Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I have made a terrible mistake.

Just one second.

Just a single, solitary second. One moment. One opportunity.

Everything became disastrous in just a single instant of inattention.

I had it made. For a commoner in this Kingdom of Sorcier, there were few paths towards a cushy life. Many of them required access to resources and knowledge that I simply did not possess.

As an orphan, I had no parents to teach me a trade. As a commoner, I had no magic to avail myself with. And as a young woman, I had a failure condition that would see me consigned to a fate that would see me worked to the bone with a terrible retirement plan.

No, I had to find something else... and there was something that I had, that others did not.

An education.

I could read, write and do math, which alone was enough to draw attention towards myself... not just because I could, but because I had, as far as anyone knew, taught myself. The former and latter, I just had to learn the language, and the latter, math is math regardless of the symbols they use for it.

My work ethic worked in my favor, and soon enough, I had found myself with a letter of recommendation, before the lady Milidiana Claes, Duchess Claes to be specific. She was merciless, with eyes like a hawk, and a mind like a sharpened bear trap... she was everything I wished in a superior and then some. Attentive, perceptive and most important of all, capable of recognizing talent where she saw it.

Being a maid was not something that most people would consider an ideal career path, but they would not know the reality of the situation.

In this estate, I had three meals a day I did not have to pay for, a comfortable and safe place to sleep and an excellent salary, befitting of the effort necessary to be granted a position in the Claes Household's Staff.

My duties were simple, I was to be the primary attendant, handmaid and tutor of the Duchess' own daughter Katarina, who was heir to the house of Claes. And I would do my job, to the utmost of my ability.

I needed only look upon the lady Milidiana and her own handmaid's relationship to know the future that awaited me, should I perform my tasks admirably. Not a single member of staff was unhealthy, ill mannered, unhappy or miserable.

There is no path where I will be granted an easy life, but I can craft my own retirement, with the aid of a rich family, should I display my worth to them satisfactorily.

Alas, there was a bump in the road.

The Young Mistress, Katarina was... perhaps in some ways, too much like her mother, and in others, not enough. She was definitely the daughter of nobility, but in a bad way. In many ways, she was what one pictured when one thought of an overly spoiled little princess.

"This tastes like mud!" she would say, spitting the tea I carefully brewed, the tea that had pleased the lady's own mother.

"This has stains all over!" she would claim, tossing the freshly done laundry into the ground and stomping on it.

"This pillow is not fluffy at all!" she would argue, while jumping on it to try to make it flat.

In other words... my young charge was a horrible little shit.

And while I was complaining internally about having to deal with her bullshit during the visit of the young Prince Geordo, I took my eyes off of her for one moment...

And then my little terror of a lady was no more. Just like that. Vanished, as quickly as she was brought to the world, she was taken from it.

"Tanya!"

There she came running, dragging her little brother alongside her by the hand. Ever the shy boy, Keith Claes always seemed to have trouble saying no to his overbearing sister. Given the fact that he was an illegitimate child, he surely had reasons to fear for his station, but...

"We're ready! We can go check on the garden now!"

I nodded. The watering can on my hands wouldn't do to water all of the vegetables that the little lady had planted, but it would be a start. "Then we shall," giving her as good of a smile as I could, and taking her hand.

I am not letting this girl go anywhere running off like she did.

I absolutely cannot risk Katarina Claes tripping and hitting her head ever again. If whatever brain damage she got from that one hit were to be reversed, I- I would, I don't know what I would do, but I know I would regret it for the rest of my life, however long or short it turned out to be. "Please be careful and mind your step. Ladies do not run or skip."

"Boo! If we walk like mother, we'll take a week to get there!" Katarina complained. "Besides, if I trip, you'll catch me, right?"

I would. By all that is holy, I'd use myself as a pillow before I ever allow her head to hit a hard surface on my watch. "Yes, but I'd prefer that you not dirty your dress. Come along now, children," I urged gently.

Keith never ever took my hand, but it was okay. He at least seemed to be as interested as I was in trying to keep his sister from tripping. Whether it be simply attachment to her, due to her incessant affection, or an inherent self preservation instinct that told him that something really bad would happen if Katarina were to hit her head, he was my primary ally in the fight to keep Katarina the sweet little angel she had become after getting her brain rearranged.

We walked together, in peace, to the gardens, where Tom would give Katarina and Keith yet another lesson in gardening. The man was about as knowledgeable about farming and its intricacies as it was possible to be, in a world where education was limited and inaccessible, and Katarina seemed to have an unerring, unending interest in devouring every little factoid about cultivation and gardening.

Really, it was always surprisingly interesting, with the little lady around. Hardly a moment to get bored. Especially considering the amount of time I spent chasing after her, cleaning her up, and how often I had to carry a multitude of tools with me to deal with her... accidents.

After several hours, I saw the young lady to her room to rest after a day of hard labor, so unusual among nobility, and met with her mother, giving my report on Katarina's daily activities.

"But still... farming..?" Duchess Milidiana asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "That girl..." she sighed, a combination of despair and frustration.

"If I may offer my opinion, mistress?" I offered.

The lady Milidiana was a strong minded and proud noblewoman... but she was no fool. She had an inherent feel of superiority, as she was born with the noble talent of magic, and she was afforded the highest of educations. In medieval society, nobility had inherent advantages over commoners, and this lady was one of the few who had made full use of them.

"Speak your mind, Tanya," the lady allowed. "I allow you to be frank and candid as you wish."

"Thank you very much, my lady," I said, bowing in appreciation. "I believe the young miss may be a smarter individual than we give her credit for."

"Oh?" Lady Milidiana leaned on her hand, resting her elbow on the desk. Her study was well lit, decorated tastefully and most important of all, private, allowing us to have this sort of conversation with impunity. Few would imagine that a lady of such high standing had a habit of listening to the words of commoners... but I was grateful that she did. "I would appreciate an explanation."

"Certainly," I nodded. "My Lady, if I may be so bold, your beauty, wit, elegance and intelligence are on display with every move you make. It is not an exaggeration to say that you are a shining jewel and example of nobility, one who is the envy of many a noble," I explained. "You possess magical power, political acumen and brilliant charisma."

"I appreciate the compliments," the lady said with a wry smile, "but I fail to see their relevance."

"I believe the lady Katarina possesses each and every one of these qualities," I explained, "however, they have manifested... differently, in her. Mayhaps it was that fateful accident," the day in which the little demon had become an angel, "that scrambled the contents of her head, and thus, the same ingredients..."

"Produced a different result," the woman said, raising her fingers to her lips, looking aside. "I believe I am starting to see the logic. Please explain further."

"I believe the young lady pursues beauty and elegance, but she," much like myself, "sees the ability to produce such beauty and elegance as something even greater than the end product itself."

"Oh?" the lady made the exact same face of confused realization as Katarina did. Their faces were nigh identical, if one accounted for the young lady's rounded cheeks, and they were almost disturbingly similar at a fundamental level. I had originally started this chain of thought as an attempt to justify my lady's love of farming, but I... might actually be onto something, without realizing. "So in her mind, one who is capable of building and maintaining an elegant and beautiful garden, is themselves the height of elegance and beauty?"

"Precisely," I explained.

"I see... I suppose that would... explain her odd behavior. Order and functionality has an elegance of its own," the lady admitted, closing her eyes. "I just wish her hobbies did not involve as much mud as they do. Would that my child not have turned into a tree climbing beast!"

I winced. That... I could not excuse. But if nothing else, I will protect my lady's hobby of farming. For there was no greater barrier to her development into a spoiled rotten demon than knowing the weight and value of hard work. "I... have tried my best to steer her to more ladylike pursuits."

"Yes. I understand, as have I," Lady Milidiana said, sounding even more miserable than I felt. For different reasons, we both tried our hardest to keep Katarina from climbing on trees, for this was the one thing both of us agreed should not be allowed to happen. "Still, you possess great insight, for one so young. Some may believe you are wise beyond your years, I do not believe it, I know it so," Lady Milidiana spoke.

Every word was almost like a stab through me. She has no idea just how right she is. "I appreciate your kind words," I said, trying my best to project the demure embarrassment of a member of the staff receiving praise, rather than the truth that lay beneath. Rejecting her praise or trying to downplay it, I've learned, is considered rather rude in these lands. So strange.

The lady looked almost wistful for a moment. "I suppose you are living proof that she has her own form of charisma. After all, my daughter has her strict and stern tutor here, defending her most strange and unaristocratic hobbies."

I tried not to wince at the accusation. I really did. "My lady, I-"

She sighed, then offered me a small, wry smile, one that was on the verge of bitterness. "You are dismissed," she said. "Return to my daughter's side now," she added. My permission to speak was over, right then and there.

I nodded, courtseyed as I had been taught. "Thank you for listening to my words, Mistress," I said.

"I'll keep them in mind," the lady said.

I left the room, and as instructed, returned to Katarina's side. I found her, as per usual, practicing her reading. When, exactly, she had gone from schewing even the barest idea of trying to apply herself to any sort of academic pursuit to desperate for me to teach her how to read, I'm not sure, but the discovery of a certain type of novel had seemed to trigger Katarina's interest in reading.

Even if she seemed to absolutely despise the very idea of learning any sort of math whatsoever. Alas, my job was never over.

Katarina rapidly closed the book she was reading, clearly trying to pretend she wasn't reading it. She was a bit too young for this sort of novel, of course, but ever since she had become friends with the Ascart girl...

Well, no matter. "Young lady, you've had your fun on the fields," I explained, "and as you promised, it is time for your lesson."

"But Tanyaaaa," she whined, "I'm tired, and I was learning all day, my brain is fried!"

A smile blossomed from deep within, one that curled the corners of my lips and forced me to reveal a few too many teeth. It was not a smile of happiness, it was a bad, nervous habits, from the times I had to respond with a smile and a Sir Yes Sir to my superiors, no matter how idiotic the order.

"I get it! I'll study I promise!"

Right.

I'm going to make totally and absolutely sure that Katarina Claes lives up to her potential... This young lady, so prone to disaster and injury, is my ticket to a happy, cushy and relaxed retirement, and a managerial position.

And I will make absolutely certain that I see her reach her potential..!

... meanwhile...

"Tanya's so scary..!" Katarina thought, as she went through her maths homework once more.

For once, the council was in agreement. Undoubtedly, the maid Tanya Degurechaff was the most dangerous enemy they were facing..!

The maid's eyes never ever seemed to miss anything, and she didn't allow Katarina to go anywhere without supervision! Katarina didn't know there'd be this kind of ultimate enemy character on the first chapter, already dogging her every step!

Of all the things, Katarina never would have expected that the final boss would be her own mother, trying to prevent her from learning the skills she'd need to survive and thrive after banishment!

And to think that she was getting tutored in basic subjects by a girl her own age, despite having an entire previous education to draw from!

As the Demon Maid's overwhelming power of intimidation washed over Katarina, she resolved she'd find a way to slip her demonic influence and earn her happy ending, crazy demon maid or not!

Chapter Text

To say that Tanya Degurechaff was a vexing existence for Katarina Claes was to say the ocean was wet, or that a mountain was big, or that the death flags were too plentiful. To put it simply, she was an entire unknown.

When she had played the otome game that seemed to have been based off of this world, she had never seen the ice cold demon maid in it. But it made sense, after all, the game was played from the perspective of Marie, who naturally had little to no insight into the life of Katarina... not that Katarina ever made it a point to make herself sympathetic.

It was way easier to be sympathetic to Katarina now that she was in her own shoes. The council declared unanymously that trying to keep track of that was excessively confusing and had decided to table that issue for the time being.

Still...

Katarina's finger played with the dirt, making circles in the ground, pouting and trying not to pay attention. Her mother was... a demon in human flesh. But she had little time, and the attention she could pay to Katarina was limited, after all she had her own business to attend to. Even if the prim and proper Duchess Claes was disgusted at the thought of her firstborn daughter, she couldn't always be there to prevent Katarina from climbing a tree that seemed like a good challenge...

And that's where the Demon's Second In Command came in.

The everpresent, unavoidable, implacable shadow that followed Katarina everywhere. A monster.

Tanya Degurechaff, Katarina's handmaid, the one who would trace her every step. Maybe in the original timeline, Katarina's annoyance at the maid had peaked at some point and she'd thrown a tantrum big enough to have the blonde fired, and that's why Katarina'd never heard of her in the game. That'd make sense.

But still...

It seemed like the bonde never tired, never got bored and never lost her patience. Sometimes she wondered if somewhere along the line, this world had figured out a way to create automatons, because it was the only way she could explain that woman!

But no, she was growing alongside Katarina, so she was definitely a living human, but...

"Bleh!" Katarina made a mocking face, sticking her tongue out at the portrait she made of her handmaid in the ground.

Today was one of the very few days where Katarina wasn't shadowed every second of the day by someone who seemed intent in preventing her from ever having any sort of fun or learning the skills she'd need to make her life of exile more comfortable in case of failure.

Once a week, Tanya would meet with her mother, and deliver a report of her activities as well as her academic progress, and Katarina didn't even want to think about the Demonic Maid going into Drill Sergeant mode.

Sighing, Katarina stopped playing with the dirt. At least mostly everything was going according to plan! She was making friends, and little by little, working on negating all the death flags. Plus her little book club was picking up further steam! Maybe soon she'd even be able to organize a reading date with both Mary and Sophia! Well, that was a bit far off still, since she was grounded until forever, but it was still a thought for the future!

Cheering herself up at the thought of having tea and sweet biscuits alongside some fun and interesting friends to share them with, Katarina wandered back into the mansion. The path back to her room, and where she had her emergency snacks and novels, led her past her mother's study, which actually had her stopping.

A proper villainess' grin came over her face, upon noticing that the door wasn't closed, let alone locked, and she could hear the voice of her maid coming from it. Making herself as small and silent as she could, Katarina glued herself to the door and, with great care, stuck her ear as close to the opening as she thought prudent.

"...emic progress is ahead of schedule," Tanya explained. "This concludes my weekly report."

"I see. I appreciate your excellent work, I can't imagine handling that girl has become any easier. Most rambunctious children calm down with age, Katarina seems to grow more energetic and problematic every year."

"I agree," Tanya responded. "Perhaps it might be time to start the young lady in exercises to help her work off her excess energy?"

Katarina's jaw almost fell. That demon! And even worse, that hum from her mother was one of agreement and approval! Her mother, who would go into apocalyptic rages at the thought of Katarina doing anything remotely unladylike, approving of something as boorish as exercise!?

"It will certainly ensure she continues to fit into her dresses, despite her sweet tooth," Katarina's mother spoke, her tone amused.

Katarina opened her mouth but then covered it, lest she protest that she wasn't fat and give herself away.

"Very well. See to it, I will leave my daughter's health in your capable hands, if you need any help, please don't hesitate. The meal program you came up with has done wonders for me, perhaps it might help Katarina as well," the demon mother spoke.

"It would be my pleasure and privilege," the demon maid responded.

"Now..."

The tone of the conversation changed, all of a sudden. It was as if the good cheer and, for lack of a better term, amicable air vanished in an instant. Katarina had heard her mother described as a terrifying lady more than once. A woman who could move through court like a graceful and elegant swan, yet strike with the venomous fangs of a viper unexpectedly and suddenly.

Katarina resisted the urge to gulp at the sudden heavy atmosphere.

"Regarding the other matter... we've found them," Duchess Claes, for at this moment she was not Katarina's demon disciplinarian mother, but instead, one of the most fearsome ladies in the Sorcier Kingdom, spoke plainly and without ado.

Katarina frowned. Who? Was Tanya looking for someone?

"Before we continue... I really must ask, what youre relationship with these people was. It's not every day the Duchy of Claes moves its resources to locate criminals. I've trusted you this far, but if you are not willing to trust me, then..."

"No, not at all," Tanya responded. "It is not a matter of distrust, rather, I wished not to tarnish my own image by association. You see... those people are my mother and father."

"Oh..." Duchess Claes seemed to stop for a moment. "You seem to have much to speak about. Do so, I will listen."

And so Tanya spoke. And she wove the tale of her life, before she had joined the Claes household...

Katarina could only listen up to a certain point, running away when she could not bear the weight of her demon maid's story.

It was strange, wasn't it?

How a single story can make someone change their perceptions so quickly and completely.

Tanya finished brushing her hair, and Katarina looked down at her lap, even as her uniformed maid fluffed the pillows up for her, just the way she liked them. Yeah... just the way she liked them fluffed up. Katarina looked around her room. Everything was... everything was exactly how she wanted it to be. Clean, spotless even, orderly, but definitely lived in.

She reflected now, on how she always had stationery ready to write when she wished to send a letter. How her inkwell was always full. How she always had new and well cut pens... how it seemed like even when she forgot to mark them, her books always were bookmarked exactly where she stopped reading.

"All done," her maid said. "Good night, my lady," Tanya said, standing up, bowing to Katarina, stuffing the brush in her apron.

Tanya's hand was about to move away, but Katarina moved, for once, faster than her, catching it.

"Tanya," Katarina said, looking down at her lap.

"Is something bothering you, my lady?" the maid asked, her even, almost monotonic delivery that was usually a point of contention, a reminder that this woman was an obstacle, and yet...

And yet now that she understood it, now that she had a reason for it, now that Tanya was no longer just the demonic maid, but-

"I'm sorry," Katarina said, simply. "I- I'm sorry, I was- I was peeping in on your conversation with mother," she said.

"Ah."

Ah. Yes...

"I see..." Tanya responded.

Katarina used all of her strength to pull the maid down. She wanted, no, needed a hug. Despite being so close in age as to be indistinguishable, Tanya had been put through so much stuff... having to look after her own parents...

All that time Katarina had thought she was having it the worst, that the ice eyed demon was trying to make her suffer under her mother's orders... and all along, all she'd been trying to do was to simply look after her, to prevent her from suffering like her parents had made her suffer..! She even took on the brunt of her mother's scrutiny so that Katarina could have what little freedom she had, kept intact!

Katarina's cries and tears came easily, she was an emotional girl by nature, and she held nothing back, holding onto her maid with a strong grip, unable to speak due to her own sorrow, but still wishing to convey what support she could.

After all... even if Katarina felt smothered and constricted by her strict mother, it was certainly far better than being sold for food, or made to beg on the streets, or made to pickpocket... And who knows what other horrible things Tanya had been made to do, that Katarina couldn't stomach hearing about when she ran away... To be used so horribly by one's own parents! This was even worse than what she would have done to Keith without her memories!

And Tanya had endured it without a complaint, or even bringing it up unless prodded! Maybe her maid really was a demon, but that was only because she had been raised in hell!

Even then, Tanya seemed to be trying to soothe her. And Katarina thought her an enemy! How cruel she had been! She had to fix this!

Each of the members of the Inner Council were talking about how they could make it up to her, but for the time being, the mustachio'd head of the council banged an imaginary gavel on an imaginary desk, and demanded that what little they could do, they would do!

And so Katarina clamped down on her maid, and prevented her from leaving her room that night, forcing the servant who usually slept in her quarters to spend the night on the fluffy and comfy bed that she had prepared.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Katarina, a different set of thoughts were going through Tanya's head.

As for herself, Tanya thought that her mistress was feeling worried that Tanya was going to leave forever, just because she would be taking a week off to go visit her parents.

And so, Tanya awkwardly patted her mistress head and back, unable to leave her surprisingly strong grip, and even when the mistress happened by, Tanya's silent plea for assistance was ignored.

With an impish smile, the duchess closed the door to Katarina's room, and set about heading towards the master bedroom.

As Tanya settled, she realized that her lady was still, ultimately, a child, no matter how much of an angel she could be. It wasn't so bad. At least if she was getting possessive over her due to something this silly, it would mean she'd want to keep Tanya in her employ for longer, right?

Still... her grip was quite impressive, and Tanya wasn't sure if she'd even have a hand come morning...

Chapter Text

The Claes manor was not a bad place to spend an afternoon at... even for those of the Royal Family, it was definitely no less comfortable or beautiful than the Royal Villas and Estates.

And for the third prince, Geordo Stuart, the Claes Manor was far and away beyond anything that the Royal Family could offer. Yes, it was true that the Royal Family had access to the greatest of tea leaves, the most expensive and delectable of treats, the greatest ingredients, the most advanced facilities, the most well trained staff members... yes, all in all, the Royal Family had the best of the best, among the best. The top of the top.

But the tea may as well be grass boiled in water, the treats tasteless and hard bread and the staff incompetent baboons, and he'd still have a better time at the Claes Manor, simply because he could spend said time with the only woman who had given him that strangely... happy feeling.

Though he might have had it all, the only thing he really wanted was to spend time with his beloved fiancée.

That said, he could do without a certain... jealous interloper. He could hardly blame Keith for being visibly and obviously in love with his step sister. Katarina was beautiful, kind and talented, she had a way with words, but a level of sincerity and natural charm that no other lady could even hope to approach. For a boy who had been raised from a terrible fate to the lap of luxury and more importantly, shown such kindness? Yeah, Geordo would be surprised if Keith didn't fall for her. Insulted, even!

But those sibligns, huh... Katarina could be much like his own older brother, doting and kind and ever so interested in all of her younger sibling's affairs.

Still, he could hardly deny himself a chance to show off, and when Keith claimed that he'd not be able to defend Katarina should the need to do so arise, he jumped at the chance to show off for his fiancée, putting his skills with a sword on display. He even thought of how gentle of a soul Katarina was, and made sure to show off by defeating Keith without hurting him at all. Twice, in fact!

On some level, he respected Keith's determination to protect Katarina, of course, he had the same drive within him, but still... That boy should understand by now that you cannot defend anyone when you're dead.

"This is my victory," Geordo had said, simply and clearly, sticking the practice wooden sword on the loop hanging from his belt, and turning to the gazebo that Katarina had been observing from. Keith, angry and humiliated, made his way out of the scene. Undoubtedly, this little scene of his was all an act, pretending to be upset so that Katarina may go comfort him later. But of course, Geordo was wise to such antics and had made certain to capture Katarina's attention. "I dedicate my victory to you, my fiancée," he said, bowing to his lady, and taking her hand in his, kneeling so that he may kiss it, a gesture not of deference, but of his devotion.

"But I told you guys... I really don't need either of you to protect me," she said, scratching her cheek. "Besides, I'm getting self defense training too."

Geordo blinked. Her hand was on his.. Katarina was a hard worker, in a lot of ways, and her usage of farm tools and gardening implements showed on her hands. The contrast with the soft, unsullied hands of nobility was one of her many charming points, after all! "Truly?" he asked.

Well, it's not like being ladylike was what attracted him to her.

"Yes?" she asked.

"If I may, your highness Geordo, the lady has been taking self defense classes on my suggetion."

Ah. The everpresent feature beside Katarina. Geordo had mixed feelings about her. In many ways, he was grateful for her existence. After all, Katarina had a way to attract danger to herself, and kept putting herself at risk of disaster at every turn. The amount of times he'd seen the maid catch Katarina as she fell off a tree, tripped, almost hit herself with a hoe or shovel, or any other number of things, well, he couldn't keep count of it at all, and it was only growing. But on the other hand, she was always present, and severely decreased the privacy he had with his fiancée, making it so he could never make the moves he wished to make, to make Katarina aware of his affections.

"I understand," Geordo said with a smile. "If you wished for instructors in the arts of combat, perhaps I may suggest you join me?" Geordo asked. "I could teach you everything I know, and-"

"Ah, no no," Katarina said, "I could never make you waste your time teaching me," she said. "I'm a real novice, and I don't think I have any talent for it," she said. "I'm really no good for it! I'm already wasting a ton of Tanya's time."

Tanya, the maid, hummed. "Milady, by definition, it is my job, so it is not a waste of my time at all," she said.

"I guess?" Katarina said with a giggle. "That makes a lot of sense actually!"

Geordo felt his smile strain a little. Really now... Once more the maid stood between him and private time with his fiancée... perhaps he could even make a point here, however? After all, he wasn't one to brag, most of the time anyway, but he was pretty handy with a sword, and who would have more patience or understanding than someone who loved Katarina as deeply as he did?

Yes, he would definitely need to insist. This pair was a bit too attached, and he was feeling scandalized to even consider it, but there was a certain level of truth in the feeling that he'd never have as close a relationship with Katarina as her maid did. There was just too perfect a combination there, they walked step in step with each other. Katarina was always, permanently, aware of her maid's location and even emotional state. More than once she'd begged off with the excuse that her maid'd be upset if she missed classes or stayed out too long, and Katarina was always relying on her maid without even a hint of a thought that she might not deliver. That trust, that unshakable belief...

Geordo wanted it for himself. Geordo wanted to be the one that Katarina trusted completely and absolutely. That was why he couldn't give up here, not now.

"Really it wouldn't be a waste at all!" Geordo insisted. "As your fiancé, it's only right that I take an interest in your safety, is it not?" he asked, a bit more insistently than before.

"Does your highness believe that my abilities are insufficient?" Tanya asked.

There, an opening! Surely, the maid would concede, and if she did, then Katarina would listen as well. "Truth be told, I could not make a judgment," Geordo explained, "as I've not seen your abilities on display. Would you spar with me?" he asked.

The maid courtseyed. "I could never bring myself to lay harm to milady's fiancé, much less a member of the royal family of this country," she said, affecting a strangely demure tone. She was more asking permission, checking to make sure there'd be no repercussions for herself or her master.

"If such were the laws of the land, then my trainers could not touch me during training, and I would see no progress," Geordo explained. "Please, do not hold yourself back on such accounts. This is training," he insisted.

"Understood," Tanya said. "Milady," she bowed to Katarina, then walked off of the gazebo, to the same rectangle of grass that Geordo had kicked Keith around in just a few moments before.

Before he could follow, Geordo's wrist was grabbed by his fiancée... perhaps she was about to beg for him to treat her maid kindly? Naturally, he would! She was important to Katarina! He was just making a point. Nothing to do with him being jealous of their relationship at all and wanting to muscle in on it, not at all, honest.

"You- you don't have to do this, okay? I won't tell anybody, Tanya won't either, just- we can all pretend this never happened alright?" she said, seriously. Her eyes focused on him. She was almost begging him to back down with that gaze.

"It'll be fine," Geordo insisted, smiling.

She sighed, and let him go. "I hope you brought a change of clothes..." she muttered.

Whatever could she mean? He always did when he came to the Claes Household. Nine times out of ten he'd wind up with mud all over his clothes because Katarina wanted to show him her latest work. "Of course," he replied, before stepping to the other end of the grassy rectangle, removing his wooden training sword from the loop.

The maid put her hands in front of her apron and bowed. Would she fight unarmed?

"Milady, would you do us the honor of calling for the start?" the maid asked.

"I guess... okay. You guys ready?" Katarina asked, looking first at Geordo, which made him smirk, and then her maid. "Get set... BEGIN!"

Geordo's grip tightened, and his eyes focused. He entered battle mode. He knew he could not underestimate his opponent, no matter how strong or weak, that overconfidence was the most stealthy and insidious of killers. Her hands moved, and she pulled what appeared to be a knife, sheathed, from her apron pocket. He prepared to defend, raising his sword, but then she moved.

Everything froze, and the world changed... the ground came up to him suddenly and with a staggering blow, he was out like a light...

...

Katarina watched her fiancé fall to the ground, wincing. Geordo hadn't been able to do more than take a step forward and ready his sword.

At least somebody would understand just how terrifying her maid was!

As the third prince came to, his eyes were wide open as he stared at Tanya.

Finally! Finally someone would understand her when she spoke of the Demon that lurked underneath that fair skin and those ice cold eyes!

"That was incredible. Please, teach me how to move like that!"

What!?

Chapter Text

There were about a million different things that Katarina would rather be doing, as opposed to sitting in a dark and dank room. Among them was some good old farming, hoeing dirt under the shining and blazing rays of the sun, getting her vitamins and exercise in a way that didn't make her want to cease existing rapidly.

