession is like a taihat you’re filling up with authority. Letting it sit stagnant makes survival harder as the weight would settle down otom without the new influx. Removing authority would cause things to , which would be very bad. Adding your free skill will help. Advang your skills has helped strehe tainer, but it is too much.

  Maids were not meant to bee dies. If you’d initially gotten the css theructure would have been built in to help with that authority, that’s why most of the time advang to peerage happens during evolution. It lets things be made right. Ultimately you o evolve as quickly as possible. Evolution will restructure you to hahority. “

  Evolve or die. Fei didn’t say die, that would be impolite, but Harmony could read that very bad things would happen if she didn’t fix this soon or her authority dropped. She could feel worry spike from both her familiar a. She closed her status and immediately felt relief as none of her skills were being tugged on to dispy themselves.

  “I appreciate the information,” Harmony said with an ine of her head.

  “I’m ashamed this support wasn’t avaible for you when you gained authority. Barbaric. Totally Barbaric. Just being able to brush such a case has advanced my [Skill Diagnostic]. To get into such a state, I’d hoped to help, but this is beyond me.“

  Where the other, local help, she got information from had pulled theirs from dusty texts or pulled from on wisdom. Expining her issues were because she wasn’t disciplined enough and o shove her skills away, or that simply advang them would solve it. Fei seemed to believe in what he was saying. The thought to shove skills aside to mute the effects had hurt her brain, and the oempt had sent shooting pains through her body. Evolve. That made sense.

  The expert stood up, Harmony offered her hand. The ma down and kissed the back of it and the dy maid could feel a new source of authority. Through the e, she felt amazement at how she was handling her issues. That reverence evolved kingdoms have for aristocrats, and there was a little fear at what she was that mixed with attra. A forbidden neancer. Nothing to cause her to doubt his words.

  He left. The door clicked shut behind him. The strained trol of maintaining herself colpsed. A ring of icy chill radiated out. The half-fiea in Fei’s drink froze and the rapidness of the water’s expansion cracked the tea cup. [Mend] immediately wao repair it. Every feared to her. Bits of death from the wood danced in her vision.

  The world shook slightly. The shaking pulled her baside her body. The tremor rince Adric. Her pet had his arms ed around her and he was shivering from the cold. Poor Adric. Harming her pet brought her inward. g down on the skill might work temporarily, but it felt wrong.

  Instead, she frohe feeling. That icy detat from her suffering, being stoically strong for her friends. Stop that! Feel! As the hurt flooded in the world started to thaw. Tears rolled out and froze, dropping small balls of ice, tinuing until finally they stayed wet and she melted into Prince Adric’s embrace. “We’ll fix this.” She told him, wiggling an arm out to stroke his hair.