Sighing, Katarina continued to dig with her spoon at the wall. For some reason, they kept replacing the person who brought her meals, which meant she could never have a proper conversation.

"After all, it's rude to not know anything about the person you're talking to, right?" she explained, poking the wall a little. "Besides, you've all got such interesting stories to tell, oh, by the way, did Mister Karl talk to his mother?"

Her watcher, an one eyed woman with a scarred face and a heavy cloak that covered most of her body, sighed. "Yes. Yes he did. And that's why we're cycling people here now."

"Well, that's good at least," Katarina replied, simply going back to poking at the wall. "Why are you guys keeping me here anyway?"

"DId- did no one actually tell you?" the woman asked.

"Well, Mister Sandieu was about to tell me but then he was cycled out and you came here," Katarina pointed out.

"Useless, everyone is useless," the woman complained. "Right. The royal family ruffled quite a few feathers when Prince Geordo insisted on the engagement," the woman explained. "We're not here to hurt you at all, we have nothing against you, but your family has made quite a few enemies, little girl."

Katarina hummed. She couldn't imagine that a ducal family would manage to hold onto their power without making at least a handful of enemies, and she knew that being Prince Geordo's fiancée came with a lot of problems on its own. So she didn't doubt it. "Oh ok. But what about you?"

"What about me?" the woman replied in turn. "We're mercenaries, we do what we're told, when we're told to do it," she said. "Nothing personal, kid," she said, waving her hand, "Just business."

"Oh, okay," Katarina spoke. "Just- what are you guys going to do when my family comes to get me?"

"What makes you think they will?" the woman asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Not to brag, but we planned this perfectly. You gave us an opening, but everything else... we made sure there were no traces."

Katarina hummed. "Yeah, well, you guys didn't cover your tracks anywhere near as well as I usually do when I'm trying to flee from Tanya, and so far, I've never managed to remain hidden for long," she explained. "You really should return me before something bad happens to us all."

"Don't you mean something bad happening to us?" the woman asked with a chuckle.

"No. No I don't," Katarina said, looking at the mostly destroyed spoon in her hands.

She felt it into her very bones. And right then, at that moment, she could only imagine that her demon of a maid must've been thinking... yeah, she was definitely thinking about how much of an idiot-

- I am!!

Again! I took my eyes off of milady for just one moment, just to give a report, and she gets kidnapped right from my protection!

"There is no time for self recrimination or pitying," I spoke, trying to project confidence I wasn't feeling.

"But- but, Miss Tanya, you entrusted the lady to my care... and I couldn't so much as prevent a handful of thugs from taking her!" the maid spoke.

Anne Sherry was probably the only member of the staff I trusted with Katarina's care. She was about as attentive to the young miss as I was, and definitely the only one who had a better grasp of her emotional state and character than I did. Of all the staff, she was the only one who could predict her sometimes wild choices.

Undoubtedly, one of the most valuable employees in the household, purely for her ability to prevent me from dying from overwork just trying to keep up with Katarina. Also the emotional support that the young miss needed, but someone like me couldn't provide, owing to the myriad psychological complexes I was afflicted with.

I found myself cursing my twisted personality many a time, but luckily, in this world, one need not be an island.

"I will track them," I said, placing a hand on the maid's arm. She bore old injuries, scars from a fire, but more importantly, she bore new wounds. Scratches and a sprained ankle, but it was enough to send the Claes household into an uproar. Someone had infiltrated their lands, attacked one of their maids, and made off with the heiress.

But now... now was when I could offer a different kind of service. Present myself as having a different kind of value. In some ways, this was actually a chance to provide the Claes family with an even greater reason to keep myself in their employ.

"I'll take care of this," I said, nodding. I would leave the young maid in the Claes household's infirmary. The staff room was no place for the sick or injured after all. My steps almost echoed through the empty halls, and I finally reached the room I was looking for... Duke Claes was already moving, already approaching the Palace for their aid and response.

However, here at their home, the Lady Claes held the fort instead. And so I entered her study, met with a woman who could be as harsh and cold as ice, yet right now was almost incandescent with anger, almost glowing behind her desk in the dimly lit study. Letters and papers littered her desk. "This is my fault. Save your platitudes, Tanya- they waited until you were reporting to me, I created this opening."

"I will not deny that. There are methods that can be used to prevent this weakness from affecting us again," I explained, knowing that I would only offend her with any other response. "Ma'am- allow me to inquire-"

Milidiana Claes pulled one of her drawers open, and pulled a box from it, laying it on top of the table, a simple wooden box at that. She flicked her wrist, and the magic holding it closed broke, the box opening.

"This is-" my eyes opened wide as I lay eyes on the object within.

"Exactly as you requested. It took many attempts, but we've succesfully recreated the tool you've asked for," she explained. "I was going to give it to you as a birthday present," she chuckled bitterly. "Will this serve?"

In the box, on a fancy looking cushion, was a rather simplistic but familiar looking weapon. A combat knife. Not the kind of knives that the people of this world used, but rather, the kind I was familiar with. The standard issue combat knife I was used to, guard and all, exactly as I'd drawn on the blueprint document I'd made. I'd planned to take it to a blacksmith, but...

"This will serve," I said, grabbing at the knife. "Then..." I closed my eyes. "Please, give the command."

"Tanya Degurechaff, please, find and rescue my daughter. We will take care of the clean up and the legalities. Use any and all methods within your reach..."

I nodded. "It shall be done. Please excuse me," I said, bowing as I'd been instructed, and quickly leaving the room.

When I got to the staff room, it didn't take me long to take off my maid outfit. The dress was designed for practicality, to put it on quickly and take it off quickly as well - part of me wondered if it was meant to be taken off quickly so the master of the house could take liberties - and that meant I could change into a more appropriate set of fatigues quickly.

Admittedly, I could not get a proper set of combat fatigues, but I'd managed to get something close enough, resistant and tough clothes that gave me good range of motion.

With the knife fastened to my belt, I set off. They had covered their tracks well, not left much to follow the kidnappers by...

But luckily, there were quite a few tracks of Katarina. From the scent of the strong perfume she used to hide her body odor from working hard all day in her fields, to the traces of dirt and mud that was all over her at all times.

Tracking Katarina to where they had taken her would take a couple hours, but soon, I found the tracks of a carriage, and I followed it to a cottage in the outskirts of the city.

They had put hands on my mistress. They had risked her life, but more important of all, they had risked her mind getting jumbled. If they were rough with her, if they were to bump her head even a little too harshly...

The people who surrounded the Demon Maid of the Claes Household could almost feel the aura of bloodlust.

A group of guards had amassed, following the maid as she tracked the young lady.

Each and every one of them could feel the incredible pressure as she closed in on the kidnappers.

"If they so much as touched a single hair on my lady's head..." she muttered.

The soldiers shivered.

The younger two princes of the Stuart family, Alan and Geordo, had insisted on coming along to the rescue of Katarina. Geordo had insisted that it was his duty as her fiancé and Alan had insisted it was his duty as a man. The reason why they had both been coming to the Claes Household when things happened...

Well, it was best not to think about it too much, lest rumors begin to spread.

Still..

"Ugh... how are you putting up with it? It feels like she might stab me at any time..!" Alan muttered, shivering as Death Itself marched steadily towards the stronghold of the enemy, where the future princess was kidnapped.

Geordo's smile was blank, there was nothing there.

"W-Wha... he's- he's passed out?!" Alan said, shivering. "For some reason, I almost feel sorry for the people who kidnapped Katarina..." he said.

They were going to be coming up to the house soon. They'd have to do this properly... Alan looked at the maid. She was in command of the whole operation, and the one soldier who had tried to assert his leadership as a Captain was quickly brought down to size.

Alan didn't have much in the way of interaction with the maid, but he understood now why Geordo said that Alan himself would never be the number one opponent when it came to the race for Katarina's heart... not with the bond that would turn someone as harmless as a maid into such a force of death and destruction..!

The less said about the path of violence she carved through the operation, the better. Both the princes wished they hadn't witnessed it.

It seemed like she'd deliberately allowed Alan and Geordo to greet Katarina first, to catch her in sequential hugs. As much as it pained Alan, he left her and Geordo alone, chasing after the maid. Short as the operation had been... it was brutal.

The maid was in a separate room from her mistress, arms crossed, standing over a woman, on her knees. She was well muscled and scarred, no doubt a mercenary of some repute, to have survived that many wounds.

To be able to withstand the pressure that Alan was feeling, even as he observed from the doorway into the room.

Tanya took in a deep breath. "My mistress would be upset," she said. "So you will keep this quiet," she added. "Your life as you knew it is over. Your associates' lives are over. Everything you knew, everything you loved, everything you care about - all of it is over," she explained. "You've got a family... parents? A husband? Brother. Little brother?" she spoke, clearly gauging reactions, "little brothers, plural. Your accent gives out your place of birth, you're trying to cover it but you're certainly from Sorcier," she explained. "Not too far from the capital either."

Alan was amazed. She was able to get that much just from gauging the reactions to each word?! He was aware of the concept of cold reading, but this was... way beyond what he imagined could be done, and she made it look so easy too!

The woman growled. "Stay away from my family-"

"We'll find them. What happens to them..." she said, "that's on you. Either we make them disappear into the countryside, set them up as servants in a noble family's household, or, ah, have them follow the same fate that's about to be fall you... will depend on how willing you are to turn on your employer."

The woman grit her teeth.

"You've made a terrible mistake," Tanya said, raising her slightly bloodstained knife. "And this is the one chance you've got at fixing it."

"F-Fine. I'll talk," the woman said. "Just stay the fuck away from my family!"

"We'll make sure everybody else stays the fuck away from your family, per your own words," Tanya said. "Especially your former employer. Now speak."

What came next was the condemnation of a noble family, and Alan would serve as a witness... but he would never speak a word. Nobody would know about the tragedy that was about to befall an upstart count and his family. Alan could never tell anyone, not even his older brothers, about the truth.

Only he, the demon maid, and the Duke and Duchess Claes, would know what had truly happened that day.

And Alan knew, whenever he saw that maid. That was what it meant to be loyal. That was what it meant to care about Katarina. Because he had thought that protecting her would just mean raising a sword arm in her defense, but this... this was what it truly meant to protect someone.

Not to take an attack for her, but to eliminate the source of the danger from the root.

Perhaps he, too, could learn from the maid, as his brother did.

Chapter Text

Maria could count on one hand the amount of times she thought herself blessed, since arriving at the most prestigious of schools. Truly, she had endured treatment that would send most people running... but truth be told, she would put up with each and every one of those experiences, a hundred times over, if only because she knew that at the end of the dark tunnel, she would be greeted by the radiant smile of the love of her life.

She had even had her passion for baking reignited, and found herself working day and night not just to create, but also to improve, her cookies and other sweet treats.

All so she could see that beautiful smile on Katarina's face. The woman who had pulled her out of the dark abyss of loneliness, who had entered Maria's life and illuminated it far more brightly than any light magic could ever hope to match.

Maria sighed, not out of despondency or sorrow, but satisfaction instead, as she thought that the batter she was currently whisking would soon become an all new confection, one that would soon pass those delicious, tastefully painted lips. Maria could scarcely keep her mind away from going in that direction, not anymore at any rate. She'd had a long delayed awakening, but the lady Hunt had made absolutely sure that Maria would not be caught by the shackles of propriety.

After all, if a noble lady, the fiancée of one of the Princes of the very Kingdom they lived in, could be extraordinarily and openly obvious about her intense love for a fellow woman, what worry would Maria have about it?

Especially because she was no longer alone. The maid that accompanied Katarina everywhere was with her in the kitchen. Ostensibly, she was present to ensure that Maria's standards of hygiene and ingredient choices were up to par for the Lady's palate.

In reality, the maid Tanya was present because she was one of Maria's... conspirators, so to speak.

"Still, Miss Tanya - it's like a dream come true to have your assistance for this project," Maria spoke, as she put the bowl with the batter down, and instead, took out the molds for the cookies.

For her part, Tanya finished her own end of things, using a rolling pin to stretch out the dough that would become the base of another kind of cookie. The maid insisted that her culinary abilities were hardly on par with the rest of Tanya's attendants, but when it came to following a recipe, she could do it with incredible precision. Maria was an exacting baker, and the ability to follow a recipe to the exact letter was an appreciated one in this profession.

Tanya set about bringing out the cutters, eyeing one. "Do not think of it, Miss Campbell," the maid spoke, bowing slightly. "My lady has a great appreciation for you, and your confections," she spoke. "As long as you continue to stand by her side and support her, emotionally or otherwise, you will continue to have my own support and assistance," she spoke.

Maria understood completely.

The others just plain did not comprehend her thought process. Mary, Sophia, Geordo, Alan, Keith and Nicol, none of them really understood the maid.

But Maria did. Maria saw in her something of a kindred spirit. It was hard to explain, but it was a feeling that Maria got that was similar to her sixth sense for dark magic. Though the Maid lacked a capacity for magic in the first place, if Maria had to guess, it felt like they shared an elemental ability at a very fundamental level.

Maria had to guess that if the Maid had magic, she, too, would be an user of Light. Her affinity for it might be even greater than Maria's own. Standing beside her felt like she was standing directly before an Apostle of the gods themselves.

That was why Maria felt at ease around her. Maybe Katarina could feel it as well, and that was why they were sometimes inseparable, it would make sense, Katarina could see the good in people that even Maria couldn't, she had a deeper sense for people.

"Thank you very much, I shall!" Maria said, giving the maid a large smile and raising a fist, clenching it. "You're learning at a very quick pace as well, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought you had prior experience!"

"I'm good with my hands, I suppose, attention to detail can be rewarding," Tanya spoke, as she went about cutting the cookies with the cutters that they had prepared.

A revolutionary idea, molded cutters that would always result in the same shapes. Beforehand, Maria was making the shapes by hand with the dough, resulting in uneven shapes, but with this, their job was made much easier. With the majority of the work done, the sheets were put in the oven, and as soon as that was done, they set about tidying up. Soon enough, the kitchen was spotless once more, and the cookies were in their baskets.

They were finished.

The blonde got everything together and prepared to leave. "Are you certain you don't wish to come with us? I'm sure Katarina would be quite happy if you joined us," Maria said, looking at her fellow blonde with a questioning glance.

"I would get in your way," Tanya said, curtseying slightly. "The purpose of this is for you and my lady to deepen your bond. I would be a superfluous detail."

"Still, I'm surprised you would support me like this," Maria said, finally allowing her concerns to come to the forefront. Sometimes it did feel like everything was too good to be true. "Would your masters at the Claes household not get angry that you are... well, supporting my bid for Katarina's heart?"

"I've spoken at length with the lady Claes," Tanya spoke. "Worry not. The house has given its full support."

"I'm very shocked," Maria said, "but my mother taught me that you should not look into a gifted horse's mouth lest it bite," she spoke. "I've heard one of my neighbors lost his nose that way."

Tanya smiled, a bit morbidly. "Wise words," she spoke. "Please do submit a report, I would like to know how my mistress enjoys these sweets that I've helped with."

"Of course, of course - I'm sure she'll love them. Baking is half artistry, half science!" Maria said, a bright smile on her face. "I can feel the weight of your love for Katarina in this basket,," Maria said, lifting the basket that contained the cookies Tanya had made. "And it is quite heavy!"

Tanya looked a bit uncomfortable, but thanked her nonetheless, and allowed the girl to depart. She would meet up with Katarina and they would have a picnic.

As Maria left, Tanya remained behind...

And within her mind...

I've done all I can on my end. Protecting my mistress from her infinite charisma is a full time job. I am quite glad that I've insisted on keeping the assistant maids. Anne has become an indispensable tool in my arsenal. The young maid covers many of the weaknesses that plague me, and her insight into Katarina has become even sharper with time.

My lady is... unfortunately, there is no better way to put it. My lady is a heartbreaker. Already, a gaggle of men and women trail after her, like puppies in love.

The young commoner that I had just helped was one such lost lamb. When I had tried to explain the lady's charms to her mother, I had initially intended to buy her just a little more freedom, so that she may continue to cultivate her agreeable personality instead of returning to being the little devil she had been, but with each passing day, I become more aware that I've grossly underestimated her.

Perhaps all this time, she has been a social genius. Maybe I was her very first victim, wrapped around her fingers since that bump that had changed so much.

Whatever the case was, in order to protect my future, in order to protect this peaceful, happy life, I cannot afford to allow any situation arise that would threaten my lady's idyllic life.

Yes...

I wonder how my lady is doing, now that I've set her up for success?

As for said lady... well...

Katarina was in the process of stepping on Mary's toes. Not figuratively, but literally.

Mary winced, pulling back a little.

"Oh, oh no, I'm so sorry," Katarina said. "I wasn't-"

"No, no, it was my bad, I was a step too late," Mary replied. Despite the pain, she never removed her hands from Katarina's body. She had been given this one, special chance! She wasn't about to waste it.

Mary wasn't dumb.

Not by a long shot. She knew that Katarina was popular, not just among the boys... she knew that she was competing against Sophia and Maria as well. If anything, she was the sort of person who would run every single advantage she could. Stack the deck and cheat as much as you can, otherwise, you're not really trying to win!

That was why she had approached Katarina's maid. The demon kept each and every one of Katarina's suitors on a tight leash around her. Even her actual fiancé. Admittedly, Geordo, Alan, Keith and Nicol had kinda sorta brought the bruises upon themselves, but Mary was not so foolish as to incur the maid's wrath.

She wasn't quite sure why the boys had somehow assumed that beating the maid in a fight was a requirement to date Katarina, but she was glad that idea had somehow got into their heads. "Are you ready to keep going?" she asked with a smile.

She had limited time! She needed to keep pressing her body to Katarina's, to keep making her aware of her feminity! Katarina's blushes, her embarrasment, her involuntary reactions - each and every one of those, Mary had learned to read.

Reading Katarina was difficult at the best of times, with how spontaneous and unpredictable she could be, but at least, Mary could tell she was getting flustered. "R-Right!" Katarina said. "I'll get it right thist- this time!"

Mary smiled brightly, trying to pretend she wasn't the cat who got the canary right then and there. Her hand trailed a little lower than before. Closer to Katarina's butt, caressing her thigh a little. Their fingers entwined, and they once more began to dance to the music.

Soon, Maria would arrive, to take Katarina from her. Soon after that, when their own little date was done, Sophia would arrive, with a set of new books to share with Katarina.

At the end of the day, all four of the girls would spend the night together, having a sleepover in Katarina's room.

Mary didn't need to be a genius to realize what it was that the maid was doing.

Carefully managing their time together. Ensuring that Katarina got to spend time with each of them, in turn.

And most important of all, reminding each and every one of them that Katarina was not theirs exclusively, reminding them that the best way to make Katarina happy was to get along.

What a scary maid, setting up concubines for her master.

Still, Mary could not help but be thankful to her as well, even as her time with Katarina was strictly managed.

Indeed... Mary had already resigned herself that the closest she could ever get to having Katarina for herself was by collaborating with Alan.

What difference did it make, then?

Well, Katarina would surely be happier, with more people to love.

And didn't that make it all better? Looking into Katarina's face as Maria entered the Claes' ballroom, how it lit up, especially when the baskets of sweets were brought up, it made it all so much... easier.

Mary resolved then and there that she would see this plan of the maid's through to its end. She would support it with all her heart.

And when her eyes locked with Maria, the two of them nodded at each other. Passing the torch.

Neither of them realized that the object of their love had no clue just what was going on around her, but at the end of the day, she was so happy that nobody really cared.

Chapter Text

There are lines that should not be crossed, this much I know. There are things that I am simply not in a position to do. Actions I must not take. Decisions I must not make. Choices I must not accept.

My training has been long and thorough. I've been with the Claes household for years now. I was taken in as a young child, for a multitude of reasons. For starters, the Claes Household was quite willing to accept change and modernize where needed, and even though they were not on the cutting edge of all the newest customs and practices, they were smart enough to pick and choose the ones that meshed well with their lifestyle. Among them was the recent trend of noble houses hiring a personal handmaid or a butler for their heir. A young person is chosen, frequently a child of the same age as the heir in question, to engender a strong bond.

The most important part of the relationship between a servant and their master was, of course, that bond of trust. Matters of skill could more than be made up for by training, after all, loyalty was invaluable.

In all of those years, never have I ever been so brazen and so bold as to even lie down on my mistress' bed when there is no one to see me. And yet here I am. Dressed in my bedclothes. Not in the staff's living quarters, but instead, right here, in this fluffy heaven of a bed that is my mistress' preferred sleeping spot. And to make matters worse, my mistress, my lady, is right here beside me. Even with my eyes closed, everything I'm feeling right now confirms it for me. The soft feel of her hair, the small, desceptive frame of her body, an image of frailty and grace that was as far from reality as a giant was from a dwarf.

I could feel them now. The muscles I had built, painstakingly, upon my mistress' body. Each and every one of them, pressed against my body through the thin, sheer fabric of her nightgown. The image of a lady, dainty as a butterfly, yet the power of a lioness, tightly corded and strong muscles. Whether it be for plowing fields, climbing trees or holding weights, my mistress' strength was more than evident. And now, it was even more undeniable, for her strong arms wrapped around me, and pressed me hard against her. She wasn't one to be particular or fussy when it came to sleeping with stuffed animals, I'd heard among servants that such people can be a terror if they think even the slightest thing is off with their bed partners, but it seemed like she was nevertheless quite clingy.

She squeezed me a little, and my breath was forced out of me in an almost embarrassing gasp. There was no leaving. As much as I hate to admit it, my lady is physically stronger than I am. Without magic to enhance my physical strength, I possess little more than an average girl's strength, whereas my mistress has strength comparable with an adult man's already. I am terrified of the day she learns how to use her magic properly... as of now, she is already making terrifying use of her ability to disrupt footing with it, and I find myself being forced to improve myself just to keep up with her own growth.

My lady... my lady is a special one.

She had myriad flaws, but an infinite well of charisma and charm that far outweighed such flaws. She is almost my opposite. Talented, kind and relatively simple, she was a straightforward, uncomplicated person. Compared to me, a person of a million and one complexes, she is... she is so very different. So very... Katarina.

I hated myself for finding comfort in her strength and power.

Katarina shifted in her sleep. My lady's face rested against my chest, and my hands grasped her shoulders. It was early, still... I couldn't, wouldn't, break my cute mistress from such blessed sleep. For many reasons, really. For one, it was not yet time for her to wake up. For another, waking her up early was a good way to put her in an absolutely atrocious mood, that would continue through the entirety of the day. Which would be bad, not because she'd be angry and annoying, but because she'd be tired and frustrated and unable to concentrate.

Never try to teach math to someone who is lacking in sleep, and has no talent for it. It doesn't go well.

But the most important reason of them all was... I was feeling pretty comfy, and I couldn't quite manage to remain awake. My eyelids felt heavy, my eyes were tired, and little by little, my conscious thought faded, and I let the embrace of sleep take me...

Meanwhile...

"I'm so happy I went with my instinct and picked up that child when I did," the Duchess Claes stated.

"Seeing you smile like that, I fall in love with you all over again," the Duke responded.

The Lord and Lady of the house were a couple many were envious of. Luigi Claes was a well known and influential nobleman, and Milidiana Claes was a famous lady in the court, with the backing not just of her husband's house of Claes, but also her father's family, the duchy of Ades. They wielded great power. Enough so that when the Prince had, in a random and nearly uncharacteristic fit, declared that he and the daughter of Claes would be wed, the Royal Family was elated at their sheer luck.

And yet, it was not in displays of their power, of their riches and of their influence, that they found the most joy. No, what they found the most joy in, of all the things in the world, was in patiently watching the growth of their family.

"That girl can seem so hopeless sometimes," Milidiana spoke, "but..."

"But," Luigi continued, "that maid was correct, her genius lies not in easily discernible logic... she may never be an academic genius, but she certainly is a geniius when it comes to matters of the heart," Luigi said.

"I..." Milidiana sighed. "I didn't want to believe it, I guess... but if it hadn't been for her, if I hadn't listened to her... If it hadn't been for Katarina, even to this day I would live in a miserable delusion, I'd still be cold towards you," she said.

Her husband took her by the arms, turning her to face him. "My love," he said, "I am quite happy that you did. I am quite happy that you listened then, and that you listened to your instincts before."

Milidiana turned her face aside. "Even though it was a purely selfish impulse?" she asked. "I just..."

"You think I'd ever be upset that you saw an opportunity to be kind and took it?" Luigi asked.

"A starving child came up to me and begged me for a job. She was just so... desperate. She pleaded so strongly. She just... she just held so much promise," the woman stated. "I thought that perhaps- no, I admit, a part of me was selfish, a part of me was thinking purely of the future of our daughter," she said. "Even back then, I thought that perhaps... perhaps if we showed Katarina what it meant to be truly deprived, she'd learn how blessed she was."

"I see," Luigi muttered. "To think, our little girl would become such a kind sweetheart," he gushed. "For whatever reason this happened," he said, "it's a matter of history that she has changed."

Milidiana nodded. "As much as it pains me to admit, she is graceful in her own way. Though she may never maneuver the intrigue of court, she has her own ways with people," Milidiana spoke. "I thought- I thought she was hopeless, but maybe it was me projecting my own flaws unto her," she spoke, closing her eyes.

Luigi kissed her lips. "She is much like you," he said, "that kindness within you, that inabiltiy to accept yourself for who you truly are. Ahh, you make me fall in love again and again... My love, I can't stand it, my passion swells..!"

Milidiana giggled. "We've yet got time," she said, "before we are expected to be seen. Perhaps we may... indulge?"

"Ah, you've read my mind. We shall leave Katarina in the capable hands of her personal handmaid," he said, "they've poured their hearts out for each other, no doubt..."

"Yes, I'm quite happy," Milidiana responded, taking a few steps, and catching her husband's hand. "Come, let us-"

He closed the distance and kissed her again. "Let us come together," he said.

They made their exit, towards their room.

And as they did, within the room...

Katarina was assaulted in her dreams, by a hundred different enemies!

Hordes of troops, each of them looking curiously like copies of Geordo and Keith, wielding a weapon in one hand, and a flag emblazoned with the word "Doom!" in the other, chasing her all over the kingdom. Some of them cast spells at her, some of them slashed at her with swords, some of them struck her with harsh words and a fierce tone, but each and every one of them brought her down.

Her little brother and her fiancée, her greatest enemies, the capture targets that Maria would one day turn into her lovers, and who would punish the villainess Katarina for all of her evil!

But all was not lost! For a ray of shining light, parting the heavens above, came through the clouds of darkness. A single person who would stand with her, hand in hand, running alongside her, dragging her along, helping her dodge each and every attack, every slash of a sword, every spell, every rock, every harsh word, each and every one of the attacks inflicted upon her by the doomflag bearers was deflected, blocked, stopped, countered.

She alone fought all of her opponents, the demonic caricatures of the capture targets that she knew would either slay her or force her into exile.

Like a hero in shining and brilliant armor, wielding a holy sword!

Or rather, more like wielding a holy... mop? And rather than a shining armor, her hero wore a familiar black dress and white apron combination, accented with white lace and ruffles. A maid's outfit, to be certain. One that was a bit of a tighter fit than the norm, at that. Nevertheless, the blonde maid fought off all of Katarina's enemies, and covered her from their attacks, and took her to safety.

Indeed! Was she not deserving of happiness, too? Had she not made enough effort, achieved enough merit, to earn her happy ending!?

Maybe this was how she would achieve it!

The soul that had been reborn into Katarina knew not where the maid had come from, or how she had come to be. Perhaps she was supposed to be Katarina's maid, but had been fired when the temperamental and spoiled brat had thrown a tantrum. Given how heavy handed, strict and harsh the maid could be, Katarina had no doubt become incensed at her and gotten rid of her, leaving herself defenseless and unaided.

Maybe in an alternate world, Katarina had not managed to convince her parents to get rid of the maid, and instead, she was simply too strong for the Prince or Keith to slay her in the bad ending.

The maid who saved her from the flags of doom held her strongly, and Katarina faced the future with her head held high. Especially now that she knew, just where this maid had come from, just what kind of hell the Claes family had spared her from... Katarina could never allow herself to waste all the time and effort that everyone had put into helping her grow. Especially considering just how much she had learned in preparation for her future.

Even if it would be difficult, she promised herself, and she promised Tanya. Katarina opened her eyes, and was greeted by the almost unbelievable sight of that severe and stern face, in a cute and relaxed state. She was even smiling in a slightly goofy way! She promised that she would protect the cuteness of that little smile... even were she to be banished, and face doom, she would always make sure that she would give her maid a reason to smile, even if she never showed it!

"munyaahh, more- moar shocola~!" Tanya mumbled in her sleep.

Katarina's stomach grumbled. She missed chocolate. Her hunger for sweets overtook her conscious brain and she didn't think about it at all.

Tanya's eyes opened. "Ah."

And they were hugging.

Neither would speak much that morning, nor would they speak OF that morning later, but neither would forget it either.

Chapter Text

Nicol Ascart was a man described by some as being devilishly beautiful. He, personally, didn't quite see it that way, whenever he looked in a mirror he just saw himself. Were one to ask him the definition of beauty, he'd probably say "Sophia". Maybe if you could get him drunk, he'd admit that he considered Katarina to be up there as well.

"In some ways, being unapproachably beautiful is a curse in itself," his sister had once said, while regaling him with the tale of a spirited romance between a man of impossible beauty, and a woman of impossible innocence. The fact that his sister was telling him her latest fanfiction involving himself and Katarina flew entirely over his head, of course.

Being a simple man, his pleasures in life were simple as well, and two of them were even closeby, right at that moment. Watching his sister and her first and most precious friend, Katarina Claes, be happy was probably among the greatest things he could possibly think of.

He allowed himself a smile of his own. Had it been witnessed by most girls he'd ever met, he'd have a room of fainted maidens, but as he was observing from afar as the girls talked animatedly about a book, a table with tea and biscuits between them, there was no such disaster. The gazebo they were under was distant enough, thanks to the sheer size of the garden, that no issues arose.

He approached a bit closer, to hear their conversation. The interests of the women he was interested in were very interesting to him, and he resolved to practicing tongue twisters at a later date, banishing the idle thoughts from his mind as he applied all the training in trying to avoid hordes of fangirls for his stealth.

The three women seemed engrossed in the situation, and not paying attention to him at all. From a closer distance, he could now see in detail the perfect technique the maid was displaying as she swiftly refilled the teacups of the girls, while they chatted, and at the same time, replaced the snacks that were disappearing down Katarina's mouth, carefully setting them so that the ones Sophia favored were closer to her side of the table.

Naturally, Katarina religiously avoided taking those.

Such simplistic and clear synchronization, a display of attentiveness, swiftness, logic and kindness, all at once. Katarina truly was an existence worth treasuring...

As he approached, their conversation became clear.

"And that's why it's important that you must learn how to kiss!"

Sophia's ideas were, of course, radical and weird at the oddest of times. Demure, shy and timid... were not words that you could use to describe the almost fae-like girl, as she excitedly waved her hands about. "The first kiss is super important, too! It has to have the right spark, it'll set the mood for the entire relationship going forward!"

"You're right!" Katarina responded. "It's like in The Prince and the Beastess!" she said, "the first kiss scene was so amazing, you really got the sense that they were truly made for each other."

"I know right?" Sophia gushed. "But!" she said, raising a finger, "this isn't a novel, it's real life! We can't have instant amazing talent for kissing like that, you're not gonna make your partner's toes curl unless you know what you're doing!"

"Y-Yeah, that makes sense," Katarina responded. "But- who could we ask for help? Could we ask- no, there's no way I could ask my mother for help with this," she said raising a handkerchief to her face and wiping off a little bit of jam, then biting down on it in frustration, "I can already imagine that disaster!"

"Maybe we could do practice?" Sophia asked.

"Practice?" Katarina responded. "But it's not like we could just grab one of the guys..."

"It's true. And we can't ask Nicol, even if he'd keep quiet..."

There was a moment of silence.

Nicol wondered if he should actually say something then. He was watching from within some bushes, it would look weird if he just randomly jumped out. It'd look like he was spying on them, instead of just randomly stumbling onto the situation.

"Wait, I got it! Tanya, you've got experience with all sorts of things, could you serve as our training partner?" Katarina's eyes glittered. "That way we can learn to kiss like in the novels!"

"Yeah!" Sophia said. "You'll keep the secret, right?"

"My lady, Lady Ascart, I feel it important to point out that I, too, am a woman," the maid, Tanya, responded smoothly. "It would be scandalous, to say the least."

"But you're my teacher in so much stuff, what's so different about this?" Katarina responded. "And it's obvious that we need a girl, I have a fiancé, kissing another man would probably get me in trouble... I don't want mom to yell at me again..."

The maid sighed, irritation and frustration evident. "My lady... you should really be more careful with this sort of thing. Your first kiss is a precious thing, it should be given to someone you consider worthy of it."

"But- but," Katarina faltered. "Tanya, you're my closest confidant! If it's not you, who else could it be?"

"Your fiancé, Prince Geordo, perhaps? He may well be capable of helping you develop your skills as you wish," Tanya suggested.

Something arrested the beating of Nicol's heart for a moment there. He thought of that kiss, and it bit at him. He didn't like the thought, not at all.

"N-No way! Then all the meaning would be lost! No, it has to be you, Tanya! Please, teach me how to kiss!"

There was a moment's pause.

Nicol almost interrupted, when...

"Fine, if it is my lady's wish, I shall teach my lady how to kiss," she said. "But unlike with academics, this is a practical matter, much like self defense. There is no theory, there is only practice," she said, raising a finger. "Do you understand?"

Katarina grinned. "Yeah! I'm good at learning with my body! Lay it on me!" Katarina said, pumping her fist.

Learning... with her body? Lay it on her..? Nicol's face was beginning to heat up, just a little, at the thought of Katarina and her maid, laying with each other, in only their sheer bedclothes, their fingers intertwined. He tried to clam up, calm himself, restrain his untoward feelings.

Meanwhile, his eyes could not look away from the scene before him.

Turning the chair to the side, Katarina was now facing her maid, who leaned down. From there, it was almost startling how similar, yet different, opposite, they were. The maid had a dignified, almost noble air to her. Katarina was a darker figure, she had slightly slanted eyes that gave her face a severe look, yet an easy, adorable smile that lit up the room around her, that made the contrast even more easily noticeable.

The maid, for her part, had more rounded, softer features. Were one to look at her, she'd look like a cherub, babyfaced and adorable... right up until you saw her toss the princes Alan and Geordo around like ragdolls, and sometimes beating one of them using the other as a club.

Katarina had all the harsh features, yet was an adorable angel of a person, while the maid had the angelic and soft features, yet was a demon in human flesh, restrained by her mistress' kindness. The contrast, the similarity, the difference... It all came together as their faces drew close, in an image of unimaginable beauty.

"Oh... oh no, I think I'm starting to understand the appeal of those romance novels Sophia loves so much..." Nicol muttered to himself. "I might be turning into a weird person..."

And yet, he could not look away, as the noble lady and her servant's lips met, in a simple, almost chaste, kiss. The maid's hand held her mistress' face, four fingers on her chin, a thumb rubbing her cheek, pressing her lips against her mistress' and pushing against her.

The movements of their lips, of their mouths, of their cheeks, Nicol engraved all of it into his memory. Was that- oh that- that was exactly what he thought it was! Their lips had parted, and they were kissing, not in the innocent way they were kissing before, but instead, the kiss of a pair of lovers!

Nicol's face was burning up, his jaw almost dropped. He felt floaty, and his pants felt tight, as he watched the beautiful image become mind boggingly, staggeringly amazing.

Right at that moment, Nicol discovered what beauty was, what was truly the height, and greatest reaches, of the word, grand beyond all his imagination.

He had reached enlightment, and felt satisfaction, even as the ladies' lips parted.

Tanya's cheeks had a dusting of pink. The strong, stoic, obedient and ever thoughtful maid, only the barest flustering. She, who never let anything get to her, had only one vulnerability, her mistress, an entity of innocence and beauty unmatched...

Nicol had once thought that carrying a notebook and a pencil everywhere he went was a silly thing to do, even when it sometimes came in handy when he had to make a note of something, but now, now he knew he'd be carrying them everywhere he went, as his thoughts flew.

"Woah... I want to try too!" Sophia said.

"B-But, your first kiss..." Katarina muttered, voice a little faint, touching her lips with her fingers.

"My lady, is she not your precious friend? Then, there should be no issue," the maid said. "What would you think, Lady Sophia?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I couldn't imagine a better person to give my first kiss to!" Sophia said. "Go ahead and teach me what you just learned, Lady Katarina!"

Nicol's eyes grew wide, his breath short.

Katarina and Sophia drew close. Katarina was, as she had said, good at learning with her body, and it was obvious that the maid's lesson had been well learned... The harsh features Katarina sported were in full, beautiful display, giving her an air of dignified nobility that she seldom had, and the soft, delicate, almost weak features of his albino sister were put on sheer contrast. A noble lady, a snow fairy...

Nicol's hand didn't stop for a second as he wrote down the stream of his thoughts into paper.

Nobody would ever know that the popular book series about the love of a lady and her domineering maid was written by THE Nicol Ascart, of all people... and he'd be too embarrassed to ever admit it later.

Chapter Text

"Magic?"

"Magic!"

Drill Instructor Maid Tanya Degurechaff was, in many ways, Katarina's worst nightmare in a variety of ways. Despite them being the same age, she was many times more advanced in just about every topic that was relevant when it came to schooling.

All topics... but one.

Because Katarina's personal handmaid, her second, her assistant in most matters, and most important of all, her teacher and tutor... had never studied magic. She had never even thought she might possibly be able to use magic. In her own words, she had been born a commoner, and thought herself as mundane as they came.

To think she had quite literally not found out about her magic for so long, for all her life, for no other reason than just because she'd never tried it out.

"It's too different to what I'm used to," Tanya said, a protest in her voice, barely quivering at all. "How was I supposed to know I could just... will it to happen?"

"How else would magic work?" Katarina responded, walking ahead of her maid, raising her finger. "Even for me," she explained, gesturing with her wrist, power made manifest, the immense power of her heritage exploding forth and putting on display all her talent and skill, creating a five centimeter tall bump on the soil by the side of the stone paved road that lead to the gardener's shed.

Katarina looked at it with pride. She'd improved her magic immensely, and had discovered that by using a combination of magic and a hoe, she could till the ground very efficiently and effectively, since her magic, while not showy or impressive, had a side effect of loosening up the soil wherever she used it.

The memory of Tanya suggesting it might be of use for her farming actually brought her mind back to the present. "See? I just put my mind to it, and then it happens!"

"That only gives me more questions," Tanya moaned out loud, raising a hand of her own and creating a sphere of light. "It does not appear to have the same properties as the light that Miss Campbell creates."

That much was true. Tanya could not heal. Maria's light magic was a little bit more versatile, and it gave her abilities Tanya did not have. Maria could see Dark Magic, while Tanya could not.

On the other hand, based on their tests, Maria's magic was not exactly an offensive powerhouse, whereas Tanya's attacks started at extremely lethal and scaled up into big badabooms. Also was a lot brighter, so it was very good at illuminating dark areas.

"Maybe Light Magic isn't really the same across users?" Katarina posited.

Then again, Maria was a sweet, caring, kind and lovely girl, it was very easy to believe that her magic had the exact same offensive firepower as Tanya's, she just didn't have the right heart and mindset to use it. Meanwhile, Tanya, with the heart full of anger that she carried, no doubt a byproduct of her tragic and sad backstory, was able to channel it into strong destructive power...

Ah, if only Katarina could have Maria heal Tanya's wounded heart like she did the black hearted sadistic prince's-

Wait.

"Wait wait wait, I totally could do that!" Katarina muttered. "It's probably a secret route..." she muttered.

"My lady, what are you muttering to yourself over there?" Tanya asked. "Ah, we're here."

Indeed, they were at Katarina's... garden. More fields than a garden really. Years of work, training, studying, researching and an assortment of other ings had lead Katarina to have one of the most well cared for and well developed fields one could find in the whole wide world! Too bad they were only really small enough to provide a couple of snacks every once in a while, delicious though they might be.

"Right!" Katarina said. "So I was thinking," she said, "what is your opinion of Maria?" she asked. She was already in her gardening work clothes. Tanya wore a regular maid dress, naturally, but the fact that they'd be out gardening today was made clear to anyone who looked at the maid's feet, or the fact that she carried a pair of heavy duty work gloves in her apron pocket.

"Of Miss Campbell?" Tanya asked. "I suppose she is a fine enough woman," she explained. "Though she is not of noble birth, her achievements and status speak for themselves. She is intelligent and diligent, and I do sorely wish that my mistress had Maria's dedication for academic pursuits."

Katarina pretended not to flinch, but at least, she was starting off on the right foot! Tanya clearly thought quite highly of Maria, as was to be expected from the Heroine, naturally. She had a natural charm that made people like her at first glance, and it was only the original Katarina's evil that made it impossible for the two to be friends. Best friends!

"So!" she said, "since she's smart and she's very good, maybe you should ask her for help regarding your magic studying?"

Katarina looked expectantly at her maid, even as she tied the bandana that would keep her hair away from her face, clueless as to what was going on within her maid's head. Anticipation filled Katarina.

And as for the other end of the conversation, as for what lay beneath the ever impassive and stern visage of the Demon Maid...

There was turmoil within.

I, Tanya Degurechaff, servant of a noble household, should not have magic at all. I am a commoner, I really should not have this power. I thought I didn't. Being X had not showed itself, not even once, since I arrived within this world. I had achieved too much success before, and my power had been stripped from me. I had thought this to be the case, but in reality...

In reality I had been trying to use magic that was incompatible with this world's common sense.

By sheer coincidence, pure chance, I had found that I could cast Light elemental Magic. A coveted prize among the nobility, although with the help of the Claes household my power had been kept under wraps. Not like I could do much with it, in contrast to Miss Campbell, I can essentially just reproduce the spells I was taught as an Aerial Mage.

Not much use for magic that reproduces the effect of combat drugs or bombardment magic in a maid's day to day life, and I do not wish to once more thrust myself into the flames of war.

But still...

I am actually at a loss on how to proceed in this encounter. I fear I might be walking into a terrible minefield.

After all...

My lady Katarina Claes might be the daughter of a Duke, a future princess by marriage, a farmer by vocation and a leader of people by talent, but at the end of the day, she is still a young girl. A young girl with all the trappings of one.

Kind, caring and gentle as she was, Katarina was... still a young girl in the end.

And that meant that the wrong answer here could hurt her feelings. And hurt them pretty badly. It was obvious to anyone who looked at her that Katarina thought the world of her friends, but even more so than most, Katarina thought the world of Maria Campbell.

Most thought it just a girl's adoration for a friend.

I'm not so foolish. I can see quite evidently that my lady struggles with her attraction to the same gender. I can understand the problems inherent in such a thing, in this society. The Kingdom of Sorcier did not look fondly upon such things, although my lady had an advantage over most.

Her future husbad would surely overlook indiscretions, and most would assume that if my lady invited a woman to spend time with her from time to time, it would surely be an act of friendship between two women.

I was prepared to support them, of course.

But there was another issue. Would my lady get offended if I rejected her offer for help? Maria Campbell was sure to be of much help when it came to the use and manipulation of light magic, and may well be my best choice. The element was rare to begin with, and practitioners with the level of power and control Maria Campbell displayed?

There was only one, and it was Maria herself.

However... however..!

Currently, it had been decided that the one who would help me develop and train my magic would be Katarina herself. Rather than hire a tutor for me, Katarina had been chosen to do it by her parents for no other reason than because it was something that was to be kept completely secret.

And more importantly... Katarina had jumped on it.

"I..."

There was a moment of silence between us.

"I would prefer to continue our current arrangement, my lady," I said, trying to maintain a calm and level tone.

She seemed surprised, but gave me a smile.

Alright..! Minefield avoided! I feared for a moment that this was a trap. I had to make sure not to accidentally insult Maria, but at the same time, it was obvious that my lessons were important to my lady, probably because it was one of the few times in which she could feel like my superior.

"Alright, I guess, if you want," she said, trying to feign disinterest, though it seemed like she was very proud of herself.

I tried not to smile, as we set about farming.

As long as we could continue to move in the same direction, at the same time, I would manage to keep my lady safe, happy and my future secure.

Speaking about which, I looked at the sky, and gauged the time from the sun's position in the sky. "We don't have much longer, my lady, let us water the fields quickly so we may get to your dancing lessons."

Indeed.

A metaphor. We'll continue to dance towards the future, in perfect step with each other. They say it takes two to tango, and I'll make sure that I'm the first partner my lady thinks of.

Chapter Text

Though I may lie to others repeatedly and unashamedly, and though it is within my nature and my many vices to be deceitful even towards myself, there is a certain part of me that cannot be denied, a part of me that is more honest, almost primitive, than the sophisticated person I've become through years of learning and improving myself in as many ways as I could.

That is the part of me that finds itself suddenly awakened, rudely and unexpectedly, as I am chaperoning a gaggle of young ladies in a private getaway. The Claes property is, as expected, quite expansive, and within their domain is a vacation home, a lakeside cabin set next to the clearest waters I've seen.

In the burning summer heat, it really isn't that strange that we'd find ourselves longing for a dip in the cold, refreshing waters. Not that I could, or would, join in. It was my task and duty to attend to the young ladies. Through the use of magical devices, tools and simple ingenuity, it had become possible to serve them cold drinks with ice cubes to ensure they remained chill. Somewhere along the way, someone had figured out recliner chairs, and a clever mind had turned a simple parasol into a beach umbrella.

Though we were not at the seaside, the freshwater lake would do more than well enough to soothe the overheated ladies that had been dutifully studying for all of ten minutes after arriving.

And yes, I am trying to avoid thinking about the other seemingly and distressingly modern invention that lay before me. For the young ladies were at the lake's shore, playing with the water, splashing it onto each other, in their swimwear. Now, normally, this would not be an issue, but...

How was I supposed to know that not only had this country somehow invented the concept of bikini swimwear, but that even more importantly, it was considered the height of fashion, that all noble ladies would want to wear!? This was preposterous, insane, nonsensical, this was wreaking havoc upon me!

Of course, unlike them, I wore my dress as per usual, which gave me a degree of separation from the happy fun times that were occurring right in front of me, but it did not make it any easier to ignore what lay before me.

I did my best to simply dedicate myself to duty, but it was... difficult, to say the least.

As I put a tray down under the sun blocking umbrella, ensuring the pitcher on it would remain cold by judiciously filling it with ice cubes and thus making sure the lemonade was as refreshing as it could be, I tried to avert my gaze from the ladies, but it wasn't much good, for one of them had come up to me.

Though slim and short, there was no mistaking the fact that Sophia Ascart was a woman very much blooming into her womanhood. Her weak constitution and her albinism were quite evident, she had a slight, slim and almost elfin build, and the entire expanse of her extremely pale skin was put on display. With her snow white hair, her ruby red eyes, and of course, that smile that could be as firm as it was fragile.

There was very little of her hidden. She wore a relatively tame two piece set in a deep, forest green, but though it might seem tame at first glance, it was clearly designed for her, and accentuated her slight curves. It was cut and shaped in such a way that made her look ever so slightly more womanly, as she was cursed to be petite her whole life due to her early childhood.

Trying to pretend I hadn't been staring at her, captivated by the odd sight of a noble lady in such... daring clothing, I served her a glass of lemonade, which she accepted gratefully.

Putting it back down after emptying it, she sighed in contentment, licking her lips. "Ahn, delicious," she said, "the acidity is just right to take the thirst off," she said, "and the refreshing taste of lemon stays just long enough," she moaned.

"Thank you very much for your kind praise," I replied, bowing to her. "Please, don't hesitate on my account, and enjoy your time."

"Thank you very much, I will," Sophia said, making as if to curtsey, but she remembered halfway she had no dress on. Moments later, she headed back to the area where the others were playing around.

I sighed in relief when she left, and pointedly tried not to stare at her perky behind as she did so. Small though it was, the fact that no friend of my mistress went without physical exercise showed in their bodies... especially now...

My eyes lost track of one of them, and I wondered where Lady Hunt had gone. I couldn't see her with the others, and believe you me, her figure was not one that was easy to miss.

I decided to serve a glass of lemonade for myself, but the moment I finished, it was snatched from the table by the missing lady Hunt.

It was... very, very difficult to actually avoid looking at Lady Hunt. If the other ladies were daring and bold, Mary Hunt went above and beyond. Of all the ladies, she was the most obviously and most excessively developed. Her breasts were humongous, really impressive, incredible even, they were hard to describe, but if there was anything to say, it was that they took up the entire bandwith of my mind just to maintain focus when they were in my presence.

Even more so, they were nearly spilling out of the one piece slingshot bikini that the woman thought was appropriate to wear. Not just appropriate to wear in public, but appropriate at all! They were even entirely too spicy for bedroom wear! A young man's heart would explode upon sight of such a gorgeous lady wearing something so scandalous!

I would imagine even a young lady could be led astray by the sight of Mary Hunt, frolicking in the water like it was nothing. "Thank you very much," Lady Hunt said, striking a perfect bow. "Thank you very much for offering to chaperone for us. It's thanks to you that we can have this private retreat," she said, "so again, thank you!"

"No problem at all, Lady Hunt, it is all part of my duties, as long as my mistress and her friends are having fun," I said, allowing myself a small smile, closing my eyes so as to not see the fact that the angle of the bow and the pose had made sure that Mary's mammaries were pushed together at just the right angle to make them look even bigger.

I forced that knot that was forming in my throat down, and nodded when she giggled and departed.

Well then, at least I survived without making a fool of myself. Truly, my mistress' friends are entirely too much!

I sighed, deciding that I would cool off by pouring myself a glass, trying to ensure that this time I'd be able to actually drink it... but the moment I finished, I took too long to actually drink it, instead sparing a glance towards where the girls were frolicking.

And instead, I was met with the healthy, sunkissed skin of a girl who was as much of a commoner as myself. My fellow wielder of the light, Maria Campbell. It seemed like she'd chosen her swimwear either with the same idea or outright guided by the noble girls. I half remembered a conversation between Lady Hunt and Lady Ascart about buying impressive swimsuits for some reason...

Maria was, however, slightly more conservative than either of them. She wore a pink one piece with white designs that resembled flowers emerging from her right thigh, almost as if she was being submerged in them. It was cute, that much I could admit, but I certainly wished it didn't hug her skin like it did. It might've been a size too small for her, even.

Maria did not have the almost ethereal beauty of the slim and petite Lady Ascart, and she did not have the overwhelmingly powerful feminity and bodacious bod of Lady Hunt, but what she did have was the charm of a down to earth, common girl. Unlike the other two, her thighs and biceps actually had the markings of muscle to them.

She was the only one of them who could actually put on muscle, if she tried, even if she needed an intake of protein that was frankly staggering just to have her arms stop looking like noodles. I am informed that this is a byproduct of magic, it's why the boys haven't become musclebound hulks despite all the training I put them through.

Which meant Maria was putting in even more work than she even admitted to.

Still... She was caught somewhere in the middle, having blossomed into her body's shape, but it was really her face, forever warm, kind and inviting, that had caught the eye of many an admirer... if only they could see her as a droplet of lemonade rolled down her cheek, jaw and then to the valley between her breasts, only slightly revealed by the cut of her swimsuit.

I shook my head. "Please allow me to be the first to thank you for the sweets you prepared. Truly, your abilities eclipse mine, and my mistress loves your confections," I said, averting my gaze.

"I- ah, I apologize, I didn't mean to-"

"I truly am thankful, what is a glass of lemonade in the face of so much hard work?" I asked, idly, hoping to ensure that she wouldn't feel bad about taking the glass of lemonade that was meant for me.

She looked doubtful for a moment, but then smiled. "Right! Please, don't hesitate to rely on me, if I can ever do anything for you!" she said, "especially-"

If it was for Katarina. Understood. My mistress is very charismatic, I am aware.

"Worry not. Instead, enjoy yourself," I said.

She nodded. "Thank you!" she said. She went running back to the girls. At some point they had begun hitting a ball back and forth towards each other. Naturally, it was no beach ball, but it was somewhat close, if considerably heavier. I guess in some ways it makes sense that if this is the sort of toy they play with, they'd be a bit more athletic than they seemed at first glance.

Well... at least, and at last, I can pour the final glass of lemonade, for myself... Everyone has had their fill, and my mistress has downed an entire pitcher of the extra sweet lemonade, therefore, I can give myself the privilege of drinking a glass...

Only to find that the moment I finished pouring it, my mistress, Katarina Claes herself, has taken it! And downed half of it in an instant!

I will not allow myself to get distracted by the radiant beauty before me, by the perfection that faced me, from the painted nails upon her toes, up to her perfect ankles, calves, knees, and her oh so squeezable and wonderful looking thighs, that scandalously small triangle of fabric attached to an even smaller triangle by strings, her trim, flat tummy, that adorable looking belly button, her wonderful breasts, covered only in navy blue and gold fabric that was straining to contain her, her deceptively soft skin, the lines and curves of her shoulders and neck and her jaw and that luscious pair of lips, that parted with a smack as she enjoyed her lemonade.

I wanted to, I really wanted to hold it in, but I couldn't. "Mistress..!" I said, disappointment and despair spilling from me.

"O-Oh- this was, oh, that was the last glass, I'm- I'm so sorry," she said, panicking visibly. "I- there's still a little?" she tried making a peace offering, thrusting the glass into my face.

At this point, I needed a drink quite badly, to cool off and cool down, and so I took it a little bit more harshly than I had intended to, and then immediately began drinking it.

"Oooh, sharing the glass, exactly where she drank it, that's an indirect kiss!" Sophia spoke.

A growl and gnashing of teeth came from Mary. "I should've thought of that..!"

Maria meanwhile, looked a little worried. "Is that alright..?"

My lady, my mistress, simply giggled and scratched the back of her neck. "Come on you guys, stop making a big deal out of something that silly!"

The lemonade tasted... much better than it should have, and I tried not to think about it.

"With how apologetic Lady Katarina looks, it's hard to tell who's the maid and who's the mistress here," Mary Hunt spoke, with good cheer and humor.

The others quickly joined in, and my lady had the good graces to at least look a little contrite.

I'd have to make more lemonade later.

Chapter Text

When it comes to fancy applications of magic, there's a variety of things one can do with just a little bit of creativity and elbow grease. In the case of Katarina Claes, having access to effectively unlimited funds certainly didn't hurt. With her inexplicable frugal spirit, she had even been able to save money and wind up going far under her budget.

Mostly because she did a lot of the work herself, and for myself and Anne, helping just sort of came naturally, and we didn't charge the Claes household extra for all the work we had to do just trying to keep my lady from injuring herself.

We shall not speak of the fact that I learned how to fire extremely destructive lasers out of desperation to prevent a wooden board from falling on my mistress' head. I will never allow her to go back to the way she was, not on my watch.

It was a very difficult job, but I think we handled it pretty well, as well as could be expected, thanks to the guidance of skilled manual laborers, a foreman and even an engineer to fix up my lady's initial designs.

"I cannot even believe that it worked, and I'm looking at the end result," I muttered to myself. There it was. A relatively large building, deep into the Claes territory, at a middle point between the nearest village and the main house of the Claes estate. A stop designed for traders, travelers and all those who would go to present themselves before the lord of the lands for any sort of reason. Not the most central crossroads of trade, but pretty close to it.

"I told you it would work!" Katarina said, a self satisfied smile on her face. "If I can do this, then I won't have to worry at all!" she said, "I can just get experience running this place and then I can be hired to a managerial position in any other tourist attraction!"

Well, I- I admit, it's a relatively clever use of nepotism. If she's going to be privileged and advantaged from all her money, I'd rather she utilize her privilege to gain experience and knowledge so that she may continue to expand and improve on her family's prestige and wealth. I can't lie, she has a head for people that far outclasses my own expertise. Perhaps she is a little too kind and well meaning to do what needs to be done.

But then, that only solidifies my position in her court. She would need someone cruel enough to do what needs to be done when it must be done.

Still... to think that my lady would stumble upon the idea of a public bath, spurred by a comment from a rather unsavory noblewoman who had spoken at length about her hatred for the "filthy and unwashed" commoners. It was a... depressingly and startingly obvious response.

But such was my lady, she would actually take the most obvious route, common wisdom so sorely lacking among those at the very top of the world.

It had only taken two or three weeks for it to become a very highly popular place, and with a little bit of aid and investment from the Claes household, it had soon become a place where class had no meaning, where rich, poor, noble and commoner all found themselves visiting. They didn't mingle, of course, there were noble pools and commoner pools, which had required more expansion, but it was still a step in the right direction.

"Now that they can get regular baths, we just need to franchise and spread these all over the territory, and then nobody will ever call commoners filthy and unwashed ever again!" Katarina spoke, throwing her hands up and laughing.

I followed her into the building, and when we went in, we found that the group had already arrived. The royal princes had been the first to arrive, and they were already settled into the robes that the place provided, reminiscent of yukata, easy to make, easy to wear, and stylysh to boot, it gave the feel of a Japanese hotspring resort.

"Ah, Katarina, so good to see you, I was starting to suspect you wouldn't come at all," the prince Geordo spoke, regaling Katarina with a smile, and then pretending that his smile hadn't dropped when he saw me. He rubbed at certain spots on his body, which I had no doubt where bruised.

Our training, of course.

Alan winced as he saw me first, but then smiled at Katarina. "This is pretty great, I can't believe you came up with it," he said.

"I know, right? It solves so many problems at once!" Katarina spoke giddily, being dragged into conversation with the twin princes.

"Ah, miss Tanya, thank you for the invitations," the older of the Ascart siblings, Nicol, said as he stepped into the lobby from the changing room. Behind him, Keith entered the room as well, adjusting the belt that kept his robes closed. Nicol pointedly pretended his muscles didn't hurt.

Keith didn't even bother. "This place should help the injuries, right?" he questioned.

I nodded. It would do him wonders, relaxing properly with a good bath in good company was a great way to heal after getting trained thoroughly.

"We'll go ahead and rest, the girls just went into the changing room," Nicol said. "Please let Katarina know, they're waiting for her."

I nodded. I would interrupt her chat with the princes, and she looked relieved, it might've been a topic that flew over her head and she was pretending that she understood what they were talking about, as the siblings chatted something or other about statecraft, and then dragged her off to the changing room.

I made an executive decision then, not to enter.

Though my body might be that of a woman, my mind still sees them as extraordinarily attractive young women, and their naked forms already tormented me at night. Even if they had told me that I should've joined them, I had to take my leave. It was not my place as a servant... or so I said.

Truth be told, I simply do not wish to lay eyes on my lady or her friends, lest I be tempted by the needs of my own body.

I left them to that, and went about conducting my own business. There were important things for me to do, now that my lady and her friends were going to relax, on their own, completely nude.

And while Tanya was going about her business, Katarina and her friends were going about theirs...

"Ahhn, that feels strange~!" Mary moaned, as Katarina's hands squeezed her extraordinarily impressive bosom, one on each breast, though she would need both hands to encompass one of Mary's breasts. "Lady Katarina, your hands are so soft and smooth..!"

"Your skin's so nice!" Katarina gushed.

"W-Wow, just, just wow." Sophia shook her head, looking at where Katarina was enjoying herself, testing the weight and heft of those massive mammaries.

Meanwhile, beside her, Maria was touching her own, almost as if weighing her, with an expression of utter disappointment and despair on her face. "Are... are mine not good enough?" she muttered, perhaps a little louder than she ever thought to.

Katarina whirled on her, and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Not at all!" she said, "you're beautiful just the way you are," she said, "and look," she added, sticking her chest out proudly, filling her lungs with air to make it stick out more, and then bringing a hand to call attention to them, "mine aren't that big either, but I'm not extremely and incredibly jealous about Mary and I don't wish I could've grown a pair as impressive as hers, not at all!"

Mary giggled. "Ah, but I think Lady Katarina's are the best!" she said, "I would love to nuzzle your chest at night, when it's cold, it'd be nice and comfy. Or have you nuzzle mine, I would love that too!"

"Someone is being extremely overt now..." Sophia muttered, shaking her head, "if anyone should be complaining, it would be me," she said, covering her almost flat chest with her hands.

"Yours are cute too! Svelte is aesthetic, and it's more about how they fit you and your build than their size anyway!" Katarina spoke, moving over to Sophia and clasping onto her hands, bringing them together, their eyes meeting each other. "Sophia is cute, no matter what!"

The quartet moved on from the dressing room, still talking about how they felt about their bodies, though of course, any even remotely experienced listener would realize instantly that the other three girls were blatantly and openly fishing for compliments from Katarina, so naturally, Katarina had no idea and just thought she had to lift her friends' confidence by gushing ever more intensely about how much she loved their bodies.

Even after they all got into the hot water, huddled into a small group.

"See, they might be small, but they're nice and sensitive and they fit nicely on my hands," Katarina explained, her palms massaging Sophia's chest.

Maria giggled in turn. "I'm so happy that you like us, Miss Katarina," she spoke, fondly. "Please, play with mine as well, if you'd like to!" she added, stepping into Katarina's side, pressing their bodies together, half on Katarina's right side, half on her back, rubbing her chest against Katarina's body.

"Me too!" Mary agreed, hugging Katarina from the other side, her massive breasts engulfing Katarina's arm and nearly covering it entirely, rubbing her front against Katarina's left side.

Sophia followed suit. "No, she's with me now!" she contested, pressing her front against Katarina's.

"G-Girls, hold it, I'm not going anywhere..!"

Katarina was drowning in a sea of her friends' affection.

And meanwhile...

"I don't know how we agreed to do this," Alan said. "But I'm glad we did.

"Indeed..." Geordo said.

The two princes were on their knees, peeking into holes made into the wooden walls that separated the pools and the maintenance passages that allowed access all over the place.

Meanwhile, they were flanked by Nicol, who was peeking from a much higher hole, and Keith, who had to get into a half crouch, half squat position so that he may properly look into the hole ahead of him.

"I... this is... heaven..." Nicol muttered, writing down into the notepad he carried everywhere these days.

"She's grown up so much," Keith muttered, "I won't allow her to be stolen like that..!"

The holes were freshly made, of course.

"It's a good thing we managed to throw off the maid's suspicion," they all agreed.

However, even as all of them had a hard time tearing their eyes away from the glorious sight before them, they all began to feel a strange feeling.

Like death was incoming.

"Gentlemen," the voice of the Devil herself rang through the maintenance passage.

They all froze in place for a good few seconds, then like clockwork, their necks turned their faces towards the incarnation of hell's fury that they had just invoked.

"I see you have not had enough training yet. Don't worry," Tanya spoke, each step towards them feeling like a cold steel knife being poised against them. "I will rectify this and ensure you won't have to worry about those, ever again," she said, gesturing towards their erections.

They all swallowed, knowing hell was coming for them.

Only one thought was mirrored across all of them.

Totally worth it!

Chapter Text

"Hm," Katarina stroked her chin in deep, careful and thoughtful consideration. Or rather, she pondered the conundrum before her using the entirety of her brain capacity. It wasn't much, but at least the inner council of Katarina was putting in some honest work, trying to puzzle out the reason for her current vexation.

Before her was the list of suspects.

"Someone here," she said, raising a finger, and then making a sweep of the people before her, each and every one of them seated on a chair, some more alert than others, some even looking nervous, "is a thief!"

They all looked at each other, but nobody said anything.

For behind Katarina was the Devil herself, who had made it a point to note that everyone should remain quiet, for her mistress demanded it. There were many things the devil maid was good for, but intimidation was something she was straight up amazing at.

"Right!" she said. "Someone stole my workout pants!"

"Your workout... pants?" the highest ranked amongst the suspects was the one to speak first, one Geordo by name, a blond, black hearted prince, a veneer of dignity and an air of magnificence hiding the dark sadist beneath. Of course, he was one of the main suspects, for he was a clever and thoughtful viper, certainly he could plan such a heist!

"My workout pants!" Katarina repeated, rounding on him, pointing her finger at him. "It'd have to be someone who is interested in exercise," she said, "and with all the training you do with Tanya, that fits you to a T, Prince Geordo!" she accused, almost, but not quite, poking him in the chest with her finger in a judging, accusatory way.

Geordo's jaw dropped for a moment. "That's- that describes almost everybody here! Certainly it describes the men; they are all also training under Tanya!" he responded, raising a hand to his chest. "I'd never do anything so brazen as to steal a pair of... Pants?" he seemed confused. "I didn't even know you had a pair for exercise!"

Katarina took a step back, frowning, hands on her hips now. "That's true... that's true, my list of suspects expands," she said, moving to the next one in line, to Geordo's right...

It was his brother, Alan. "It'd have to be someone who knew of their existence," she said, "and you would certainly fit the bill, would you not, Prince Alan?" she accused, gesturing with a wave at the silver haired prince.

Alan snorted, then laughed. "Yeah, I know, but so what? Keith and Nicol know as well," he said. gesturing to his own right. "Besides, I never had access to your room, so I wouldn't know where to look to begin with."

That was true, Katarina mused. He hadn't had access to her room. "That's correct!" she said, "so then," she then turned to the one to Alan's right, Keith. "What do you have to say for yourself, Keith? You had access to my room, and you knew that I have a pair of workout pants! So fess up, where did you put them?"

Keith looked positively disturbed for a few moments. "Of all the things to accuse me of- why would I ever do something like that?" he protested immediately, raising his hands as if to shield himself from blame, "if I wanted to prank you I would have definitely chosen something that couldn't so easily be traced back to me," he said. "Besides, I live here, you think I'm stupid enough to choose to steal something from you when she's here?" he asked, gesturing at Tanya.

Katarina blinked. That... was a pretty good point. She looked back at where Tanya stood, near the door to the improvised interrogation room, an old audience room in the Claes manor.

Tanya cleared her throat. "Master Keith has not entered your room without permission," she said, simply and clearly.

Katarina nodded, and then turned back to Keith. "I guess that clears you for now..." she muttered, then she stepped to her left, and tried not to swoon as she met the smiling face of the very amused Nicol Ascart.

The last in the suspect lineup.

"Someone who lives here would be in constant danger of Tanya finding out any sort of hiding spot," she said, "but if you could take my pants back to your own home," she muttered, pointing her finger at Nicol now.

"Ah... but I would not have had a chance to enter your room?" Nicol tried.

"A week ago, I invited Sophia and you, Lord Nicol, to read books, and I am fairly certain that you were alone in my room for a good few minutes while I accompanied Sophia to the bathroom!" Katarina explained, though it was a bit of a frantic pace as she tried not to forget what had happened as she recounted it. "That's when you undoubtedly took my workout pants, and took them with you back to your home!"

There was a few moments' pause.

"Ah... how would I have taken a pair of pants back to my home without being noticed?" he asked. "I didn't bring any sort of bag," he said. "My pockets are always full with my notebooks and pens," he added, giving her another one of his devilish smiles.

There was a moment's pause.

"Oh. Y-Yeah that makes sense," Katarina said, face red, turning around and taking a few steps away from the suspects, palming her face with both hands, rubbing her cheeks as if trying to get the creative detective juices flowing.

"Mistress, if I may suggest a break?" Tanya said, as she brandished a tray of biscuits and another that had a kettle with tea and five cups. A few moments later, the tea was poured, the cups were distributed, and everyone had their fair share of delicious biscuits, though what Katarina considered fair was "most of them".

"It truly is a wonder you're not fat with all you eat," Keith mentioned, though his tone was more of amazement than mockery, as his sister gulped down the tea to push down the biscuits.

"H-hey..!" she responded weakly.

"Truly impressive, but then again, with how active she is all the time," Alan agreed.

"Perhaps we're being a little mean?" Nicol suggested. "Even if we're being accused like this..."

Geordo snorted. "For all that, I don't even know what these workout pants look like," he said, gesturing with his hand. "Nor do I know why I would ever take them."

"That's a good point, why would someone take my workout pants," Katarina mused. "Well! Boys are always interested in girls' gym clothes!" she said, nodding to herself with a smug smile on her face, her heavy blue dress fluttering about as she moved rapidly, almost dancing in glee. "That's why it must be one of you, a girl's gym clothes are a boy's greatest treasure!" she said, closing her eyes and nodding to herself once more, even more smug energy radiating off of her.

"Why?" Alan replied. "Seriously, why would I want anything like that?" he asked. "Are you calling me a pervert or something?"

"I- I don't know, okay? Boys just kinda do!" she insisted.

"Yeah sis, this is some serious accusations you're throwing around, calling us degenerates like that," Keith added, rolling his eyes.

Katarina paused for a moment, and she was visibly overcome with regret at making such accusations, it was obvious she was entering some sort of panic state as she thought about what she had done, to anyone, but if anyone had a glimpse of what was going on in her mind...

Well, they'd get a pretty good look at the five man internal council going absolutely bonkers as they tried to find a way out of the hole they had dug themselves into, the court circus they'd created now backfiring on them, and raising death flags that hadn't even been in the original game!

Tanya cleared her throat. A shudder ran down the boys' spines.

"I- I suppose it's okay to let bygones be bygones?" Nicol said, a bit alarmed at the interruption of the maid.

"I suppose," Geordo agreed, turning to the others, who all murmured or nodded in agreement. "I- suppose we could at least help look for the pants, but first, I'd need to know what they look like."

"Yeah, same here, for all the talk, I've never seen them," Alan agreed. "Are they distinctive?"

Nicol nodded. "Despite me accompanying Sophia so often, I've never seen them either," he added. "I suppose they must be however? Keith?"

Shaking his head, the adopted son of Claes offered a noncommital shrug. "Katarina always works out in private, Tanya always takes her somewhere. I think it's because mother disapproved of it initially and now it's just tradition."

"Oh, I see," Nicol responded, tilting his head down and cupping his chin in thought. "Then perhaps you left them at your workout spot?"

Katarina shook her head. "I wear them to and from that place, every time," she said.

"Well, maybe we've seen them somewhere," Geordo said. "what do they look like?"

Katarina thought for a few moments. "Well, they're red, they're kinda small, and- you know what, it'll be faster to just show you," she said, grabbing at the hem of her dress' skirts, and then pulling them up. "See?" she asked, even as the boys' hands immediately went to their faces, though despite their attempts at faking scandalized modesty, their eyes were not covered at all, peeking between the gaps between their fingers.

Behind her, Tanya's jaw dropped, and she had to scramble to catch it lest it hit the floor.

Katarina raised her skirts high, revealing everything beneath her waist, including the entirety of her crotch, and were this any other time, her underwear would be plainly visible, but-

But that was not what was under her skirts, instead, what was under her skirts was actually a pair of... old school Japanese bloomers, though none of them knew what they were. To them, what they looked like was a pair of bright red panties, sure, a bit bigger than the norm for noblewomen to wear, but definitely still something that they'd never expected to see from Katarina.

"My lady, what are you doing!?" Tanya half shouted, half whispered, unable to contain herself.

"Huh? I'm just showing them my workout pants so we can look for them together-"

"Katarina, if you're done studying with the boys, I need to- KataRINAAAAAA..!!!!"

The door opened.

In walked the Devil's superior, the woman whose shrill scream could put fear into the hearts of the bravest warrior, the Lady Claes, a woman with an intimidating presence and more importantly, a hand like a crab's claw, which easily grasped Katarina's ear and immediately pulled her away.

"Young lady!" she shouted, pulling Katarina by the ear, causing her to drop her skirts.

"Ah- MOTHER, NOOO, IT HUUUURTS!"

"Oh if you think this hurts, just you wait, you're not too old for me to put you over my knee and give you a lecture on propriety!" she shouted, "now walk along, you're in so much trouble right now!"

"Mooooom!"

And then the ladies of the house left.

Leaving the boys, faces red as tomatoes, still shellshocked.

"She was... wearing them..? That's her workout pants?" Geordo muttered.

"That's no better than panties..." Alan said, sounding scandalized.

"She goes out like that..." Keith groaned out.

Nicol was already reaching for the notebook in his pocket.

Tanya cleared her throat.

"I am going to pretend that none of the events here happened," she said. "I would strongly suggest that you erase them from your memory," she spoke, bowing slightly.

The boys were stuck to their seats, still trying to comprehend what had happened.

Tanya's hand moved. From the tip of her fingers, a paper-thin beam of energy erupted, a fly that was buzzing in the room dropping dead in an instant.

"Very strongly."

Within Tanya's mind, thoughts swirled.

My lady is an idiot.

Chapter Text

"Of all the times," I muttered to myself, trying to maintain and keep my cool. Remaining within the bounds of rationality was the most important thing I could do right now, as it was the only way that we were going to make it through this disaster. Were I to be alone, this would not be such a problem, but I am not.

Indeed, an unfortunate turn of events has landed both myself and my lady in a predicament, a very dire predicament at that, and I've been trying to distract myself from the grim reality of the matter.

We are lost, alone and far away from civilization. The blizzard and avalanche had come by surprise, neither of us had expected it at all, nor did any of the other servants... My blood ran cold then, as I saw that my idiot mistress put herself in danger to save her little brother Keith from harm, heedless to the fact that she was in far more danger herself.

I glanced at her, at where she sat, with her knees up to her face, trembling as she hugged herself and tried to keep her strength and warmth up. I hadn't needed to instruct her, it seemed she grasped it at a fundamental and basic level, that was good if nothing else.

I caught her staring at me, and she flinched and looked aside.

Unkind words may have been spoken had I been a less than professional maid. As it were, I schooled my features and glanced at the sealed hole... I made a decision. My magic was not particularly good for anything other than destruction, but the Light of Destruction that I was capable of using could melt snow... the cold outside did the rest, leaving us with a wall of ice between ourselves and the cold outside.

Calling this place a cavern was a misnomer, due to the shifting snows most of it had become entirely inaccessible, rendering this place little more than a hole at the bottom of a hill. Ten steps from the entrance to the point it started getting narrow, and five steps from there it was an impassably narrow crevice.

Either way, even as my lady sulked, I gathered some of the snow at our disposal and shoved it into place, sealing the entrance to the cave as best as I could, and when I was done, I gave my own work a nod of approval. It wasn't perfect, but it would prevent heat from escaping from the cave too easily.

We couldn't light a fire in here, we had no chimney to let the smoke out, nor did we have much to burn unless we started sacrificing our clothes.

I doubt that the thick coat I was wearing would burn very well, soaked as it was, nor would my lady's considerably more stylysh fur coat, which was similarly wet. Even worse, this reminded me that we couldn't dry our clothes either, and the way they were soaked with cold water...

"My lady, we must undress post haste," I said, "I've already blocked off the outside, but if we keep wearing our cold and soaked clothes, we will undoubtedly get sick, which is a death sentence in this situation."

Katarina hummed. "Tanya, you're so calm, even when I've given up... I should've expected there was no way to really escape doom..." she muttered. "I just wish I hadn't gotten you caught up in it too..."

"My lady," I insisted, stepping close to her, "it is not yet time to give up. We were not carried too far, and undoubtedly, your family is already making moves to search for us. We will simply have to survive the night, and when it is light, I'll use my magic to guide the others to our location."

Firing lasers into the sky was pretty likely to bring attention to our location.

"But... but," Katarina shuddered. "It's so cold, I can barely move," she said.

I frowned. Of course, the lady was just a young girl... well, I, myself, was a young girl as well. We were barely taking our first steps into adulthood, even if in this world Katarina had been considered an adult for the past four years, in my mind at least, she was but a fledgling adult, and even moreso, she still lived at her family's home and hadn't even started actually working at her new job.

These vacations to the snowy mountains were supposed to be celebration for landing that job despite her general demeanor in the first place... too bad it turned out like this.

I gathered myself, and decided the best course of action was to go ahead and implement everything I've learned in serving my lady, from when she was a child and refused to get out of bed, to her adult years where I find myself forcing her to put on properly formal attire when needed.

"My lady," I said, carefully approaching her, "I am going to strip you now," I warned.

"E-Eh?" Katarina blinked up at me.

I grabbed her by the arms she was using to hug her knees and pulled her up on her feet. She stumbled a little, and shivered in place, but I was swift, and I was skilled, and I had dressed and undressed this girl thousands of times before. I may not have Anne with me for backup now, but the thick, furry coat she is wearing right now is hardly as complicated as a corset!

The buttons came undone quickly, and though my lady's hands came down to protect her modesty, despite all her training she lacked the strength to stop me when I am intent on saving her from illness.

"What the- That- Tanyaaa!" she cried, as I grabbed her coat from the lapel and spun her around, pulling hard on it at the same time as her arm was put in exactly the right position, by the end of her spin, I had managed to pull the second arm into place as well, allowing me to just forcibly remove the ridiculously heavy coat, tossing it aside.

My lady's sweater was next, and while she was still dumbfounded and recovering from the spin, I grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it up. I could feel the water that clung to it as I grabbed it, and I realized it was urgent, imperative, that I deal with this problem.

"Arms up, now," I ordered, trying to project the same commanding voice I used on my troops, and despite herself, she obeyed, though I could see she was already struggling to move. Her lethargy was no doubt partially a product of the cold... it was even more urgent now! I pulled her sweater up, and as she was staggering from that, I quickly undid the buttons of her blouse and easily slipped it off of her.

My lady was left now only in her last layer of clothing, but her bra had to go as well, it was just as soaked as every other bit of clothing she wore on her. This world had somehow created surprisingly modern bras... all sorts of underwear really. Honestly with the advanced lingerie, I would imagine that some sort of perverted lingerie fetishist was reincarnated into this world long before I was.

Once her bra was off, my mistress' chest was free, and I swallowed the knot on my throat. My mistress was... a beautiful woman. Of course she was. I'd seen her grow up, in some ways, I'd grown up alongside her, and yet...

Even after seeing them so many times before, why is it that now these pale breasts inspire such heat in me? No, stop bothering yourself with that, Tanya, you are a servant, your primary priority is the young lady's health and safety! How do you expect to become her right hand and live in the lap of luxury as her handmaiden if you do not control yourself at these times!

"Your skin is very cold, my lady," I muttered, "we must warm you up," I added, getting on one knee before her. Her skirt was thick and heavy, but it was held together by a single button, and it was easy to remove. Under it, her leggings were a bit more complicated, but luckily, the cloth was elastic enough that I could pull them down even as my mistress remained still.

I gulped, her panties were right in front of my face, I only realized I'd nearly put my face into her crotch, and I- I shook my head, not the time for that, she's shivering... I must hurry! Her boots and leggings were off, and next was, next- Focus! My fingers hooked into the waistband of her fancy silken panties, and I pulled them off. My mistress was carefully cared for, of course - she was kept in fashion, naturally, and for some insane reason with the revolution of Bikinis ladies trimming their pubic hairs had become fashionable.

A part of me was briefly jealous of my mistress, for I couldn't even grow any pubic hair at all... but I dismissed the thought, thinking it odd. Why do I care about such insignificant things? I slapped my cheeks to keep myself awake and to try to dispel the heat taking over me, looking up at my mistress.

She was still shivering in place, and shaking... I had to think of something... wait, I know..! I'll share my body heat with her, but for that, first, first I needed to...

As Tanya began to lose herself in her mind, at the other end of the equation, Katarina was...

Panicking.

Panicking badly. Not only had she somehow managed to trigger some sort of doom flag she didn't even know existed, not only had she nearly got Keith killed when she tried to save him, she'd very likely and probably gotten herself AND her handmaid killed by getting them swept up in an avalanche during a snowstorm!

And as if that wasn't bad enough, she had even been so useless that Tanya had to desperately try to keep her safe and healthy!

And she did so... she did so by...

Intellectually, Katarina knew exactly what her maid was doing. She'd done it a million times before, even. She'd undressed and dressed Katarina millions of times! And yet, and yet- even though it was just getting her out of her cold, wet clothes, even though it was all simple, logical and entirely innocent...

Within Katarina, there was a straight up war in the council room, as lines had been drawn and sides had been taken, the intellectual and timid parts of her insisting that all of this was totally innocent and was in no way indicative of anything, while the stubborn and strong minded parts of her were insisting that this was a message, that they needed to take a step right then and there to ensure their way right out of the flags that lead to doom!

Meanwhile, at the middle of it all, the judge and chairman of the council slammed her gavel into the frosted over desk, and ordered the others to shut up and behold, because something wonderful was happening right in front of them.

Indeed! Katarina's eyes opened, and she realized that despite bringing her hands up to her face to cover her eyes, she had left gaps big enough that her sight wasn't impeded at all, as her maid was taking off her clothes.

It was shocking to realize...

Katarina could not recall a time that she remembered seeing Tanya in the nude. The blonde maid was... almost an entity that Katarina could even imagine in the buff. Even seeing her out of the maid outfit was a bit of a shocker whenever it happened, but this... this...

Tanya's coat was off, and then her thick outer shirt, and finally, the much thinner, more comfortable undershirt, more of a camisole really, and...

Katarina felt a knot form within her throat. She knew, somewhere within her, that she shouldn't be looking at her like that. At her servant. Her friend really. But lately, she could not help but be so much more aware of everything around her. It had started when Geordo forced her to realize that they were adults, and that he was a man, but then it seemed to galvanize everyone else as well, and for some reason, it seemed like even Mary, Maria and Sophia had decided they wanted her to be aware of them.

And now...

And now Katarina couldn't stop looking at what she was seeing. Tanya wasn't big by any means. She was closer to Sophia than she was to Mary, but each of them looked like they'd fill her hands just nicely enough... her pink nipples were the same shade of pale pink as her lips.

Katarina tried to swallow down the ever growing knot, especially as Tanya finished with her upper body's clothes, and the moment she put them into a neatly arranged pile, she stood back up, and then without turning back to face Katarina, began to remove her pants, bending over to pull them down to her ankles, showing off her true asset...

Katarina came to realize, then and there, that she liked butts. She already knew she liked the bodies of men, she'd been a maiden game enjoyer for very long after all, but to find that- that-

She'd never wanted to be able to use peach emojis as much as she wanted, right then and there! Her pale skin, the perfect curve, the thighs that supported it, the tiny black thong that framed it perfectly, every part of it, everything about it, was driving Katarina up the wall, even as she tried to insist to herself that- that-

That what?

Right.

She liked girls too. She was...

Yeah.

She couldn't help herself.

Finally, reduced to only her panties, Tanya took them off as well, without fanfare. She wasn't stripping for Katarina's enjoyment, after all, but even so, every movement she made was unexpectedly sexy... everything she did, as she peeled the tight, wet clothes off of her, it was sending the worst signals to Katarina's brain... she gulped, she trembled, she- she kept her eyes locked on every single fiber of the fabrics that made up Tanya's panties, as the blonde pulled them down, revealing a bare and just... perfect little-

Katarina smacked herself, and put her palms over her eyes, and chanted in her head, and shouted and tried to keep it all down.

"My lady, we must--" Tanya's voice was like a sweet whisper to her ears, "share our body heat..."

This was it.

Katarina just... let it happen. She felt warmth overcome her, as she came into contact with her maid's perfect, doll-like skin. As she felt, more than saw, the slim, svelte body, deceptively weak looking, yet a font of unmatched strength.

She felt all of that wrap around her, she felt her maid's hands all over her, just like a million times before, but so much more intensely now, she felt her own hands reaching for the maid's back, her own body instinctively seeking heat, even their legs intertwined, as they allowed themselves to rest on the dry ground... their legs moved, they sought more and more of each other's skin...

As they clung to each other, Tanya's right leg went inbetween Katarina's thigh, and Katarina's thighs opened up, they slid against each other, and once more, the lady and her maid shared their first kiss with each other, though perhaps, it was a manner of kiss neither ever expected, as their foreheads met together, and a chaste peck, by total accident, saw the two exchanging heat more directly...

The heat was rising, and they continued to cling to each other through the night, and if their lips met in another clandestine kiss, neither would say anything to the other about it...

And early next morning, the fireball that impacted the 'door' that covered their makeshift shelter gave them just about enough time to get their underwear back on at the time the rescue workers that had been dispatched to find them melted the ice and let them free. Luckily, Tanya had been able to hide Katarina in the out of the way tight crevice.

It'd be a shame if she had to kill their rescuers because they laid eyes on her mistress in such a state, after all.

Chapter Text

Some people say that high nobility has a certain strange presence to them. As if it would be impossible to confuse them for lower social castes. The Aristocracy make their presence known, simply by showing up. Their composure, their demeanor, their dignity, it all spoke for itself, they carried themselves with presence and aplomb, not like a commoner at all.

I’ve seen this, in some ways. When the Duke and the Duchess speak, they tend to project their voice, they tend to stand with their shoulder squared, they tend to present themselves in a certain way, to demand your attention and to command your respect, via means of body language and tone.

I am entirely confident absolutely no one has pegged my lady for the daughter of a duke that she is, nor would people believe me, were I to say that she is indeed the daughter of the Claes family.

She had exchanged the clothes of nobility, my lady had put on a simple dress. Cotton was plentiful enough in the territories that even moderately wealthy commoners could purchase reasonably fine clothes made with it, enough that her white sundress and dark blue apron combo was in no way standing out.

For my part, I had chosen simple pants and a brown shirt. Dye turned my hair from its obnoxiously recognizable blonde to a brown color similar to my mistress’, if a few shades darker.

Together, we ventured into town, not as a lady and her maid, but as a pair of unassuming commoners. Two pouches hung from my belt, and I’d been given a large knife, per my specifications, that was sheathed in a nondescript, regular sheath. Even if we were going out into town, I was to remain aware and vigilant at all times. My lady may want to experience a day in a commoner’s life, but she did not cease being Katarina just for today.

“Ooh! Look at that, I never expected there’d be a peddler just for farming equipment!” she said, grabbing at my hand and pulling me along, past a group of people that was raving about a food stall’s products… I felt for the coin pouch longingly. So much had been spent on that food stall already… I know this is my lady’s money, but it still hurts the capitalist in my heart to spend our money frivolously like this.

Especially when I didn’t even get to taste the meat on the skewers, it was just inhaled into the bottomless pit that is Katarina’s stomach as we moved on to the wandering salesman peddling tools and equipment for working at the farmlands. Within moments, my lady had launched into a conversation with the salesman.

Somehow, the conversation had wound up coming down to the quality of a hoe, and my lady had taken it into her own hands to test and try out the farming implement.

“Ah, I see, you used the light wood for the haft but reinforced it with iron bands to give it added weight at the top, so when it swings…” Katarina mused, “it feels light, but it hits with great strength! But I can see how lifting it up over and over again would get tiring, good for stubborn soil I guess” she mused. “Alright, I think I’m taking-“

“My-“ I stopped myself. Right. We’re not us, right now, we’re someone else. “My suggestion would be to first do a sweep of the market, see what you’re interested in, and then we can calculate what we can afford,” I explained, stopping my lady from making yet another expensive purchase. “We’ve got to look at seeds, fertilizer and pesticides, we may not be able to afford everything if we’re reckless with our money. Again.”

She had the good graces to at least blush, remembering what happened every time she was allowed to splurge. How she could go from being frugal and prudent one second, to just tossing away fortunes on food, it’s something I’ll never understand about my lady. But I suppose I don’t really need to either.

We continued doing said sweep of the market, moving around swiftly, just so that my lady would not get overly attached to anything she found as we went along. She was doing most of the talking, truthfully I had little to no interest in the objects she was looking for, I was only checking for the quality of the products from a basic standpoint, structural integrity, weight, materials… I could not speak much of the craftsmanship, but I could spot warped metal at least.

I may not have an appraiser’s eyes but I can at least support my lady with a second set of eyes that could look at the flaws of a product. Not for the first time, I missed having the ability to enhance my eyesight, it’d come in very handy to inspect the products we were buying. At least the food was simple enough, I’d learned at the manor to spot almost any sort of bad or off product, for if and when I was put in charge of supervising meals.

As we finished up our purchases, we brought them all out to the entrance to the town, which was more of a collection of houses and buildings set around the farmer’s market, which itself was built around a well-traveled crossroads, and then had them loaded up onto a carriage and sent to the manor. By the time we made it back, we’d still have to sort it, but at least when it came to that my lady never slacked.

“So where to next? We still have some money, right?” my lady asked, as we walked back into town. There were a few places to visit, to further educate her about the ways of the commoners, but I couldn’t quite think of anything I actually wanted to do.

“Wherever you wish,” I responded. “Although,” I muttered, as I realized, “If my lady is interested in a break, there is a small café – nothing like those in the capital of course, it caters to commoners with a bit of coin rather than the nobility,” she explained. “If my lady would be interested, I can dig into our budget.”

We had a Katarina Budget, and we had a Food Budget, for when we ran out of the Katarina budget. As much as her mother protested and expressed frustration over it, Katarina was going to be Katarina until the end of time… and so I’d been authorized a second pouch just in case I needed more money to feed her. The lord Duke Claes had even slipped in a little bit extra, while his wife was distracted, because he knew Katarina would exceed both if allowed.

On some level, the lack of trust hurt, but I must admit.

I’m not sure how long my no would endure in the face of my lady’s hunger. “Alright! That sounds great!” she said, and I realized she’d been ranting about food for the past few minutes, I sort of just tune those rants out nowadays. “We’ll go experience sweets like Maria’s!”

Resisting the urge to sigh, I nodded. There was absolutely no chance that these would be remotely close to the quality of Miss Campbell’s confections. “Temper your expectations,” I said. “Miss Campbell is an excellent baker and puts everything of hers into every batch,” I explained.

“Y-Yeah, she does,” my lady said, her cheeks dusted pink. “Isn’t she the best?”

“Quite,” I said. Maria Campbell may not be the best baker, but she was certainly the best at baking sweets for Katarina. So much so that she could even make me produce delicious sweets, as long as she was guiding me through the process. “Expect… reasonable quality, and then you’ll be surprised when and if it’s exceptional.”

“That’s clever! Right, managing expectations, I can do that,” Katarina said. “I can’t, I can’t do it at all, I’m excited for trying all new stuff!”

This time, I didn’t resist the urge.

Still, we walked through the market, having to cross it as the quickest way through to the other side of town where the café was, and then after a few minutes, we were allowed in, despite not having a reservation. Well, it likely didn’t see so much business, if they even had a reservation system at all.

“Hello there, I’ll be your captain for the evening!” a young lass, with a frilly dress and a large hat, spoke to us, briefly bowing, “I’ll guide you to a table,” she said.

The design of the café reminded me of a bar, but one that was more modern than the taverns of this world. Big front windows that let the light in, a warm atmosphere generated by the plentiful torches and candelabra, and a general cozy interior, with surprisingly private and intimate looking booths, rather than simple tables. This café was an odd place to be sure. Maybe it’d been a restaurant at some point?

“Please take a seat,” the captain said, gesturing at a booth. She looked me up and down, and then looked at my lady, and giggled approvingly. “Quite the handsome pair,” she said, “please, leave everything to us, we’ll make sure your outing together is everything you’ve been hoping for!” she said, making a gesture as if to salute. I wasn’t too familiar with the gestures of commoner folk, I realized, due to spending so much of my formative time, and really, just my time in general, at the manor.

“Woooah, this place’s nice, and the chairs are so comfy, it doesn’t lose at all to the places at the capital,” Katarina gushed, as she took her seat. “Oh! They left menus for us!” she said, grabbing what appeared to be a surprisingly high quality piece of paper. This place must be making some serious cash, then again, it was full…

Hm. All of this is rather interesting, I’ve never been to a place like this.

The captain smiled. “Oh, thank you very much! If you wouldn’t mind waiting a moment, a waitress will be by to take your order,” she said, “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask or approach me, we’re here to make your special day even more special!” she said, throwing another gesture and rapidly moving away, going on to take payment from another table, as they prepared to leave.

“What are you going to order, Tanya?” Katarina asked, as she leafed through the menu. Only a single page… it was hard to mass produce these things, so I wasn’t surprised to see it was handwritten. Maybe we were waiting for them to prepare the menu?

“In this kind of place,” I began, remembering the odd outing I’ve been in, after work, with drunken superiors and trying to make sure the few promising employees I had didn’t ruin their prospects by drinking too little while at the same time preventing them from getting drunk enough to say or do something disastrous, “it’s best to lean on the expertise of the staff. Ask for a recommendation, if you’re unsure.”

“Ahh… but everything sounds so good,” she said, “I’ll do it! Let’s ask them to bring us their recommendation for us! But won’t they just recommend something super expensive?”

“Alright, then that’s what we’ll do,” I agreed. “Don’t worry – nothing in the menu is beyond our means,” I was mentally making calculations, we could afford a couple… dozen… desserts before the budget started to run thin.

A waitress in a simpler, but still frilly and cute, dress came up to us. “Hi there!” she said, though she carried no notepad or anything of the sort. She’d just memorize the order, probably. “How may we serve you today? Have you made a decision?”

“Ah, right!” Katarina said, taking the lead, smiling widely. “Do you have anything like, recommended for us?” she asked, gesturing at me and then back at herself. “We’ll take whatever your, uhm, special is or anything like that!”

I was much too well trained to groan at my lady’s word choice, but at least she would absolutely pass for a commoner, talking like this.

“Alrighty! We’ll have it ready for you, you two are so cute together,” she said, “we’ll make sure your day is magical!”

“Eh? Thanks!” Katarina said.

I… suppose we do look like a pair of siblings on an outing, our features are similar, and our eye and hair color are both only a couple shades off of each other.

“Anyway, I’m glad we came here together!” Katarina said, as the waitress walked away, heading to the kitchen to get our meals. “We’ve gotten so much good stuff, the new fertilizer smells awful but it came with pretty good reviews, it’s gotta be great,” she said, “plus people are coming up with all new designs and tricks for tools, I never would’ve been able to afford that shovel if we hadn’t budgeted like you told me to, thanks for helping me like always, Tanya!”

“Not at all, it’s my duty,” I said, waving her concerns away. After all, I’d literally been charged with keeping track of her expenses and ensure that she learned the concept of smart shopping. “Are you feeling alright? It’s been a long day, between the travel and doing multiple laps of the market.”

“Yeah, yeah, this is nothing compared to working at my field all day!” she said, laughing. “But I’m starving, I could use some- whoooaaah, is that a chocolate cake?!”

Indeed, my attention was drawn to the… surprisingly cute, well-shaped confection. An honest to goodness chocolate cake. It wasn’t some sort of multitiered cake abomination, it was simplistic, rouned and decorated with white and pink frosting. It was obviously made with love and effort, but the heart decoration was a bit tacky. I was shocked, this- this must be ungodly expensive.

Honestly the availability of chocolate at all was concerning considering its origins in the world I was born in, but I gave up questioning the existence of comfortable underwear, and I am certainly not going to complain about chocolate cake… especially not one that looks this good.

“Please, enjoy!” the waitress said. “This is our special to celebrate the two of you,” she said, “it’s tradition that you cut a piece for each other!” she added.

“Ah, I’m- I’ll go first!” Katarina said. “You always serve me so it’s my turn now!”

The waitress produced a large cakecutting knife, as well as a pair of plates from the same platter that the chocolate cake had been set on, and two spoons. My lady took the knife, and began visibly making calculations in her mind, I could see the cogs turning in her head as she began to cut a piece of it.

The piece she cut me was… fairly large. Quite fat. I blinked as she carved out almost an eight of the entire cake, rather than a simple slice. Not at all like I did for her. I suppose this might be a message about the kind of pieces she preferred? No, it was irrelevant to me, after all, keeping track of my lady’s food intake was also part of my duties.

She placed the slice on one of the plates, grabbed it with both hands, and offered it to me with a radiant smile. “Here!” she said. “Please accept it!”

“Oh! How wonderful!” the waitress said, as she placed two plates with cups of steaming hot tea. “Go on!” she said, bowing, “enjoy yourselves, and take all the time you need!”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the slice of cake, placing it down before me, and using the long earned skills I’d mastered to cut a piece for my lady. Just this once, I cut her a thicker slice.

She salivated as I presented it to her… and the second, and third, and fourth slices… she ate most of the cake in the time it took me to finish my own slice. The tea was not the best I’ve had, I’m not a huge fan, I would’ve preferred a dark coffee, but it was good enough to accompany the chocolate cake.

My lady babbled about a great deal many things, and talked at length about her appreciation for the place. “It was such a good idea to come here, I’m so glad you thought of it!” she would finish.

“Thank you very much for the compliment,” I said, barely remembering to keep “my lady” out of it. We paid for the meal, and then walked out together. I’d rather not tell my mistress how much this little excusion cost, as much as it remained within our expected budget. Having enjoyed a break, we returned to work.

Hours later, we would finally be finished with everything, having come back to my lady’s family home, and sorted out our purchases. Some of the servants helped us, and the gardener took care of storing our fertilizer and the seed packets properly, until we could get back to work.

“Ahhh, I’m beat!” Katarina spoke, as we walked into her room. Compared to her usual dresses, the sundress was a much easier thing to remove. It was pathetically easy to do so, in fact, so much so that she hardly needed my help to do so… usually, that would’ve been the case. “My arms are like jelly… hmm… Jelly, I could go for some jelly,” she muttered to herself. “Tanyaaa, I can’t lift my arms!”

My own exhaustion was catching up to me. Surprisingly, I’d say travel was the most important factor on this. Both of us were no stranger to physical activity, but being prevented from finding any sort of rest due to the bumping and shaking of the carriage had probably drained our energy even more. “I’ll- a moment, my lady,” I said, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to work through my exhaustion.

Within minutes, my lady was out of her clothes, and wearing a proper nightgown. I, myself, had discarded my own pants and shirt, because it was actually starting to annoy me, itching badly. Even the clothes of the servant staff was of high quality here, and I’ve come to appreciate good fabrics.

“Alright,” Katarina muttered, collapsing upon her bed. I went after her, helping tuck her in, so that she may not be cold… but I stumbled, my exhaustion forcing me into clumsiness, and I tripped facefirst onto the bed. A most embarrassing moment.

Even worse, however, was that rather than allow me to put on my maid dress and return to the servants’ quarters, my lady wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me close to her, forcing me onto the bed. “My lady – I must-“

And then she snored in my face.

For someone who was so exhausted she couldn’t move her arms, she was possessed of incredible, terrifying strength, and even worse, the soft, heavenly fluff of her bed beckoned. I had to leave, my eyelids were growing heavier by the moment, and the gurgling mumbling of my mistress was becoming ever more distant, I had to move, I had to.

I had to…

…

…

The door to Katarina’s room opened, slowly, carefully.

A warm smile appeared on a woman who was cursed to forever wear a terrifyingly severe expression. She stepped into the room, an expression of amusement drawing itself on her face. With slow, careful and silent steps, she reached the side of the bed, and there, she allowed herself to fully take in the sight.

Two wonderfully cute young women, one a young lady, daughter of a duke, a lady of high breeding… of course, Milidiana thought, unlike her Katarina didn’t bear the face of a villainess. Katarina had inherited her father’s infinite lust for life, and that charming, damnable smile. Even in her sleep…

It might’ve been the words of a maid, looking to defend her mistress that had made her realize. That very same maid that her daughter was even now desperately clinging to in her sleep. Katarina didn’t know just how much just those few words had changed their relationship. After all… different though it might be, Katarina had her own version of a lady’s grace and charm.

No matter how much Milidiana had feared that one day Katarina might turn out bitter and lost in her own despair, that blonde maid, in all her dedication and loyalty, reminded her of what she’d once had, and thrown away in a fit of bitter anger.

With a gentle hand, Milidiana moved the two of them. They looked uncomfortable, looked like they wanted, needed, to be in a better position, and so she put them in it, their hands wrapped around each other, even their legs intertwining, seeking each other’s warmth and comfort. They were young women, in the end, young women who needed as much emotional support as any other.

For a moment, she thought she might find herself envious or jealous, but she found out that she was just happy… she was just experiencing an oddly peaceful bliss.

The knowledge that as long as these two had each other, that everything would turn out okay. In much the same way as her husband had once adopted her son Keith, in a way, Milidiana had adopted this girl, who’d had nothing to offer but her word and her body, who had promised to prove herself worthy of the investment…

Patting those two’s heads, Milidiana pulled the covers up, and with a final glance that lingered on their embrace, she nodded in satisfaction, before leaving the same way she entered.

However, as the lady of Claes left her daughter and said daughter’s handmaiden, as she headed towards her own room. She’d go over the expenses with Katarina later.

“Ahh, to be young again… To be young and in love…” Milidiana Claes muttered to herself. “Luigi… Luigi, my love,” she muttered, searching for her husband.

As the lady’s cries faded into the background, within the hazy recesses of her daughter’s mind, you could find her experiencing a dream, simultaneously of her past, and of her future, a dream of a ballroom, a dream of a gathering of people, many of whom were laughing, laughing at her. Accusing glares, indignant stares, angry scowls and furious snarls, all directed at her.

Her heart dropped to the bottom of her throat, and she couldn’t speak.

“Katarina Claes!” called the sadistic, black hearted prince, one hand wrapped around his lover’s shoulders, the other holding his sword. “It is the day of your reckoning, stick out your neck, and atone for your sins with your life! For disrespecting, mistreating and abusing my beloved Maria, I sentence you to execution by the sword!” he shouted, as he raised his weapon, and then brought it down.

But it never hit her neck, instead, she heard the sound of steel on steel, and then the sadistic, black hearted prince was knocked back, landing on his butt.

Katarina was swept off her feet, and her eyes opened to find herself staring, not at a knight in shining armor, but a maid, in a black dress and a white apron. “You’ll never lay a hand on my lady!” she said, and then she turned to Katarina. “From now on until forever, I will protect you, my lady, my love!” the blonde enthusiastically declared.

“T-Tanya..!” Katarina cried out, eyes filling with tears of joy. She alone would never betray her! There were no doom flags that would ever come from her! Yes, in her, and her alone, Katarina could find peace!

And then the maid’s lips touched Katarina’s, and her eyes opened, and then the maid’s eyes opened, and the two of them realized…

Their lips parted, and they realized that their tongues were intertwined.

Warm, baby blue blinked innocently. Icy, sky blue mirrored, in confusion.

“We’ll…”

“Let’s just go back to sleep,” Katarina said, hugging her maid, closing her eyes, and deciding that that was that, and the situation was to be resolved when the two of them were awake. Through it all, neither noticed their linked fingers, or their touching palms, but they felt the warmth nonetheless.

Naturally, they never spoke of this again, for many years.

Chapter Text

The Magic Tool Lab of the Magic Ministry had... a lot of strange and difficult to understand artifacts. A great deal of them were benign, but even more of them were not. Some were quite dangerous, and others still were...

Odd.

That was something that Katarina should have considered as she grabbed the jewelry box that was presented to her. She had... a strange sort of luck to her, that had resulted in her being used as a sort of testing rat when it came to strange and unusual magical artifacts.

Tanya wanted to never think again about her mistress risking her life with dark magic, even if the puppy that had become her familiar was adorable, and had said as much. The scoldings were legendary, and even Katarina's parents joined in on the pileup party. Even Keith, the one she had saved with her reckless actions, had made it a point to note that she should be far more careful about these sorts of things.

All of which had clearly fallen on deaf ears, because without the slightest bit of precaution, and fully trusting that her superiors in the Ministry would not give her something dangerous, Katarina grabbed the jewelry box like it was a regular and harmless one, opening it.

Tanya, by now Katarina's secretary and the one doing most of the paperwork and busywork that came her way, immediately realized what was happening, rushing forward to try to slap the jewelry box down.

Within there was a pair of rings, one with a red precious stone, the other with a blue precious stone, and immediately both began to glow in their same color, combining into a most fetching shade of violet. Tanya tried to knock them off of Katarina's hand, but the moment she came into contact with them, the light grew many times brighter and engulfed them both, searing into their eyes, blinding them, even as they closed their eyelids...

"What a strange dream," Katarina muttered, touching her face briefly, feeling oddly like something was missing. She felt something strange, and reached with her hand to touch her palm and fingers. It felt strange not to wear gloves, she was so used to it at this point, but-

She looked at the ring on her hand. A golden band with a glowing red gem. A smile drew itself on her face as she thought of it. Right, she couldn't wear gloves and her ring at the same time. Besides, she didn't need to anymore... well, not on the regular. She still wore them for work.

At her insistence, of course. Katarina adjusted her clothes, her jacket, her tie, her pants, even made sure her shoes were polished and neat. Everything was on point, clean, pressed and perfect. As it was to be expected. She walked out of the dressing room and headed down the stairs. The townhouse was large, of course, but not so much that it was a pain to maintain, and much smaller than the mansion.

Making her way down the stairs, Katarina turned to the kitchen. The scent of food in the air caught her nostrils. Breakfast. "Something smells wonderful," she said, as she stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning."

Tanya cut a different figure in more casual clothes. A long dark skirt, a pink sweater and a white apron were not the norm, but Katarina frowned. That was how Tanya always dressed, wasn't it? She dismissed that, and simply focused on the cook as she made use of her faculties and abilities.

"Good morning, darling," Tanya replied, with a bright smile. Her hair was pulled back, not into a neat bun, but a somewhat messy ponytail. Her smile was neither tight nor distorted... It was open and honest. She was having fun as she fetched each and every one of the dishes, and presented them to Katarina, as she sat down at the head of the table, the dishes laid out before her.

A bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, accompanied with boiled vegetables - ohitashi, her mind supplied - served as a side dish. Immediately, Katarina began to dig in, demolishing the dishes presented to her, even as more were added up. Tanya was an ace with housework, of course, she had a lot of experience with it, for a new-

Katarina choked and struck herself in the chest to dislodge the grains of rice stuck on her throat, downing the miso soup to push it down, and then taking in air and calming her breathing, just in time for the second serving to come in. A rolled omelet - once more her mind supplied the correct term, tamagoyaki - and a grilled fish she didn't quite recognize, she didn't care, it was delicious. Salty, as all get out, but the taste of soy sauce was revitalizing and nostalgic.

At some point, she'd drank two full cups of green tea, and was halfway through a third when she realized if this kept going on too long, there was no way she'd make it to her job in time.

She quickly gulped down the last bits of green tea and stood up. "Thank you for the meal," she said, realizing it was a bit delayed, getting up off her chair, quickly making her way around the table and to where Tanya was doing the dishes. She placed a hand around Tanya's waist, grabbing her by the hip opposite her, and kissed Tanya's cheek.

"Have a nice day at work, darling," Tanya said.

Katarina smiled. "Of course, but I'll be counting every minute until I'm back home!"

She smiled. "As will I," she said. "Now go, before you're late."

The sound of yapping and barking caught Katarina's attention, and she bent down to pat and play with Cerberus a little, the black puppy rolling on his back to present his belly for a rub. She grinned widely and gave him a quick rub. "Now you be a good boy for me until I'm home, protect Tanya and the house, okay?"

The dog got on its feet, and let out a determined bark.

The happy couple got out to the front of the house, and on the porch, it was Tanya who kissed Katarina's cheek this time. "Be safe, my lady," she said.

"What?" Katarina turned to Tanya, blinking in confusion.

"I said be safe, Darling," Tanya repeated.

Katarina hummed. "A-alright, yeah," she said, nodding to herself, and then making her way down the path to the house's gate, thinking carefully about her commute. She'd need to take the train... train? Train, right...

The day passed by in a blur. The Tool Department was boring and dull when nothing was going on. What was the point of studying magic if all you're going to do is just sit there and read reports about how poking a rock with a stick didn't cause an explosion? Besides, if they wanted to test stuff, they should ask her...

"Honey, I'm home!" Katarina called as she slid the screen door open, and stepped into her home once more, already feeling the warmth, as she left her shoes on their slot and put on the in-house slippers.

Tanya was quick to come greet her. "Welcome home, darling," she said. "What would you like first?" she asked. "Dinner, a bath, or me?" she spoke.

"Honestly dinner and a bath sound amazing," Katarina said with a grin, reaching for her stomach. "I'm starving!" she said.

Tanya smiled. "Of course, my lady will always be my lady," she said. "Very well then, the water has already been drawn, please jump right in, I'll have your meal ready in just a moment."

Tanya really was the best maid ever, Katarina mused. She just knew her so well, always being one step ahead, always focused on her and thinking of her. No doubt, everyone else was jealous of her! Everyone was... everyone was jealous of Tanya... her...

Katarina put her jacket on a hook near the entrance to her home and put her tie on another, and walked into the bathroom, slowly but surely undoing the buttons of her shirt until it was fully open. She undid the button at the front of her pants, and let them drop, leaving her only in an open shirt and her... boxers?

She looked down. She was wearing panties, as she was supposed to. She hadn't worn this kind in a long time, plain white cotton. Fancy underpants had been the norm. At least this wasn't as uncomfortable as wearing bloomers in the summer, now that would suck!

But... why would she wear bloomers? She shook her head, and placed her shirt and pants on the laundry basket, then pulled down her panties and did the same. Her bra was next, and finally, her socks, leaving her fully naked. To fully and properly relax, she first took a short shower and cleaned herself off of the grime and dirt she'd accumulated during the day, and collected her hair into a quickly formed bun, before sticking a pin on it to make sure it stayed in place.

She got into the bath, and relaxed there. Her head was starting to hurt over all the nonsense she'd been thinking about, and the relaxation was doing her great favors, as she allowed her tired and weary body to relax. Even the burning of her muscles, from hours and days of working on her fields, the stinging pain in her hands from holding her tools, was fading away... Wait... fields? Something was off, she couldn't quite explain what...

The door to the bathroom opened, and in walked Tanya, wearing her white apron, oven mitts, and carrying a tray with food on it.

Right, that! Food was more important! She'd think on the rest later!

"Please enjoy yourself," Tanya said.

"Right! Thanks for the meal!" Katarina said, bringing her hands together for a short prayer, and then accepting the tray, setting it to rest on the edges of the bathtub... naturally, Tanya had grabbed one that was the perfect size. Then, as she relaxed in the bath, Katarina had her dinner ready to eat.

Before leaving, Tanya got down on her knees, leaned over the edge of the bathtub, and pecked Katarina's lips. "Excuse me," she said, getting up with a wink, and retreating.

Katarina hummed. "Wonder what that was about, maybe I had food on my lips?" she asked. "Oh, well!"

And then Katarina ate, and relaxed, and finally, as the world once again became a blur around her, it was time for bed.

Katarina had put on her pajamas, a sky blue pair of baggy pants and a button up sleep shirt of the same color, and went to bed first, reading a novel using a pair of reading glasses and the light of the bedside table's lamp. As she read, however, the ceiling lights turned on, and Tanya walked into the room.

Tanya, wearing nothing but a bath towel. Tanya, with a sly smile on her face, and her long blond hair messily trailing her as she stepped forward, her towel dropping to the ground. Droplets of water rolling down her pale, perfect, flawless skin. Every breath she took, every step she made... Tanya's movement was as poetry.

"Darling," Tanya said. "Dar... ling..?" she muttered, then shook her head, getting on the bed, crawling towards Katarina on all fours. "Darling..." she muttered. "I'm... I feel it tonight," she spoke. Tanya was... not the tallest person Katarina knew, but as the blonde covered Katarina's body with hers, she felt like a giant.

The blonde's hand cupped Katarina's chin, and tilted her head up, before coming down for a kiss, her tongue slipping past Katarina's lips, and then their tongues danced with each other, an old, well known dance, one they had shared many times. After all, Tanya was the one to teach Katarina how to kiss.

Wasn't she?

Why did... why did she not remember that? Right, Katarina...

Tanya pulled back. "Darling, I can't stand it anymore," she said, her hand reaching down, sliding down Katarina's pajama shirt, and slipping under the waistband of Katarina's pants.

Katarina mewled in pleasure, feeling the hand of her wife grasping her penis, her fingers warm and soft and-

Wait.

"I... I don't have one of those!" Katarina said.

"You don't have a-" Tanya blinked.

Suddenly, they looked at each other, and for the first time, they saw, but they could not stop. Their bodies moved, but they didn't know. They kissed again, but they could not stop... their bodies moved, the rings on their fingers began to shine brighter and brighter, shining purple again.

And then suddenly, there was a bark, and a yip, and the sound of tearing fabric, and suddenly, Katarina and Tanya were holding each other, in a tight, intimate embrace.

Between them, Katarina's familiar, Cerberus, wagged his tail.

"You... you could've saved us any time?" Katarina asked. "Cerberuuuuus!"

The dog barked happily.

"I can't get mad at you," Katarina said, her eyes shining as she picked up the puppy and played with it.

Tanya cleared her throat, pulled the ring from her finger, set it on the table, and turned to the Director, Larna Smith, who was trying to hold in her laughter.

The lady immediately sobered up. "Nobody will hear of this."

Tanya smiled.

"I promise. I swear. In the name of my position as director," she said, her back now ramrod straight.

Katarina put her puppy down, and looked at the ring on her hand. "You know, this made me hungry," she said. "Is it lunch time yet?"

"You know what yes!" the director said. "Please go!"

And so they went, Katarina leading while playing with and talking to Cerberus, thanking him for pulling them out of the illusion, while Tanya followed behind.

"Note to self, when the entire royal family told me that maid was terrifying, they were NOT exaggerating, what the hell is that glare..!"

Tanya smiled demurely. She still had it.

Chapter Text

Never again shall I let royalty use their social and political weight to force me to take them seriously in a practice bout. Prince Geordo, you have my ceaseless, everlasting and unending enmity for this situation that you have forced me into. You cruel, black hearted, sadistic prince!

My lady was right!

I cannot help but believe that I am being insulted, as well. Little do I care about seeming feminine to those who observe me, but ultimately, I reflect upon my lady and her house, as her foremost servant, and now my lady's own friends have all agreed that I make for a handsome prince. The nerve... I am a maid, I am not supposed to be sexually desirable to women, I am only supposed to arouse the master of the house's libido!

...

Wait, why am I complaining about that?!

The stress is making me lose my mind, and even worse, I couldn't memorize any of the lines to this stupid play. Curse you, Prince Geordo, and your fragile shins!

"Alright, Tanya - that's your cue!"

What cue!? "But - my lines, I-"

"There's no time, ad lib something! The character was written with Prince Geordo in mind, so just- just try to act how he would!" Sophia Ascart spoke, pushing me to the stage.

...

...

The turmoil of Tanya's mind became too much to truly follow it, and as her mind raced a mile a minute, from the outside, it looked almost like she was perfectly confident and bearing a large smile. Some of those in the audience, those who knew her, flinched at the sight, though she was thoroughly unaware of this.

Indeed, many an old soldier or veteran knight recognized the look of a warrior walking to his death and trying to pretend everything was fine... and so everyone observed as the scene truly began, one that would go down in their memories.

Tanya stepped into the light, letting everyone see her, already knowing that any more stalling would reflect badly on her mistress. Unfortunately, she had also been roped into this mess, as a last minute replacement for the actress that was meant to play the antagonist, who had suddenly come down with a bad cold.

Immediately, Tanya tried to put on her best impression of Geordo's demeanor, confident yet observant. Her hair, while not cut, had been tied in such a way as to reduce its presence, and emphasize its slightly spiky and messy natural state. No hair spray to give her a typical shonen hero's spiky locks, but a facsimile of hair cream to give her a slightly more masculine hairdo would do.

She wore a white suit, and was shocked to find that it fit her almost perfectly with minor adjustments. She would have to ask why and how there was a suit tailored to her sizes, but now wasn't the time. A few steps forward saw her coming into the scene, which was already underway.

"Oooh ho ho ho!" the mistress of darkness, the Duchess Lamont, laughed openly, raising her right hand and opening her fan to cover her face as she did. Katarina Claes had almost entirely transformed into this role, and was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was slightly glossier than usual, her features were trained on a devilish smirk and her eyes carried a hint of amusement and darkness to them that sent chilling reminders of the monster she had been, more than a decade ago.

Duchess Lamont closed her fan and pointed it at the girl before her, who was on the ground, the blonde Maria Campbell, wearing a wig that covered her distinctive hair with a less attention grabbing brown that was oddly similar to Katarina's hair. She had the role of Ariadne, a poor girl who had been accepted into the royal academy of magic due to her unexpected talent.

The story itself was disturbingly close to an otome game storyline. Tanya wasn't too familiar with those, even when she had free time she had always preferred more... war related games. Some would even go as far as to say that in her first life, she had been a military otaku, but she would dismiss such things... after all, her knowledge of the Great War had been a lifesaver many times before.

"This is where you belong, little girl," the duchess spoke, "on your knees before me, rather than getting in my way. It is I, and not you, who is the Prince's perfect partner and future wife, and I won't allow an upstart commoner the likes of you to usurp my rightful role!"

Right. She had some degree of knowledge of the plot. Tanya played the Prince Benjamin, undercover as Benji, son of a Baron. This was the scene where the prince would meet the Heroine, and save her from the bullying of the Duchess, establishing their bond.

She stepped in as she remembered the instructions said to do, but then she realized a rather distressing detail.

Right. Her line.

Her line. Which line? The one that she didn't memorize.

Right, right right, what to do now... She said act like Geordo, right? But... that wouldn't do. Geordo in this situation... It wouldn't be grand enough for theater, would it?

She needed to be bombastic, loud and enthusiastic, that was one of the rules of theater, it was better to overact than underact. She couldn't even see the people due to the lights, but she knew they'd be groaning in boredom and hoping for something, anything, to get her off the stage if she couldn't transmit the energy that a good actor could!

Admittedly, all of this was spitballing she did in her mind within moments, and only when she noticed that the other two were looking at her, did she finally make a decision.

She could not be a handome otome love interest... but she could be a military officer. And that would have to do.

"What is the matter here?!" she demanded, as she stepped into the scene between the two girls, gesturing grandly with her arms. "What harm has she done to provoke a noble lady to such acts?"

She hoped that sounded noble enough.

"What gives you the right to stand up to a noble lady?" the Villainess sneered. A hint of doubt passed between Katarina's eyes, and only the most eagle eyed of observers could've noticed it.

Tanya decided she needed to reassure her lady, even if she adlibbed a few things, they would need to be in synch. She got on her knees and put her hands on the heroine's shoulders, making her stand up. "Are you alright, miss?"

It was when Maria, no, Ariadne looked at her that Tanya started to get into it. It was a very convincing hopeful gaze. "Oh! Please forgive me, I did not mean to get you involved, I made a mistake, please allow me to apologize," the young commoner begged, turning to the duchess.

"Apologize," the duchess sneered. "For offending me, I shall have you expelled from this great and wonderful institution. Rabble such as yourself never should've been allowed to spread its filth in our sacred halls," she said. "And the same goes for you," she said, looking at Benji. "I know not your name nor your face, you must be such a low and pathetic noble that you might as well be a commoner, no different from this dog."

Benji was incensed by the cruel sight. It brought up memories of a bratty, shitty child that would drive her- him up the wall, and needed constant care and attention. A traumatic memory, to be certain.

"No matter how high and mighty your house, this behavior is inexcusable," Benji argued.

"What is inexcusable is your attitude towards me," the lady spoke. "You will know the weight of my family's name when it falls upon you, cretin!"

"No, please - not over me," Ariadne begged. "If I must face punishment for offending a highborn lady, then let it be me and me alone!"

"So be it. A duel for honor!" the duchess shouted. "We shall decide your fate upon a duel, should you be defeated, then you will be expelled!" she crowed, in triumphant glee.

"B-But, I cannot fight, I've not yet learned magics to-"

"Then you shall have to make do with your fangs and claws, as all other beasts do!" Duchess Lamont laughed.

"No, I cannot allow that," Benji replied, firmly. "Allow me to be the first to defend your honor, I will stand for you," he said, resolutely, putting a hand on his hip, where the decorative prop sword rested. "I will stand for her, and be her champion! Who will stand for you, oh duchess!?"

"Stand for me?" the Duchess scoffed. "One such as I needs no one to stand for her," she shouted, making a grand sweeping gesture. "If you would stand up for this filthy commoner, lowborn noble, then let me show you the might and power of my family and my name!"

Tanya pulled the prop sword, and was just in time to receive the impact from the hard wooden fan that Katarina struck her with. It was an incredibly powerful attack, and it carried the force that one would expect from a woman who did hard labor every single day of her life, and received a significant amount of physical training besides that, simply to burn off the calories of the massive amounts of food she ingested.

It actually managed to make her arm feel the impact as the blonde was forced back.

Tanya raised the sword again and parried the follow up attack, twisting her hand and cutting at Katarina's neck, but the lady was quick and much too practiced to let such a basic trick work on her... and unfortunately, she had learned far too well from the trick bag of her primary teacher and master, dodging the cut by diving under it, slamming her shoulder onto Tanya's midsection, knocking them both to the ground, the sudden impact causing Tanya to let go of her weapon when she hit the ground, gasping for air.

She proceeded by immediately punching at Tanya's face, forcing the blonde to raise her hands to block, and as soon as Katarina let up for just a mere instant, to breathe, Tanya bucked her off and rolled towards her sword.

The blonde grabbed the weapon, just in time to see the duchess grabbing onto one of the prop arming swords that the fake armors used as decoration for the 'hall' the scene was taking place in and pulling it out of the armor's grip.

Immediately, the two were onto each other, and anyone who watched could tell that they'd forgotten where they were, and instead both of them were very noticeably, and visibly, going for the kill with every strike. In fact, some would even argue the method through which the two of them fought might even be called excessively and unnecessarily lethal.

Rather than a honorable duel with swords, the showroom fencing that many of the nobility were used to, Katarina instead used her sword as a distraction, making Tanya block a horizontal slash at her midsection and following up with an elbow to the face, though the blonde was able to twist out of the way and step on the puffy dress to arrest her movement, throwing a punch that connected with Katarina's face and forced her back, though as she rolled with the hit, she managed to avoid great harm.

Katarina huffed, and demonstrating that a blunt prop sword was not a harmless toy, stabbed it into her dress and tore the expensive looking garment apart, cutting off most of her skirts.

Tanya tried to capitalize on this by stepping for an attack, but Katarina threw the fabric onto her face and sword, and though Tanya was able to avoid getting tangled up, she was not able to capitalize on the opening, and so the two were once more engaged in a violent and impressive melee, legs, fists and swords flying as the two of them tried to inflict grievous bodily harm on one another.

At the end, however, the master was the master, and the apprentice had not quite overcome her yet. Despite her extremely impressive strength and speed, Katarina simply lacked the skill and experience of a real fight, and eventually, she made a mistake, opening herself up for a kidney punch that doubled her over, and then she was kicked to the ground, her opponent's sword at her throat.

"'Twould seem your defeat is at hand, oh duchess," Tanya, no, Benji, right, get in character, Benji taunted.

For her part, the duchess laughed. "So it be!" she called.

However, it was at that moment that the two of them realized...

Right.

That fight scene wasn't in the script! The duchess wasn't even supposed to be able to fight, the duel was never meant to happen, the duchess would call for someone to be her second but nobody would pick up the glove, and she would be disgraced and shamed for it...

Oops.

Everyone was looking at them now.

Maria walked up to Tanya and threw her arms around her, getting close enough to whisper in her ears. "Sophia said to just roll with it!" she said.

Tanya and Katarina looked at each other, and it was at that moment that perhaps they connected on a deeper level that any physical affection they might have shared over their years as lady and maid.

Unconsciously, they both realized...

This was just the story of their lives. Just improv and hope for the best...

Well then.

Katarina dusted herself off. "So be it! I shall back off for today, but now you've piqued my interest," she spoke, getting back on her feet. "And you girl - you better cling to your savior, if you know what's good for you," she warned. "You know not our ways nor our customs, it would do you a world of good to learn them, if you do not wish to find yourself in this situation once more."

"I, I thank you for the advice, Lady Lamont," Maria replied. "I shall endeavor to do so, as you've adviced."

"Perhaps I judged you too harshly," the duchess spoke. "Mayhaps we may speak another time..."

Tanya sheathed her prop sword.

Katarina turned to her, then bowed, lifting the shredded remains of her skirts to curtsey. "I am the Lady Rina Lamont, Daughter of Duke Mario Lamont," she spoke. "It is always a pleasure to make the acquaintance of a man of strength and honor."

"I am Benji Princeton, of the house of Princeton, son of a Baron," Tanya replied, immersed enough not to question the obvious alias. "I cannot deny that our bout was a most stimulating one."

"Indeed! Perhaps next time, we may duel not as foes, but as friends!" the Duchess Lamont spoke, grabbing her slightly busted up fan from the ground and opening it, though it had a few visible cracks, fanning her face and covering it as she threw her head back, giving another "Oh ho ho ho!" laugh as she did so.

And so did the scene end.

There would be much yelling from Sophia... but she was able to throw something together during the time they'd been out, and they would carry out the current plot to its conclusion, not the condemnation of a villainess and the declaration of a happily ever after between the prince and the commoner girl, but instead, a tale of a most unlikely friendship...

It would get positive reviews, though people could tell much of it was improvised on the spot, for the passion of the actors, and most importantly, phenomenal reviews for the fight choreography. Some would even say that they were afraid the actors might actually kill each other on stage.

Needless to say, neither Katarina nor Tanya wanted anything to do with an acting career after that, though they did agree to consult and work with the drama club for fight scene choreography...

Chapter Text

Deep into the Claes' territory, in their permanent home, a large mansion, there was an underground library where their most precious documents and books were stored, and within, there were the lady and lord of the house, and they were speaking.

"Do you truly understand what it means?"

It was a rare time when the Duchess Claes played anything but the perfectly prim, proper and cold noble lady. From a young age, she had been renowned for having a glare that could strip paint off the walls and a shrill scream that could strike fear into the hearts of an entire army in a single go. Of course, her natural resting scowl was the primary reason for the rumors of her youth, and, well, her belief that her husband didn't love her had caused a general demeanor that made her a feared person among the noble ladies' gossip circles.

However, this did not mean much in the face of those who knew her well, and that included her husband.

In another life she'd never understand just how deeply he loved her, but this was not that life, as her daughter's boundless and infinite energy and stupidity had accidentally cleared up a terrible misunderstanding before she could do something that she would regret for the rest of her life.

"I'd need to know what you're talking about first dear," Luigi said, turning the page of the book he was reading, the candlelight flickering slightly, his reading glasses reflecting it for only a moment. He stopped, closed his book, more interested now in his wife than in what he was looking for before. "Mili?" he asked.

"Today," she said, raising her hands and looking at them. Bare. Uncovered. She'd worn gloves that morning, and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. "Today - I realized that I've made a terrible mistake, that these very hands have thrown the country into a path that it may never right again."

"We are one of the most powerful families in this country my dear, surely if we put it on ourselves, we could do so," he said, "it is reasonable to be aware of this power and as such to regulate its use carefully, but it also serves to correct-"

"No, no, not like that," Milidiana said, shaking her head. "How did we never realize, my dear?" she lamented. "We gave the most powerful weapon in this country to Katarina of all people!" she said. "At the time I only thought that having that maid looking after her would ensure nothing bad would happen, but, but-"

"What did she do?" Luigi asked. "Sweetie, what did they do?"

"Well- you remember how there was a crime syndicate that we've been investigating plaguing a certain small town near the border of our territory?" she asked. "And how that town happened to open a bakery recently?"

"Oh. Oh my god. How, how many?"

"We're still counting," Milidiana said, somberly. "And I'm guessing we'll never find most of them. Every time, Tanya's even more meticulous about hiding the bodies..."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the mansion, a young lady greeted her equally young maid, who brought with her a tray of sweets from the patisserie she liked.

"Here you go, my lady," the blonde maid said, passing the tray to her mistress, who had desperately wanted a night snack and would refuse to go to bed until she had it. "Please enjoy it, they are freshly baked."

"Awesome, I'm so glad you could get these," Katarina gushed, "ahhh, these are good enough to die for!" Katarina continued, stuffing her mouth and scarfing down a few pastries. "Oh! I see you tasted them, you've got a little bit of strawberry jam on your sleeve!" Katarina said, looking at the red droplet stain on the cuff of her maid's dress. "Tanya's usually so neat," she giggled, "I'm glad to see you get dirty sometimes too!"

"I'll be perfect next time and return with no stains, my lady," the maid said, her eyes glinting. "I'll make sure there's no traces of my actions left behind next time."

"Alrighty, if you say so," Katarina said. "Now come on, eat these with me, you went through all the trouble, you should enjoy some too!"

"No, please, not at all, it is my pleasure to serve you, my lady," Tanya responded.

She got a puffy, fluffy and extremely delicious pastry shoved into her mouth as she was speaking for her trouble. It was delicious.

And while her mistress was distracted with that...

Within Tanya's mind, her thoughts were a lot different than what Katarina might expect, as her thoughts were as follows...

I see, I understand now - duchess Claes must've made my lady aware of these circumstances so that she may dispatch me to deal with the criminal syndicate quietly... plausible deniability, orders given indirectly... how clever. I must sharpen my senses and keep a careful watch on my lady, all threats to my cushy future must be eliminated.

Chapter Text

Mary was on the-

"Wow even in my head that pun was terrible," Mary said to herself, frowning as she moved through the vast expanse of Katarina's personal estate. The Claes properties were numerous and quite large, and it wasn't surprising that the family had given Katarina one of those properties as a gift, a simultaneous reward for succesfully keeping her job for a fully ear, and also a birthday gift.

More than a hunt, she was on a delivery. A basket was swung over her left elbow, filled with important goodies.

The household staff was mostly newly hired, but almost all of them were either family or acquaintances of the staff of the Claes family. Unsurprising, good and trustworthy people were worth their weight in gold.

One doesn't marry into the royal family without knowing the worth of good, disciplined and most important of all, tight lipped servants.

Even better, it seemed like the staff was on the ball and supporting her as well, they had guided her directly to the object of her affections and even told her about how to approach the training grounds without being detected. As large as the estate was, she really needed the directions.

It really wasn't suited at all for permanent habitation, and it seemed like its current owner was intent on keeping it that way. Though there was a mansion, it was currently almost entirely inhabited by the people who worked the lands and their families.

The Claes family had never found an use for the needlessly large property, and when Katarina and her maid took it over, they clearly had no use for it either, because the mansion was converted into housing, and many of its gaudy and lavish features were removed, sold or gifted away. Mary's own family had been gifted a fountain that had once been in the hedge maze!

Speaking about it, after making her way through an inexplicably large hedge maze and using the provided shortcut to skip the second half of it, she made it through to the relatively small building that Katarina was in, themed after the architecture of the far east. It looked quaint and quite picturesque, with a strange garden made around a pond. It even had cute orange and white striped fish that she liked to feed occasionally.

This building was a training hall.

And because it was a training hall for Katarina, it was built to be sturdy. All the latest techniques, magical or otherwise, as well as the most advanced materials went into its construction. Wood harder than steel. Glass that could withstand explosions. Magical reinforcements everywhere.

And yet... A crack on that pane of glass over there, warped and dented planks over yonder, scuff marks, burns...

The most dangerous people in the country trained in this place, and it showed.

Mary hummed. Her own fiancé was a frequent user of this dojo, though Alan was hardly the strongest person here. His brother, Geordo, also visited rather often. As did Nicol, the future Prime Minister.

But all three of them together couldn't put a scratch on this place's protections.

No, really, the most dangerous person here was its owner.

Mary approached, and stealthily crept up and into the training hall, making sure to stick to the sturdier and stronger walls as she passed the foyer and the storage room, and finally reached the once infamous monkey girl and her teacher...

Just about in time to watch said monkey girl's fist hit the wall just behind her maid, as the maid herself dodged out of the way in a slick, fluid motion that made Mary's spine hurt just looking at it. Even though she was reaping the benefits of fitness training, she still couldn't even imagine taking part in this sort of rough, violent training...

Then again... Mary looked at the two women, their faces shiny and slick with sweat, as they moved around each other. The two of them had squeezed into ridiculously tight looking clothes, clearly using and abusing elastic fabric. White shirts, and those workout pants that Katarina seemed so fond of in bright red. The difference between them was stark now. Katarina was, strictly speaking, a rather average woman, but in that averageness she struck a perfect balance of every feature that was attractive on a woman.

Over time... Mary had started to think that Katarina was secretly a dirty girl.

Her workout pants were very very tight, and they showed off damn near everything. She worked out in private, and those pants were a good explanation why, nobody would be able to concentrate if they were looking at Katarina's perfect ass stretching the red fabric so thin that her underwear was visible below it...

Mary found her breath coming in short pants.

The incarnated demonic force that was Tanya was no slouch either. Though she was the second smallest among Katarina's female entourage, her breasts were still being nicely framed by the tight white shirt, and her tightly trimmed body was a treat in itself.

Even worse, the two of them were wrestling each other, their fists missing only by inches, getting ever sweatier, dampening their clothes, grabbing onto each other, rubbing against each other, their chests, their legs, their arms, their faces, coming close to each other time and again...

Katarina's monstrous strength asserting itself, again and again and-

Mary resisted the urge to whistle. Katarina had always been physically strong, a decade of hard work and nearly as much time of physical training had wound up giving Katarina dividends, but to see her true strength on display was a rare treat. Almost nobody could push Katarina to the point where she actually needed to actually apply herself in a fight, after all - mostly because it was really, really hard to get Katarina to ever fight anyone in the first place.

The hardened ironwood planks shattered into splinters under Katarina's fist.

"That's enough!"

And then a stop was called.

Mary smirked. This was what she was prepared for! She came bearing a towel and refreshments!

"My lady, it's imperative that you learn to restrain yourself properly, your strength continues growing, but your control does not grow alongside it," the maid said, her hands going to her front for a moment before she realized she wasn't wearing her dress, much less her apron, and so she let them rest on her hips, balled into fists, striking a commanding pose instead. "If you lost control and showed this power to your friends, surely you'd get a new nickname."

Katarina let out an almost pained laugh with no humor behind it. "Sorry, I just got really into it," she admitted. "Especially since you said I'd lose to Geordo still, I need to be strong enough just in case you know!"

Mary stepped into the hall, ignoring the cracks. She could probably stomp down on them and they wouldn't give at all, even broken they were still super strong. "Greetings, Lady Katarina, Miss Tanya!" she said, raising her basket and showing it off to the lady and the maid. "I come bearing gifts!"

"Aahh! Mary! Finally a friendly face!" Katarina cried. "I've been stuck with nobody but Tanya for three days! I haven't had a single sweet thing since we came here!"

"That's what it means to have a focused retreat," Tanya spoke, linking her hands behind her back. "Lady Hunt," she acknowledged with a nod. "Alright, you've worked hard, my lady, you have earned yourself a break," she said.

"YAAAAAY!" Katarina shouted. "Mary, my savior!" she said, going down on her knees before the voluptuous lady, "may the heavens smile upon you for your mercy and kindness!"

Mary giggled, opened her basket, and showed off its contents. A pair of fluffy, clean towels, three waterskins, many packets of tea leaves both dried and fresh, and of course... tightly and very carefully packed sweets bought from the best patisserie in the closest town.

Katarina promptly took the basket from Mary and tore into it, passing one of the towels to Tanya, and then immediately running off with the basket.

"Where is she going?" Mary asked, blinking.

Tanya sighed. "My lady knows me too well. Undoubtedly, she knows I've prepared the gazebo already," she said. "We will find her out back, enjoying the treats."

"You- prepared for my arrival?" Mary asked, blinking. "You knew I was coming?"

"Ah, yes," Tanya spoke, nodding. "You would arrive early in the morning, Prince Geordo and Prince Alan have the same impeccable sense of timing so they will arrive at our tea break at four, Maria works until the last moment so her confections are as perfect as possible, so she will come at five fifteen because she will leave at the last possible moment, Sophia will arrive late in the evening so that she may use it as an excuse to stay the night," she explained, "and then Nicol will come to pick her up in the morning and he knows Katarina will ask him to stay for breakfast and a chat. Keith will then come to pick Katarina up to take her into town at lunchtime," she said, "with a suitable excuse for her to take a break undoubtedly."

"O-Oh... you have us pegged huh?" Mary asked, surprised and a little bit intimidated.

"Managing my lady's love life is part of my work," Tanya said, bowing slightly.

Mary let out a slightly nervous laugh. "I-"

Then she stopped.

Right! It was an opportunity!

"I think we could-"

"With all due respect, Lady Hunt, there is nothing in this world that you could possibly bribe me with to betray my lady's confidence or trust," Tanya said, "which includes manipulating her to aid you in the pursuit of her heart," she added. "If you would-"

Mary grabbed her wrist.

There was one way that she could go ahead with that didn't necessarily mean she was forcing the maid to betray her mistress in any way. She understood this was an impossibility. It was one of the reasons she admired Tanya. There were many, really. Over time she had grown quite respectful of the maid. If Katarina was a perfect angel, an entity of nothing but endless kindness, sweetness and sugar (mostly sugar because of how much she ate), then the demon maid was probably what Mary strived to be.

A perfect partner and supporter, who was trusted deeply and completely, and who would never betray nor deceive.

Mary looked her in the eye. "I want you to teach me how to... pleasure Katarina."

"You- Lady Hunt, you might have a mistaken impression of my relationship with my lady," the maid spoke, looking her in the eye. "I- I do not perform those sorts of services," she said.

Mary pulled her determination together. "Nobody knows Lady Katarina like you do, nobody knows her as deeply as you do - if anybody would know what she likes, it'd be you," she said. "I'm, I'm not asking for any unfair advantage or anything," she said, "I just want you to... guide me, and tell me if I'm doing well," she said.

"I- Lady Hunt, you are an engaged woman, I- I can't-"

"My engagement is political fiction," Mary said, "and both of us love the same woman..." she said, closing her eyes, raising both hands to her chest. "So please - teach me what I need to know to please Katarina! I want to give her the greatest dating experience of her life! I'll prove that even if we are both women, we can love as deeply and have just as satisfying a date as a man and a woman!"

Tanya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Y-You want to go on a date, with my lady, yes?"

"Yes," Mary said. "I want you to help me give her the greatest experience she could possibly have," she said.

"Oh, thank goodness," Tanya sighed. "I thought- No, nevermind."

"What?" Mary asked, blinking. "What did you think I was asking about?"

"I- I cannot say, Lady Hunt, I would- my apologies, truly, sincerely-"

"It sounds like you thought I came here with lewd intentions," Mary said, staring accusingly at the maid.

"I- no, I could never-"

"Well you're right. I've read the Garden of Lilies series of novels over and over again- I'm going to put all that research into practice!"

"I-"

Tanya froze.

Katarina poked her head into the room. "Heeeey, are you guys coming? It feels selfish eating all these delicious sweets all alone!"

"Yes, as a matter of fact- I'll go make your tea," the flustered maid said, dashing off.

"Huh. What's gotten into her?" Katarina asked, looking at Mary.

"If I have my way it'll be me," Mary muttered.

"What was that?" Katarina asked, not quite having heard that.

"Nothing!" Mary said with a smile. "How's the sweets?"

"Ah! They're amazing, you should really come share them with me, it'll make them taste even better!" Katarina said.

"Oh I know what I want to taste alright," Mary muttered.

"What?" Katarina asked again.

"Nothing!" Mary said with a big, bright smile. "Lady Katarina, could we practice kissing again? I feel like I'm getting the hang of it."

"Uhm, sure, I guess? Alan's going to be really surprised with all the practice we've been doing!" Katarina said with a smile. "You're getting really really good!"

Mary licked her lips.

Maybe some time ago she had thought that the maid was competition. These days, she just saw Tanya as a very pleasant bonus. A bitter drink went quite well with the soft, fluffy and sweet cake that was Katarina...

Her greatest competition thought that the way to Katarina's heart was through her stomach, but Mary knew better.

The way to Katarina's heart was through her other half, and Mary would have both halves wrapped around her fingers before they knew it!

Chapter Text

Having sleepovers as children attending the academy? That was all fine and dandy.

There was something that was a little bit... unusual about having sleepovers among working adults. But if nothing else, it was at least in character for my lady Katarina, who had apparently decided that growing up was for other people. Well, not that I particularly mind her building bridges and increasing her political influence.

I just wish she was a bit more aware of the fact that she is an engaged woman, and that Prince Geordo is getting increasingly more protective and defensive of her, the more she wanted to push him away, the more firmly he would try to hold onto her. My lady was usually an easygoing and brave woman, a tiger really, but she turned into a shy little kitten when she was on the receiving end of the same affection she gave out freely.

I slapped my face and got rid of that image that crept up into my head of Katarina wearing nothing but fur-lined lingerie, cat ears and a tail. Katarina dressed like that was a dangerous beast indeed.

My steps were the only thing that could be heard. The townhouse we were at was officially Keith's property, one of many, but it currently didn't have anyone leasing it. It was still kept clean and maintained regularly, so we had decided to make use of it thanks to its central and accessible location that would allow Mary, Maria and Sophia to attend this sleepover, while at the same time, being close enough that the boys were only a moment's sprint away.

Katarina was only as safe as her next kidnapping, after all, and I am not so arrogant and proud that I believe myself to be all the protection she needs. If the Princes, Nicol and Keith were willing to help, who was I to deny them.

The servants had gone to sleep in the servant wing, the ground floor level of the east wing. The Master Bedroom, on the west wing's second floor, was more than large enough to host the sleepover. Honestly, it was almost unreasonably large, but that's nobility for you, if it's not the biggest and the largest and the most luxurious...

I made a mental note as I passed a dusty vase, pushing the trolley I was taking to the master bedroom, and then I finally reached the end of the hallway, the grand, varnished oak doors inlaid with golden designs only partially muffling the laughter and ever increasingly louder talk from within. I hummed, stepped between the cart and the doors, and then opened them, throwing them open fully so as to give me space to come through.

"Here she is!"

Ever food motivated, my lady was the first to notice my arrival.

"Tanya save meeee!"

Every sense I had kicked into high gear the moment I noticed the panic in my lady's voice, and I immediately turned from the trolley with the sweet treats and biscuits to face the women within.

The first thing I noticed is that Sophia Ascart might have the looks of an innocent fairy, pure as the driven snow, but her taste in underwear was anything but pure. Lascivious wasn't even enough of a word. Her taste in underwear was straight up erotic. Her slim body hadn't changed much from her teen years, but she at least knew how to bring up her small chest so that it looked a lot more inviting, with a green lace bra that gave them a little bit of a lift to make them look slightly bigger, banking on their natural perkiness to enhance the look.

Her butt was almost fully exposed, only green strings coming together to form a ribbon just above the buttcrack that was nearly completely exposed. As Sophia turned around, I could see that the front was sheer green lace, it was see-through enough that I could tell she was among those who thought that a lady ought not have a single hair out of place.

She was straddling Katarina's waist, Katarina herself was wearing an infinitely more sensible pajama set, light blue silken pants and a button up that was partially open, revealing Katarina's blue bra, a rather unsexy one that was only meant to be comfortable and support her chest.

"What is the meaning of this?" I immediately asked.

"Dish ishn't, uhm- hic!"

I turned to face the only fellow light user I knew of, although of course she was my direct opposite in many ways, and I'm not talking about the fact that she grew a chest and I didn't, I'm not bitter about that at all - what use would I have for a large chest..? - but rather about... well almost everything but our coloration I guess.

Normally I was the one who was bent towards destruction, but wearing that, I would argue that Maria was herself a weapon of mass destruction. She was... a beautiful woman, in an almost homely way. The sort of woman a soldier wants to come home to after a war. The sort of woman that would've inspired my merry band of idiots back in the Imperial Army to do feats of great renown. Though her skin was darker than mine, it wasn't by much, and unlike me she was flawless and smooth from the tip of her toes, toenails painted pink, to the tips of her fingers, fingernails also the same pink.

Her underwear was basic and simple, a white bra and panty set, but it was of nice quality, and it had some slight accents in lace. The peasantry hardly could afford the erotic underwear that the ladies of the higher classes seemed to prefer for some reason, but she filled her set quite well, and in fact, her butt was straining the panties.

"Godh shyoou!"

If she hadn't given me a warning, I might have had to actually try to dodge Lady Hunt, but as it was, she had given herself away with enough time that I could step out of the way of the drunken woman as she tumbled face first, ass up, onto the nice rug that covered the ground. Lady Hunt, as always, was a phenomenally sexy woman. Ever ahead of her peers, she was wearing a yellow panty that was clearly a size too small, detailing every contour of her butt, and a babydoll that didn't even try to hide her spectacular chest.

I refuse to spend much time focusing on her, or dwelling on that magnificent pair of breasts that sits on her chest, her bosom is definitely not something I should be thinking about, much less thinking about how they bounced as she turned around, or how her sheer babydoll did nothing to conceal their amazing form.

"What in blazes is this?" I asked, resisting the urge to flee. A chill ran down my spine.

This is what it felt like to go into the command room to report a successful operation, every time, the reward for a success would be the opportunity to work more, to work longer and to work harder. I wish I was working back at the mansion, at times like these.

"They- they brought out a bottle of wine and, well-" Katarina said, though Sophia shut her mouth with a hot and heavy kiss.

The two ladies parted, and Sophia let out a sigh. "Ahn, you're such a good kisser, Katarinaa~!" she mewled, "I could kiss you aaaall day!"

"Noooou," Maria whined, "L-La, hic, Lady Katarina ish, ffor, for all!" she cried, raising her fist and pumping it as if protesting the tyranny.

Sophia giggled in response.

"You have to save meeee!" Katarina whined.

Mary giggled. "Sha, shave'r?" Mary said, her eyes gaining an unexpectedly sharp focus, despite the veneer of drunken revelry, "Ta, Taanayaaa," Mary started, then a burp interrupted her, and she giggled drunkenly, "dun, dun yew wanna," she muttered, turning her head to Katarina, "jo, johin ush?" she asked.

Looking at the three, I was totally, utterly and absolutely horrified.

Not at the fact that they were doing this.

But the fact that for a brief moment, I considered it!

This had to stop, right here and now. This had to stop, before I lost my will and actually joined in on the revelry. It wasn't her faul! It was this stupid body's fault! Being X had damned me with this body that was perverted and sick and terrible! I hadn't had a chance or reason to curse Being X in quite some time, I'd honestly thought she was getting over it, but right now I was definitely feeling very much the hatred for the being that had put me in this world.

It seemed like Being X didn't like the fact that I escaped the life of misery that it had prepared for her in this world as well, and so she was being set up like this... it would try to make her betray the trust of her master, and abandon her in her time of need!

I had two impulses here, to join or to run away, and neither was acceptable!

Come on, Tanya, your master had demanded help! I had to get those floozies off of her lady's body and rescue her!

I stepped forward, but didn't see the band of light magic that had been put in front of my feet by Maria, concealed under the thick black dress of the maid outfit, and so I went tumbling forward, and Sophia moved out of the way just in time so that I landed right on top of Katarina.

Our lips met in a rather unlikely kiss, and before I even knew what was going on, I had my arms around my lady's waist, and said lady had her arms around my waist. Though it felt like only a single momentary and solitary instant, in reality we kissed for a good few minutes, without stopping, making out in the same way they had many times before, when Katarina had been interested in learning how to kiss...

"W-Woah- this is- too sexy," Sophia giggled. "I'll have to report it to Nicol later!" she added, causing me to make a mental note to kill Nicol when he next showed up for training.

"Sho, jelush," Maria whined loudly, one hand raised up to her mouth, biting on her finger "I wanna kissh Lady Katarina too!" she protested.

Mary hummed and wiggled in place. "Ahhn, dey, sho bootiful toge, togedah~!" she muttered. "Mmmh, ah want shom, toooo!"

The lady and I were immediately swarmed by the hungry harpies, but I had my duty. I couldn't save Katarina, but I could offer up my body to protect her. As they continuously grabbed at me, tore off my clothes (with surprising dexterity and accurate, gentle hands, not a single article of clothing was ripped, impressive for a trio of drunken idiots) and then left me in nothing but my panties, right on top of my still partially dressed master.

"I'll protect you with my body and life, my lady," I said, trying to affect the most serious tone I could. "Just stay behind me, and we'll endure this."

I felt my lady's hand grasp mine.

"If we survive this, let's make sure nobody ever hears about it again," my lady said, looking into my eyes, begging me, and I nodded.

Together, we faced the three drunken harpies, and though our combined efforts would spare our innocence that night, as we managed to make sure the underwear stayed on for both ourselves and the drunken trio, both of us would have nightmares long after the fact.

Nightmares of extremely attractive young women, putting their hands all over me, kissing my body all over, while my mistress holds my hand, and pats my head, and tells me I've done a good job and that I deserve a long vacation with all expenses paid, and a raise.

Nightmares that left me hot, bothered and wet in all sorts of places.

They are definitely nightmares. I'm too old for wet dreams...

At least my mistress remains the same as always, and the drunken three do not remember anything that happened. I could never face them if they remembered seeing me make the faces I made when they touched me...

Chapter Text

Erradicate the sources of my lady's frustration, eh?

I suppose I've been slacking, if the mistress of the house had to come remind me personally of this fact. I don't know how closely I have dodged disciplinary action, the Lady of Claes would only come personally to me if it was something important. If nothing else, I'll take heart in how valued I've become to the household that instead of immediate action being taken, I was given a chance to make up for my deficiency.

However, the first step was investigation and research into the matters that frustrated my lady so.

I started by going through my lady's interests. Using the assets at my disposition, that is to say, my lady's allowance and the budget for her care, I've been making an effort to purchase and develop the many business that she has taken an interest in, as well as generally investing in a variety of people so that they can dedicate themselves to developing and researching methods and tools that would further benefit my lady.

Of course, they were all bought and invested in with my lady's name, as it was her money, and of course, they ought to be grateful to her. I had to carefully manage motivation and incentives along our properties, and luckily, I've found quite a few competent people to act as middle managers.

In many ways, I'm closer to the position of CEO than I've ever been before, by acting as my lady's secretary and right hand in all of these matters. It's been significantly more fulfilling work than I care to admit, going back to my roots like this, managing people and assets. Not trading in lives and being subject to deadly danger at every turn has a far greater appeal than engaging in one of my previous interests in the flesh.

I abhor and detest war, no matter how fun war games may be, as a senseless waste of human life and resources.

I went through all of the matters that I was handling for Katarina, one by one, and I came to the conclusion that this could not be the source of my lady's frustration, because she was receiving the scheduled deliveries of pastries at the right time and in the right quantities.

As any compassionate young lady would, my lady experiences distress when she sees extreme poverty, and while many would usually simply avoid the slums and such, my lady is more the sort who can only get rid of her anxiety and discomfort by actually doing something. The Claes family already supported many an orphanage around its territory, and as such, I could offload my lady's support onto the existing structure.

The Butler was more than happy to coordinate with me, and he even offered his help finding people to run my lady's businesses locally as well as being the source of most of the contacts that I've used for the middle managers and messengers, and he was the one who had the idea to bring Keith in as well.

Keith!

That was an idea.

I moved through the mansion as silent as a ghost, making sure not to alert anyone to my presence. It was a rare chance, with Keith and Katarina's work, that I could have an opportunity to speak with him, but I could always count on a little brother making time for his beloved big sister...'s affairs. In many ways, Lord Keith's crush on my lady is convenient.

I banged on the door to his study and was called in, Young Master Keith sounded tired.

I stepped into the room. Though it was a bit messy, it was undoubtedly the byproduct of a man hard at work. A few minutes of tidying would get it back to pristine condition. I approved of Keith's neatness, he had learned that being sloppy and taking shortcuts at the wrong time would result in punishment.

He still carried the bruises from his lessons, after all.

Despite looking somewhat tired, Keith sobered up when he saw me, closed the ledger he was reading off of, put it aside and immediately faced me. "What did she do this time, Miss Tanya?" he asked, immediately.

I ignored that, stepping up to his desk and bowing as it was proper. "Young Master, I've been tasked with eliminating the factors that frustrate my lady."

I raised my face and saw him pale, eyes going wide. "I- I see, so you're here to-"

"I believe that you, as someone who knows my lady almost as deeply as I do, would be able to help me do so," I said.

"Oh thank god, I thought you were coming to-" Keith suddenly began coughing, and I was by his side in an instant, rubbing circles on his back. For some reason, I had a flash of memory to schmoozing my bosses when I was a salaryman, but I discarded that. Keith had more in common with Rudensdorf and Zettour than he did with my bosses in Japan, for his was the blood of nobility, and in his future I could already see a position of high power and great responsibility.

Perhaps more Zettour than anything else. He seems the kind who would run a tight ship with dignity and poise.

"What do you mean... frustration?" Keith asked.

"That's what has stymied me," I admitted freely. "I do not quite understand what the task is," I continued, closing my eyes. Perhaps I'm a little more free with Keith than I would be with most others, but I'll chalk it up to the camaraderie that training together as an unit builds. I am not immune to the effects of my own training, after all, I wouldn't be human if I was.

"Well if I had to guess," Keith mused, mostly recovered by now, "the only thing that really frustrates Katarina is love affairs," he pondered openly. "Seems to be the only thing she can't deal with that you can't solve for her."

"Love... affairs?" I asked, frowning.

She had a fiancé, did she not?

"Yeah. You know, Katarina - we all love her, but she has a hard time because she loves everyone, and doesn't want to make anyone sad," Keith said, sounding as if he was only half speculating, and the rest, speaking from experience. "Well, to be honest, there's a lot of problems from the law side... even if I think Katarina's heart would be big enough for us all," he chuckled, "I guess it's pretty defeatist of me but I'm not so delusional as to think I shouldn't do everything in my power to keep as much of my sister's love as I can."

I hummed.

"I see... so the source of her frustration..."

I understand now.

My lady is frustrated by love matters, because the nature of this land is such that monogamy is the norm and the law, for all but the King. My lady did not wish to be Queen, and I understood, and agreed with, her on that notion. Too much work, and work that was beyond the scope of her abilities, for her genius lay in the social battlefield and not in the administration side of things.

Since she could not be King, for that was the law of the land, and she could not settle her love affairs in a way that didn't result in broken hearts...

"I see," I nodded to myself, "then I will eliminate the source of my lady's frustration."

I left the room, and I think I heard the Young Master calling to me, but I was too busy, already lost in thought. This wouldn't be the first time I've had to deeply study the law and come up with suitable arguments.

Luckily, this time, I have the backing of a very big name noble family, and with any luck, my work will not be used as an excuse to shell civilians this time. Hopefully.

If monogamy enforced by law is the source of my lady's frustrations, then it will be eliminated.

Chapter Text

In the training dojo where Tanya beat her mistress' harem to shape on the regular, an unusual situation was developing.

"A petition."

The sheer disbelief in Prince Geordo Stuart's voice was only matched by the jaw of Prince Alan dropping in even greater disbelief.

"Ah, I see, you're going through official channels then?"

The only one who understood what was going on was Nicol Ascart, who was being groomed to inherit the job of his father to become the next Prime Minister. He took the paper from the Demon Maid's own hands and looked it over. "I see... yes, I understand, I believe I've seen this going around. Father was talking about it," he continued.

Alan took the petition himself, and read it over, then he cracked and began laughing. "What is this? A joke?" he asked.

"These affairs are no joke," the maid replied. "Now, please do read it over."

"You don't expect this to result in anything, do you?" Geordo asked.

Alan nodded. "Yeah it's not like you're gonna get our parents to change the laws of the land just because you got a paper with many signatures."

"Actually," Nicol interrupted, "there is a mechanism through which merchants and landowners may petition the crown, by gathering a large number of likeminded individuals and presenting proof of agreement on a single topic. Although mostly unused due to the inefficiency and the requirement of such a large number of people, it does exist - and my father would be legally required to bring the petition before the King for review."

"Really?" Geordo asked.

Both princes, silver and gold, looked at each other for a moment then back at the maid.

"Alright, I suppose we can sign-" Alan spoke, before being interrupted

"Actually, seeing as everything you own is owned in the Royal Family's name," Nicol said, "you do not qualify as merchants, businessmen, landowners or public officials."

"Oh, is that so? I thought that they could sign through their title of nobility," Tanya responded, sounding a little surprised.

Nicol wiped the sweat from his forehead and swung the towel he used over his bare shoulder. Nicol was the tallest of the three, but by no means the most muscular, his build was slim, almost lanky, but it was obvious the training was paying off. Beads of sweat ran down the chiseled lines of his chest and abdominal muscles. By contrast, both Geordo and Alan were wider at the shoulders and more noticeably muscled, though it was hard to see as they still had the quilted armor they wore to prevent injuries over their bodies.

"Lower nobility, yes, but those with the rank of a Count and above have the singular privilege of asking the King for an audience directly - which would defeat the point of the petition in the first place."

"If that's the case, couldn't she ask the Duke Claes to request an audience in her stead?" Alan asked, stretching his arms.

Geordo shook his head as he crouched down to begin the leg stretching exercises he'd been taught. Modern exercise routines had made a wonder for these boys' development into the men they were now.

It didn't need to be said that doing as much was tantamount to admitting failure. Besides, it was actually a good thing for the Kingdom to do it this way in the first place. It would show the people that the King did, indeed, listen to his people, and that positive change could be attained if they worked together.

"As a public official without a title of higher nobility, my signature is as meaningful as it gets," Nicol said, "however - I do have to ask, with the number of signatures required, especially as you are required to obtain signatures from landowners and working adults, how do you intend to get to the minimum threshold?"

"I will use the resources that myself and my lady have amassed to obtain as many signatures from valid individuals as possible," Tanya explained. "Representatives should be arriving soon to represent the various companies and guilds, I will be attempting to convince them to support me as well."

Nicol hummed in thought. "If I may, could I accompany you? It would be a great experience to be present in negotiations."

"Yeah, yeah, he's right, we should probably stay too," Alan said, prodding Geordo. "Besides, if we're gonna support this anyway, the least we can do is show up to do it publicly. We might not have any actual power as princes but our names and faces still mean something."

Geordo sighed.

"You really expect me to back this?" Geordo asked. "Really. You're asking me to sign up to a project that will change the marriage laws in our country, which have been enshrined into our legal system for ages..." he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration and exasperation.

The blonde maid closed her eyes. "I won't ask you to do something that you refuse to do," she said, as simple as that. "However, I will proceed even with your highness' disapproval."

That alone was more telling than anything else. Tanya was always controlled and respectful to the royals except within the bounds of the training dojo. Here, she would not hesitate to treat them as equals or students, without paying heed to their title. A sign of respect, of course, rather than the opposite, and it tended to go both ways.

Geordo flinched.

"Well, Mary would probably find a way to make me suffer for the rest of my entire life if I didn't jump in on this, and bring her in as well," Alan said.

"Similarly, I have no objections to this. Sophia as well would be quite happy to lend her support," he spoke, gesturing towards his chest. "So you have my full support, both officially and unofficially, to proceed with this."

"I don't have to even ask regarding Keith," Geordo said, more than a little surly.

Alan laughed.

Nicol looked a little embarrassed.

Tanya cleared her throat.

Everyone knew.

"I understand you are upset regarding this matter," Nicol said. "But Prince Geordo, you're a rational and intelligent person. Ask yourself - is this not the best way to move forward? Cooperation is the only way in which we can all get what we want. Even for a selfish pursuit, solidarity and cooperation is the best way to attain it," he explained. "I, too, have my own interest in this matter. As does Alan. And no doubt, our teacher here," he said, gesturing at Tanya, "has her own as well."

Tanya closed her eyes and tried to look innocent on the matter.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it, even if I agree!" Geordo said, grunting in frustration, getting back on his feet, taking a few swings with his fists to check if he was good and limber. He moved towards the center of the room to begin his turn on the ring, replacing Nicol who'd just finished his set.

Tanya looked at him.

Geordo raised his fists and began to go through his unarmed combat drills, employing, without his knowledge, the close quarters combat techniques taught to the Imperial Army that Tanya had once been a part of, enhanced and improved through further learning and expanded with techniques borrowed from many a mercenary and guard from Sorcier and elsewhere.

"Well, even if he doesn't," Alan said, "I'm sure I can convince our older brothers to support this anyway - they'll see things our way," he said.

"Ugh, fine! I'll support you as well! I can't believe this!" Geordo shouted, demonstrating his natural talent as he went through an entirely perfect warm up set before Tanya tossed a practice sword at him while she grabbed a reinforced piece of wood that would serve as a parrying knife for her.

One of the most important things that all three of the boys had learned was what it meant to fight dirty. To fight not like a knight, but like a soldier, whose only concept of victory, glory and honor was to come back home alive at the end of the fight. Probably beyond any sort of martial art or combat knowledge, being taught how to fight dirty and how to fight a dirty fighter were the most important thing that the boys ever learned from Tanya.

"You're upset, your highness," Tanya mentioned as she took position, raising her knife and bending her knees, getting ready to fight.

"How can I not be?" Geordo said. "I have to give up the one edge I had over everyone else in this battle!"

Alan laughed openly. "Maybe you should've spent more time working on yourself instead of relying on that to get ahead!" he said.

Nicol hummed. "It'll level and even the playing field for all of us."

Geordo let out a frustrated cry as he took a step forward, and the fight was joined. The blond prince and the blonde maid began to dance around each other, a brutal, merciless dance. Geordo was graceful, elegant and most important of all, efficient in motion. Taking in the best parts of the court fencing style he had been taught since a young age and combining it with the experience of a soldier.

It made for a terrifyingly efficient, yet visually showy fight style that made Prince Geordo a nightmare to face at any sort of competition.

And yet, Tanya's knife flew through the air, and despite his best attempt, Geordo could not land a blow... after all, Tanya had watched him develop and learn his new combat style from scratch. She knew it almost as well as he did.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm agreeing to this at all!" Geordo shouted, leaping back to avoid a slash that would've been his 'death' in this little spar, as it would've cut his neck, if the knife were real.

Alan shrugged. "Look, sometimes you just gotta accept that you have to make a compromise. You want Katarina to be happy don't you?"

Giving a nod of agreement, Nicol gestured with his hand. "I understand you myself - but at the end of the day..."

Geordo hung his head. "I get it. So we're all in agreement, then? We're accepting this for Katarina's sake?"

"Agreed!" the othe two said.

And as for Tanya, who was carefully eyeing Prince Geordo...

Well, she was thinking.

Thinking of the next step, of course. Negotiations with powerful men were always nervewracking...

Chapter Text

Lo and behold, there she was, in all of her glory.

In a blue bra and panty set, simple at first glance, but exquisitely and delicately decorated with lace in intricate patterns the moment you looked closer, and I did look closer. Laid on her back, on the bed, face as red as the healthiest and most deliciously ripe tomato I've ever seen, and clearly struggling between the impulse to cover herself and to portray a falsely confident demeanor.

I see.

This must be it.

My mistress has finally reached the pinnacle of adulthood. It took her longer than most, I admit, at twenty one years of age it's been quite some time since the advent of her sexual awakening, but I suppose I cannot realistically complain, as it has made my life much easier and bought me valuable time to prepare, both myself and the world, to start the movement towards her happiness.

I suppose this must be why the Duchess got me started on removing the obstacles to my lady's happiness... her mother knew best from the start, I suppose.

But still- I have to admit, I've always thought my lady to be a cute girl, a pretty teenager, and now, an extraordinarily attractive young lady. I cannot say I blame her suitors for their interest in her. Even from a purely physical perspective, she was perfect and unblemished, yet by no means a flabby woman. She was physically active on a regular basis and it showed. No part of her was unsightly, from the tips of her painted toenails, to the last strand of her lustrous light brown hair. Her blue eyes gazed into mine and I found myself coming back to reality, as I saw her shift and fidget.

"My lady, am I interrupting something?" I asked. "Were you expecting someone else, perhaps?"

Right. Quick. If I have to get out of the way for her to have her first sexual experience - and trust me I would know - then I'd better do so quickly and efficiently. I might as well get ready to prepare refreshments for when she is done. I've not seen any of her suitors in the mansion, but I've been busy with other duties all day, it would not be so shocking.

With the comings and goings of all four of the men desperate for her affection increasing due to their collaboration with my endeavors and my lady's businesses, there was no need to inform me each and every time they arrived after all...

"I- no, no!" Katarina said. "I- Tanya!" she said, "c-come here already! This is really cold!"

I hummed. It was not a warm summer day after all, and the master bedroom's size made it difficult to heat it at the best of times. I'd have to consider a brazier for later. I know my lady's been working on a few magical projects so I'd have to ask at her place of work regarding the possibility.

I nodded, and approached my lady as she lay on bed, standing before the four poster king size bed. Fit for royalty indeed - a true display of the might of the Claes family that they could just gift a luxurious bed like this to their daughter like it was no big thing. "Did you wish to speak with me, my lady?" I asked.

"C-closer!" Katarina spoke.

I looked at the bed, the only way I could get closer to her was to... I suppose there's nothing to it. I crouched down, undid the buckles holding my work shoes together, and stepped out of them, leaving me with nothing but the thick winter stockings to cover my feet. I got on the bed, and with a few steps on all fours, I was beside my mistress, my lady Katarina. "I am here-"

She grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me down, and met my lips with hers in a passionate, furious kiss, going above and beyond anything we've ever learned tog- anything I've ever taught her. Clearly, she had quite a bit of experience with kissing now, much more so than I did, her tongue invading my mouth and seeking mine, gently coaxing me into sharing the kiss and responding to her movement and effort with my own, even as I had to take a moment to actually consciously realize that my lady was kissing me because what is happening?

I... must've made a mistake?

My lady pulled back. "S-So?"

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Yes?"

"So!"

I touched my lips with my finger, I could still feel the softness of her kiss. "Ah?"

"H-How was it?" I heard.

"I- what?"

"Mmm!"

I was at a loss. Not sure I was comprehending.

The kiss?

Oh! I get it.

She must be wondering how good she's gotten at kissing, and-

"You are... quite good. I imagine your future partners will not be complaining about your kisses, at all," I said, trying to smooth things over. Maybe she wanted a last minute pep talk to psyche herself up for her first time? Even if she has grown up so much, I suppose the first step would still be a difficult one! That must be it!

She let out a sound that was somewhere between a frustrated scream and a hushed whisper of despair, which rather than anything else, only managed to come out like a cute, small puppy, barking for attention. I resisted the urge to pet her and scratch behind her ear. Very mightily. I resisted a lot. For about two seconds, then I caught myself with my hand already behind her ear.

"Ngh, Tanyaaa..." she muttered, linking her hands behind the back of my neck. "Come on..." she muttered. "J-Just... do it..." she said. "Don't worry a-about, the other stuff-" she shook her head.

"My lady, I-" I shook my head.

No. I couldn't do something like that. This sort of moment is when it's most important that I maintain my image. Even when a superior is offering you a chance to rest and recover, it's your duty as a subordinate to show your responsibility and your maturity. It's a test, it's always a test, even if it's subconscious, to see what you will do when given an opportunity to slack off. There's no such thing as freedom of consequence, and my mistress' kindness should be repaid with impeccable service.

"I can't do that," I responded. "Every one of my duties and responsibilities is important to me."

"But, but-" Katarina huffed, then grabbed me by the shoulders, and with her strength, by now superior to mine, she easily turned us around, putting me on my back, sinking into the luxurious mattress, and keeping me in place. She pinned me in place with her legs just as I'd taught her ensuring that I couldn't move by putting her weight on my thighs, and even moving her grip from my shoulders to my biceps, and then, my elbows, pressing down on my arms to immobilize me.

Swiftly, never letting go. Restraining me without hurting me or leaving any appreciable marks on my body. Prevent me from having leverage and you can almost prevent me from moving at all.

Throw in the fact that she was physically stronger than I was, and then you'd get a perfect hold that didn't hurt me at all.

I was proud.

She kissed me again. And then some more. She kissed me a lot, she kissed me passionately and furiously, she kissed me hard, claiming my lips, taking the traditionally masculine role, and she kissed me softly, almost as if she were begging me to kiss back - which I found myself having difficulty resisting, so much so that I failed to resist, surprising even myself with how quickly I had folded.

She pulled at my white apron and threw it away, the knot that held it together behind my back coming undone from the flurry of movement before, and only needing to pull it over my neck. As she did this, she also knocked my white hairband off the top of my head. My hair isn't in its greatest state right now, and I'm almost embarrassed to be seen like this.

"I- okay then... if you won't... then I'll do it," she said, squaring her shoulders. "I'll take care of it... this time, I'll take care of you, instead of you taking care of me..." she spoke, as trembling fingers started to unbutton my dress at the front. The work clothes of the maids were practical, easy to put on, easy to take off, cleaned easily and more importantly, were cheap to produce. Even the highly appreciated high quality clothes I wore, the garb of a duchy's servants, were no different in this regard, buttoned at the front so that they could be easily adjusted for those as thin as me, or as wide at the shoulders as the woman who baked all our bread.

For some reason, each button that popped undone seemed to increase the tension between myself and my lady, especially as my rather unfetching, plain white brassiere came into view. Advanced though the underwear technology of these lands may be. Narrow shoulder straps, linen cups sewn together, wide bands around my chest and back... it had more in common with a corset than the modern bras I was familiar with, but the first time I was bought one I remember thinking that this looked like old western underwear.

I suppose I must just not have known how far back western underwear went.

It seemed to have caught my lady's eye as well. I was by no means as big as her, but I've very much developed a bust worthy of a woman... odd as it feels for me to say it. Oddly enough I've never felt any emotion when thinking about my chest except for now, that my mistress was looking at it so intently.

She put her hand on one of the cups, and rubbed against my chest through it. "This is..."

I averted my gaze. I know that compared to her fine lingerie, crafted by the hand of a master seamster or seamstress, what I wear is the clothes of a peasant by comparison, and I can't help but feel self conscious.

"I... I..."

Never before had I ever thought about what it would mean to, to be in a situation like this. As a man, it had never really been something that entered my consciousness, but now - no, rather, I had always seen it from the other side, hadn't I? When I had been the person I was before, in my previous life... I had always thought about it from the other side.

I suppose now I get why so many of my peers were obsessed with women's underwear, if unsexy underpants could ruin the atmosphere for-

Wait.

Ruin the atmosphere?

How far ahead of myself am I going to get? My lady is just looking to psyche herself up, I should stop trying to pretend this is anything but-

"You're... surprisingly small and fragile looking... even though you're so strong," Katarina muttered to herself. "You're smaller than me, I never really noticed until now, but-"

I felt my cheeks heat. "My lady, that's- I can't help the size of my chest!" I protested.

Why am I offended!? Ashamed even!? What am I, an idiot in love or something?!

She had the good graces to blush. "That's not what I mean!" she protested. "Tanyaaaa!" she cried, poking my cheek. "Stop distracting me! I'm going, I'm going to do this for you, because, because I-"

"Do- my lady, do what?" I asked, a lance of freezing cold going through my mind, as reason pulled over.

"Uhm! This!" she said. "I- I know this, this is stuff- I've read this in novels, alright? I've been reading some new stuff about how to cultivate our, our relationship further, with Mary and Sophia!" she said. "S-So!"

I blinked, then shook my head. "Lady Katarina- why? Why today?" I asked.

"W-Well, I figured, if, if I was gonna try, it was best to do it as your birthday gift! The book said that doing this for your birthday would make you very happy!" Katarina said. "The girls in it were the bestest of friends after they were done!"

"My lady..." I said, sighing. "My birthday's not today. Or tomorrow. it's the day after tomorrow..." I said.

"O-Oh..." Katarina said, blinking. "I'm... wow. I really should've double checked that."

I hummed. "I... yes. You should have. So..."

"..."

"..."

"My lady?"

She kissed me again.

"I worked up the nerve! It took me a week of effort! We're sleeping together, and we're cuddling all night, and that's an order!" she said. "In fact, we'll do it for today, and tomorrow, and then on your birthday too!"

"This is inappropriate, my lady!" I protested.

"I don't need propriety, I need you!" she shouted, and then before I could even tell what was going on, my dress was torn off of me - gently! - and was on the floor, and my lady, red faced and refusing to face reality, was clinging onto me like a limpet.

...

I no longer have any idea what's going on.

I think I'll just go to sleep and wake up and pretend none of this ever happened.

Chapter Text

Watching my lady pacing madly was... interesting.

"How did this happen!?" she cried out. "This is- this isn't supposed to happen, it's- it's all supposed to be, they're supposed to be with Maria!" she cried out in frustration. "What happened?" she cried out.

It was... amusing to watch her be panicking like this. Certainly, the young lady she spoke of was good looking and charming. Maria Campbell had been a great help to redevelop the ability to use magic, and though mine will never be as versatile and as strong as hers, her help was invaluable. I'll leave aside the fact that we've also been confused for siblings many times before. Luckily, she was not related to the parents I had in this world.

Thoughts about the fact that I introduced myself as an orphan more often than not were interrupted when my lady looked at the dress she was to wear for the ceremony.

Due to the newness of the laws and the circumstances, she had to look the most radiant of all, and the dress certainly would achieve that, an image of wealth and taste, multiple designers and multitudes of craftsmen had thrown their hats in the ring to try to create the dress for arguably the single most important women in the whole Kingdom of Sorcier as she was to become the core of the new social status quo...

And the end product was a magnificent white gown that combined elegance and beauty.

"I can't believe this, this dress even looks like hers!" Katarina complained. "ooooh, I knew I was getting into some weird route when things started going crazy... At least you're still following the script, aren't you Cerby? Yes you are!" she said, as her familiar burst out of her shadow.

As per usual, I tried to ignore the existence of the lump of incarnated darkness that had become my young lady's pet after the kidnapping of her brother. Even if every magical instinct in my body demanded I eradicate it where it stood, it was loyal and protective of my lady and so it would get to live, no matter how much my magic wanted it gone.

She sighed and let go of her pet abomination, and it faded into her shadow once more, and then she looked wistfully at her dress once more. "This is my fault, I just know it is - something I did just... made everything go off the rails," she groaned.

"May I ask, my lady, what you are talking about?" I interrupted, as I finally decided it was time to get her attention, closing the door behind me and bringing the tray with tea and biscuits. "You've been speaking rather strangely today," I added, as I put the tray on the nearby table.

My lady sighed. "I guess you heard that, huh? It's- it's nothing," she said, shaking her head, then going over to the small side table and sitting on the armchair beside it. This entire room was a display room for the dress, because it was an art piece by itself. And the royal family could afford to show it off.

Also it was part of the contract with the designer that it needed to be shown off to people both on and off of Katarina's body, though of course, it wouldn't be made public yet.

"Tanya... you've been with me the longest of everyone, huh?" she asked, grabbing the cup of tea and swirling it a little, then taking in its scent. "This smells great..." she sighed, then took a sip.

"You sound melancholic, my lady," I said, standing behind her with the tray in my hands. I don't think I enjoy the sight of my lady this shook up for something I have no knowledge nor control over. This isn't something I can solve easily... dispersing criminal groups, dealing with attempts to disrupt her every day life, exterminating threats and obstacles to her wellbeing, that I can do, but it seems I can't even cheer her up when she's depressed ahead of an important event. I can only imagine the stress is unbearable.

My lady cried out in frustration, chomping on several biscuits in a row.

"Ngh, if only I'd been willing to look up a walk-through instead of brute forcing the routes, maybe I would've known about this route ahead of time!"

I blinked.

"Excuse me- what did you- my lady, what did you just say?" I asked, my brain trying to process what I just heard.

"I- err- no, don't worry about it, it doesn't-"

There was a moment's pause between us, and I hesitated entirely too long, but at the end of the day... I was neither foolish nor wise enough to remain silent when curiosity burned inside me to this extent. This could not be what I thought it was. This had to be some sort of coincidence. The words were familiar, but perhaps I misunderstood them? At the end of the day, this is my fourth language, and though it has become my mother tongue in my second reincarnation, and I'm as fluent as a native speaker... there's always the chance, always the possibility, of something being misheard, of something getting crossed.

"My lady, I truly need to know - I need you to repeat what you said. You said you... looked up a walk-through?" I asked, closing my eyes and preparing for her to correct what I heard and.

"Yyyyeahh?" she said, having to push the words out, clearly feeling more than a bit awkward. "D-Don't worry about it, it doesn't mean anything, it's just-"

"Young lady, would you perhaps have looked up said walk-through using the internet?" I asked, casting the line into the ocean and seeing what happened. At this point, I have nothing to lose anymore. This, this is it, the moment where my world will either change or... we'll never speak of this again.

The silence stretched.

"Uhh..."

My lady...

"... yes?" my lady asked. "Don't tell me-" she turned around to face me, her face a cross between shock and surprise and realization that was dawning on her. "No way, no waaaay! I can't believe this, no way!! You, Tanya, are you- are you reincarnated also!?"

I closed my eyes and nodded. "Yes, my lady," I said. "Allow me to introduce myself," I spoke, keeping the tray held with one hand and curtseying the way I was taught to serve the rich and powerful. "My name is Tanya Degurechaff, but a long time ago, I used to be a Japanese resident."

"And, and you're from Japan too!" she said. "Me too, I used to be Japanese too, but then I died and next thing I knew- next thing I knew, I was reborn as a villainess from an otome game I'd been playing!"

I could almost HEAR the record scratch.

"Wait... this is the world of an otomege?!?" I cried out in surprise, and it dawned upon me, like a bullet train hitting me and believe me I know what that feels like!

"Yes!" she responded. "I- well, I'm the, I guess you could say I'm the villainess now?" she asked. "Though now that I've apparently screwed things up this bad, I wound up as a capture target instead! It seems like I must've walked into some sort of harem ending since this whole wedding thing is going on, oh, my mother's going to kill me I just know it-"

My lady is my lady, no matter what.

"My lady, I don't know if I should tell you this - but the reason why this new law is being pushed through," I said, gesturing to the dress as a way of example, "is... well, it started with your parents, and everyone agreed with it."

"Oh. Well, at least that means I'm not going to get yelled at!" she said, instantly perking up. "That's nice!" she added. "But wait- so then- so then-"

"It was the only way for everyone to be happy," I suggested. "Even Geordo agreed - he knew that if he forced things through and tied you down to him, in the end, you'd be upset, and he'd never be truly happy as long as you weren't truly happy," I spoke.

At least, that's the conclusion he'd said he came to. Personally, I firmly believe he saw the writing on the wall about where Katarina would fall if he didn't walk along with everyone else.

"So then... it's... not Maria's-"

"Maria, I assume, was the protagonist of the game?" I asked, swiftly interrupting.

"Yeah," she said. "Isn't she super cute and adorable?" she gushed. "She's always nice and kind to everyone and makes such great sweets, I can't blame the guys for falling for her at all!"

But they didn't, though...

"But- I got in the way of that, I got in the way of their happy ending-"

"Forgive me for interrupting," I said while interrupting and not actually feeling sorry about it at all, "but my lady," I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. "You are their happiness," I said.

There was a part of me that had this niggling doubt growing, gnawing at me. If my lady had been acting all along, if she had just been a manipulator that had changed the world to suit her whim - I couldn't accept that. I couldn't bear with that. Especially if my adorable angel of a young lady had been replaced, I needed to know.

"If it wouldn't offend," I said, "may I ask you when you... ah, changed?" I asked.

She blinked in surprise.

"It's been so long," she hummed. "I was... seven or eight I think?" she asked, humming. "Heh, I still remember it... I took that blow to the head, I had the scar for so long," she said.

Wait.

Waaaaaaaaaait.

Then this means- this means that all along, ever since back then-

"Man getting all my memories back was so strange! Luckily I could still speak and read and write the language, it would've been REALLY hard to explain if I suddenly had to relearn all of that stuff!" she said, laughing. "I also couldn't remember like, half the plot!" she laughed. "Well, it turned out for the best! Even when it felt like all the doom flags were up," she said. "But I guess I owe a lot of that to you, huh?" she asked. "You've always been here with me, Tanya... and to think, you were reincarnated as well... when was it for you?"

I frowned then shook my head. "I believe I was... somewhere between two or three years old. My parents in this world were not the best of folks and so I'm not entirely certain of when I was reborn or how old I was when I regained my memories," she said. "If I had not recovered my memories, we may never have met."

"Ah, yeah, that makes so much sense. You weren't a character in the game."

"Playing an extra without an important role suits me just fine," I responded, nodding. "The work isn't always easy, but I'd like to reach my old age and peacefully retire one day," I said, honestly and unreservedly. "It was just a matter of convenience that I wound up, here..." I admitted.

Katarina giggled.

"It's a small world after all!" she said. "Tanya, could you- would you talk with me about Japan for a while?" she asked. "I've been stressed lately. I've been struggling, I thought I was doing something wrong, I kept trying to steer things properly, to bring Maria and Geordo together like in the game, in a way where I wouldn't wind up dead or exiled or worse," she said, wistfully.

I closed my eyes. "Certainly, my lady," I said, simply and honestly.

"You... you don't have to do that, you know?" she said, softly. "We're gonna be a family soon after all."

"Oh, not at all, my lady, I- wait what."

"Yeah!" she said.

I swear I heard the wind whistle.

"My lady excuse me what."

"Uh... you didn't know?" she asked. "Did- did nobody tell you? I thought you knew!"

"My lady I am very lost right now, please explain."

"Well - uhm."

There was a moment's pause.

The door to the viewing room opened, and in walked Mary Hunt, among the most powerful people in the Kingdom, once a future Princess, still nominally attached to the royal family through the rather strange arrangement.

"Ah! Good! You're both here!" she said, nodding. "Alright, I've been looking for you two, we need to all get together to pose for the painting that's going to be made to commemorate the occasion!" she said.

"I will help my lady get ready and-"

"Don't be silly, you should get ready too!" Lady Hunt said.

"I really shouldn't be in the picture, compared to the beautiful young ladies I'd-" I insisted, but then I felt each of them grab me from one arm.

"Have you never looked in a mirror?" Lady Hunt said. "You know what nevermind, let's just get you all dolled up! Let's gooo!"

And then, the two ladies dragged me along. I had forgotten how horrible it was to have my hair, nails, makeup and dress adjustments done... okay, I'll be fair, it's a whole lot better now that people are paying attention to my preferences, rather than when I was used as a recruitment tool to drive up the sign up numbers.

That doesn't mean I like being a dress up doll though.

I never did find out what my lady meant...

Chapter Text

On the road just outside a manor not too distant from the capital, decorated for a party, three people were speaking to each other on a carriage. A blonde in a pretty but slightly outdated party dress, a radiant auburn haired buxom beauty in an orange ballroom gown of the latest fashion, and a brunette maid, who seemed to be bouncing on her seat.

They never tell you how uncomfortable and heavy the dresses of the nobility are, not even minutes before you have to stand between six maids to put one on you.

"I'm never putting one of these on again."

For Tanya von Degurechaff, once again donning the name of imperial nobility, against her will though it might be, sneaking somewhere and getting something done was old hat. The family she had entered the employment off, the Claes duchy, had made full use of her capabilities in the defense, protection and care of their little princess, Katarina, and Tanya herself had made it an objective in life to ensure the former hellion never hit her forehead again.

After having gotten so thoroughly comfortable in the black dress and white apron of a maid, she revived painful memories of being used as a cute little symbol of the empire's might, in a heavy party dress, having to pose for picturies that took several minutes at a time to take, with a plastic smile that made her cheeks ache.

"But you're sooooo cute!"

Meanwhile Katarina was having the time of her life. She was usually not allowed to wear a maid's clothes, for obvious reasons. The young Lady of Claes could not be seen in a servant's clothes. The gardening getup she wore was excusable as it was simply a hobby she participated in, but a maid's uniform? Unacceptable.

And yet, there she was, with her hair tied strongly into a braid and held firmly in place with a frilly white headband. She didn't wear Tanya's uniform, there were two sizable reasons why she couldn't right there on her chest, but she did get one in as close a style as she could manage.

They were interrupted by the sound of a fan closing sharply.

"We'll need to work on that."

Mary Hunt was crucial to the operation. It was thanks to her and Prince Alan that the two had managed to obtain fake identities and sneak into the gala ball. Mary would be watched, of course, but the baroness of a distant frontierland could move with a lot more freedom, as nobody would be terribly interested in what she had to say.

"I'll definitely have to get one with a shorter skirt... hmm... stockings, too," Mary said, looking Katarina up and down. "Should they be black?"

"Yes, and semi-opaque," Tanya commented. "Stains won't show well otherwise."

"Fair enough," Mary agreed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Katarina asked, tilting her head and crossing her arms, leaning back and looking puzzled. "Ah, whatever, probably not important," she said, "we should go onward!" she spoke.

Looking at each other, Tanya and Mary sighed and then Mary gave the blonde a nod.

"My lady should walk behind me," Tanya said, "you are the maid, and I am the lady," she added.

"Ohh that's right! I should try to act like Anne! Okay, I'll channel my inner Anne-" she began to rub her fingers gainst her temples. "Nnghhh... think maidly thoughts... think maidly thoughts..."

Someone knocked on the carriage door, and opened it.

It was indeed prince Alan, who had cleaned up quite a bit, going even further beyond the typical formal look, three piece suit with coattails and even carried a cane and he had a hat to compliment the outfit. He would be performing for the Marquis whose party they were attending, as a special favor, in return for preparing the party in the first place.

"We've no more time," he said. "We'll have to hope you two are ready, we'll be ready to exfil at any time, just give the command."

Tanya nodded, happy to see that even as the work the prince had to do, he hadn't forgotten the training she had put him through when he promised to grow strong enough to protect Katarina in the future.

"It'll be fine, we'll be fine, we survived even when all routes lead to doom, what can possibly go wrong in a party where our only job is to meet some corrupt nobles?" Katarina asked. "No, seriously, what could go wrong?" she asked. "We need to be ready for anything that could go wrong."

"Katarina sweetie I love you but- just, just stay quiet for this one," Mary said, shaking her head. "Just trust me."

"Okay," Katarina said. "But I'll still want an explanation of what I shouldn't do..."

There was no time.

"We have to go," Alan hurried. "Just follow Teach's lead," he urged. "It'll be fine!"

And that was that. Alan took Mary's hand and led her off, changing carriages to the grand and beautiful carriage afforded to the Hunt family, and leaving the small and slightly dinky carriage Tanya and Katarina rode for the 'poor frontier noble' and her maid, and then traveled the rest of the way to the party, which only gave a few minutes of last minute prep.

Luckily... nobody questioned their presence. They were seen as part of Lady Hunt's entourage, and once past the gate guards, they were led to the garden where the gathering would be taken place. Alan then would play the primary distraction, taking up most people's attention, and Mary would then gather all the honorable ladies that of course had no business being involved in corruption, as well as the ones they knew were clean.

And thus, Tanya and Katarina would be left free to roam the party and find the target, a viscountess who supposedly was capturing and then selling poor villages' children into slavery.

That... was the plan, at any rate.

As they approached the first group of nobles, who had gathered in a small gazebo to hide from the blazing sun to have a chat over drinks, however, it became immediately obvious there was a significant problem when it came to successfully passing off as a lady and her maid. Instincts died hard, and thus, Tanya had a habit of falling into step behind Katarina, who would take the lead, as she usually did.

Fools rush in, they say.

"Hello!" Katarina called, stepping into a conversation. "I couldn't help but overhear, the famine was caused by a bad harvest wasn't it?" she said. "I've been studying the southeast regions and the change in climate-"

Three noblemen and their wives turned to face the interloper, some of them looking scandalized, and one who looked remarkably like the monopoly man looking downright upset. "And who is this... thing that dares to speak with such familiarity to esteemed personages such as ourselves?"

Realizing they'd fucked up, Tanya tried to step in. "My apologies - I am Baroness Tanya von Degurechaff," she said, "my maid is a good girl and very studious," she hurriedly added, "she was just trying to-"

"Well then control your maid better! And von Doogu, whatever-chaff? Whoever's heard of that family? Must be some nobody from the boonies!" one of the uppity looking wives, a wrinkly woman with a permanent sneer practically glued onto her face, spoke.

"Why I oughta-" Katarina began, incensed.

Using everything she had learned in a life of being taught how the Japanese are to submit to and endure the abuses of authority, and then a further education in how to withstand the harshest treatment from her superiors, Tanya managed to rein in both Katarina and herself. "No please, forgive her," she asked, bowing, "she was just trying to help, and got a little over eager, you see, she has family in the area and-"

"Bah, as if I could care," Monopoly Mustache said, waving his gloved hand dismissively. "Get lost now," he said, "more important people are talking."

"Yes, I will sir, forgive me for interrupting your talk sir," Tanya said, bowing her head, and starting to move. "Let's go," she added, reaching for Katarina.

"Yeah that's right, you little nobody, the stench of your poverty is gonna ruin my appetite," one of the ladies spoke, and the others giggled darkly, clearly enjoying the abuse they were heaping on the two. "What'd you say your name was? Tanya? What a silly little name. Ugly, poor and stupid, you really are hated by the god-"

Whatever she was going to finish that phrase with would never be heard because in the blink of an eye she was laid flat against the ground several meters away.

"I've had enough of your mouth," Katarina hissed. "Think you can insult MY Tanya on MY watch!" she said, stepping forward and cracking her knuckles.

"What the-"

"How uncouth!"

"Preposterous!"

"You little-"

Monopoly Mustache raised his hand and swung it at Katarina.

Now, normally, that would be the time for the maid to heroically swoop in to save her mistress who was about to suffer violence, but, two things got on the way of that. The first, Tanya was wearing extremely uncomfortable heels that made taking the two steps there not as quick as it'd have to be.

And the second?

Katarina didn't need Tanya to step in. No, she ducked under the slap, caught the guy by the arm, swung him around and then with the momentum carried by his own swing and her movement, threw him to the ground over her shoulder, flipping him on his back.

Raising her arms, she smashed a closed fist onto her palm. "You want a piece of me!? I'll give you a piece of me!" she called.

Tanya palmed her face. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go," she said, "we were supposed to discover who the slaver was, carefully!" she hissed at her lady. "You were supposed to use your brain!"

"My brain said this was faster," Katarina quipped, with a bright smile on her face. "And I'm sorry but I couldn't just stand there and let them talk to you like that!" she said. "I've never allowed people to talk bad about my friends and I won't start now!" she said.

Tanya sighed. "Well then. I suppose we're doing this the old school way..." she muttered, grabbing her dress near the hem, and then raising and ripping it in half, revealing that she wore a skintight black bodyglove, and had knives and pouches strapped to her thighs, biceps and a series of the latest magical cuffs belted onto her chest and waist, all covered by the unfashionable dress before.

The other low level nobles seemed ready to bolt and run.

"Now," Katarina said, grinning as she looked at them, raising a hand and clenching it into a fist. "One of you people is working with really, really bad people and doing really, really bad things," she began. "I'm going to need you to start cooperating so we can dismantle the organization," she spoke, grinning brightly. "Please!"

They seemed doubtful, shrinking away, while the two nobles that had been laid out groaned on the grass of the garden just outside the gazebo.

Tanya cracked her neck and stretched her arms.

"Was that an ultimatum..?" One of the ladies spoke.

"Eh? No," Katarina said, frowning. "What's an ultimatum?" she half whispered to Tanya. "Tell me later," she said, turning back. "We could really use your help!" she finally said, turning back to them.

Tanya coughed. "Any help provided currently would be taken into account when the investigation by the authorities wraps up," she spoke, "why, some might even be considered collaborators instead of suspects," she said.

They sang like birds. The monopoly mustache man was not, in fact, a nobleman at all, but instead, a career criminal posing as a nobleman. Which explained his really shitty manners. Not a slaver, per se, more of a scammer, con artist and general dickbag. Oh, he had a story, of course he did, he too sang like a bird, especially when Katarina raised her fist again.

His "wife", still out like a light after Katarina knocked her out, was the target.

Of course she was. Needless to say... Alan and Mary had quite a lot of "fun" explaining to the host what exactly had happened, and especially playing coverup, but at least, everything was and would be settled, and hey, Katarina didn't even get blood on her apron even though she broke a woman's nose with a punch.

That was progress, usually she wound up in a complete mess.

"Normally, I'd say this is about as unlikely as it is nonsensical, but... it's Katarina, of course it went like this," Alan laughed. "I'm a little sad I didn't get to show off my cool side. I've been working on one liners for proper swashbuckling and dashing roguery," he said.

"You've been doing a little too much theater lately," Mary said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you know that I would've been the first on scene to save Lady Katarina from danger!"

Said lady, meanwhile, was simply bouncing on the balls of her feet, as she tested out the mobility range of her maid dress, now that she no longer had to pretend to be a maid, in one of the guest rooms afforded to visitors in the manor.

"This is so easy to move in!" she happily said as she jumped and did a little twirl. "How come maids get to dress in these while we have to wear the heavy dresses that are super hard to even walk in!?" she complained. "Even my shoes have sensible heels!"

Tanya didn't have the heart to tell her that was the maid dress she wore for their... couples' activities, and not, in fact, the maid uniform she wore for work.

She also tried not to pay too much attention to the fluttering of her skirts, shorter and without the weights that normally kept them solidly in place. Katarina wasn't even wearing bloomers under the maid uniform.

Alan and Mary looked upon the happy Katarina with smiles on their faces.

"Well, all's well that ends well right?" Alan asked, shrugging with his shoulders. "That might not have been according to plan but it works itself out."

Mary agreed.

"I suppose if my lady didn't resolve it her way, then she wouldn't be herself."

Katarina turned to face the three looking upon her with happy smiles. "What's going on?" she asked. "Do I look weird in these?" she grabbed her maid dress near knee level and raised it up, showing her ankles as she did. She really should have black semi-opaque stockings, but alas, they only had thin thigh highs. "I feel a little weird, breezy but nice!"

"You look fantastic," Mary said, smiling widely. "Could you do a twirl for us?"

"Oh like this?" Katarina did, indeed, twirl, and her skirt lifted just enough to show all the way up to just over her knees, showing a tantalizing glimpse of her thighs.

Tanya couldn't help but frown. Her lady's strange relationship was... not exactly a super well kept secret, it was of public knowledge for those who were onto the newest information regarding the latest gossip, but...

"We should perhaps expedite our return," she said. "I... think we might need to hurry on to the estate before long."

Alan and Mary agreed.

For some reason, despite not really knowing why, for the first time since they set out, Katarina felt an odd sense of danger. A good kid of trepidation and anticipation. For some reason, it grew only stronger, and seemed to intensify whenever she looked at any of her three traveling companions.

But surely, the sensation of doom impending was just her, right? After all, she had cleared all of the flags and reached Maria's secret super polycule harem ending, right? That meant she had to be safe. For sure.

Yet, as she traveled back home alongside her maid and friends, she couldn't help but giggle as she noticed their stares, feeling nervous for what her body knew was coming.