As the sun crept over the horizon, Leon cast his skill.
"~Bloodless~"
Hundreds of hardened blood needles erupted from Leon's body, fanning out around him like the quills of a porcupine. They hung in the air for a brief moment before raining down to the ground and slowly seeping into the earth.
His blood quickly lost its hardened effect, unable to maintain the crimson structure that a true vampire's blood arts could create. Yet, after just a single night of training, he had grown tremendously.
I don't lose consciousness anymore. And I can even silent-cast the first part of Bloodless. That must be insane levels of improvement!
Despite the extreme pain that Bloodless caused, Leon's quick improvement had kept him motivated throughout the entire night.
Training all night without needing sleep is actually secretly broken. I know I told myself to eat and sleep to maintain some level of humanity… but since I can't, I might as well abuse this cheat as much as possible
He began making his way back toward the mansion. All the windows were closed as the rest of the household was still fast asleep. As he walked, he remembered Celestine and Valeria. Both dressed in thin nightgowns, wanting nothing more than to cuddle up and sleep beside him.
At some point, I'll need to figure out how to sleep again...
As he approached the garden entrance of the mansion, two maids were already waiting for him by the doors. One was blonde with curly hair and the other a brunette with a bob cut. The blonde spoke first.
"We have prepared a bath for you, Sir,"
"Please follow us."
"Umm… sure,"
The two maids gracefully led him inside.
Were they waiting out here all night? Or are these two more spies acting as maids?
When he had last cleaned up it must have been the servants' quarters. Since they guided him to a large ornate bath chamber.
Wow! This is really nice...
His thoughts were cut short as the blonde maid grabbed at his clothes.
"Hey. Woah. What are you doing?"
"Undressing you so you may bathe, Sir"
"Is that like a normal thing?"
"Yes, Sir"
"I think I'll be fine. You two can just wait outside"
"Our apologies Sir, but if we were to leave the bath chamber then we wouldn't be able to attend to you."
"Just wait at the door then."
"Yes, Sir"
The two maids stood at each side of the door as Leon began to strip with his back to them.
Is this really common among nobility? I mean they're both cute so it makes sense to want cute maids attending to you in a bath. Though their outfits are pretty classical. Especially compared to the ones you see in games; where they're super short with revealing cutouts. I wonder if I could get them changed…?
With his clothes on the ground he walked into the large ornate bath. The scented water had been perfectly warmed, enveloping his skin up to his collarbone as he slowly lowered himself in. The lingering pain from an entire night of brutal training began to melt away as he leaned back against the marble seat.
Oh Wow. Forget what I was saying about sleeping. I'll just spend the nights here.
Once situated, the brunette came to collect his bloodied clothes on the ground.
I wonder which one is the spy? Maybe they are both spies? I doubt the Queen would not put any spies on watching me.
Leon tilted his head back, looking over his shoulder to see the two maids standing on each side of the door. Then he looked around the bath chamber from his seat.
There is also the chance neither of them is a spy and there are hidden spies in the walls or something
"Excuse me, but may I ask you names as well as where you're from?"
The blonde spoke first, followed by the brunette
"I'm Lira, second daughter of Henry Luxspur, a furniture merchant and shop owner in the city."
"I'm Selena, third daughter of Rickrad Yara, a fabric merchant who also primarily works here."
Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was expecting to get there. Lira is the more forward of the two so she could be the spy? Though Selena could be intentionally staying quite behind Lira to avoid attention. That fact that their both merchant daughters mean that spy or not, it must be common for them to become maids.
"Since you're both merchant daughters, I take it you know about the 13 trials? Do you mind explaining them to me?"
The two maids exchanged looks before Lira spoke up
"As you wish, Sir. To be a Duke one must complete Interfectio Nykthos, Interfectio Catastrophica or Recuperatio Coronae. Defeat the God of Darkness Nykthos, Save the kingdom from a Catastrophe class monster or return the crown of Veyra."
Well Nykthos is out of the question. A Dragon is only hazard level, which is two below catastrophe, so there goes that too. And Veyra was that kingdom that got taken by the Empire. I guess Recuperatio Coronae is a political sorta trial
"Please continue."
"As you wish, Sir. To be a Marquess one must completely Interfectio Ducis or Expugnatio Arcis. Defeat one of Nykthos' generals or capture an enemy stronghold...."
Once again, screw that.
"...to be a Count, Mali Aurei or Liberatio Regalis. Retrieve a fruit from one of the 12 shrines of The Legendary Hero for the crown or rescue a member of the Royal family."
"Wait. Didn't 'Rose Thorns' recuse Celestine? What about that?"
"Yes. It was offered and Roslyn has turned down the reward of being her own noble branch, Sir."
Damn. I guess she is the niece of the queen so Roslyn must be from a high ranking family. A family that she already gave up to be a Hunter. As for those 12 shrines, I'll ask girls about that later. Sounds interesting enough.
"Shall I continue Sir?"
"Yes please. Just list them out."
"As you wish Sir. For Viscount. Acquisitio Mythica; Retrieve a mythic level item for the crown. Interfectio Calamitatis; Save the kingdom from a Calamity class monster. Captura Periculi; capture and train a Hazard Level monster in service of the crown."
Who is ever completing some of these trials?!?!
"Now for Baron. Corona Muralis; first soldier over an enemy wall. Defensio Ultima; hold the line against an overwhelming foe. Revelatio Coniurationis; Thwart an effort to overthrow the crown."
The warmth and comfort of the bath was gone. All the remained was the weight of Queen Lycynthia's unreasonable request finally falling on Leon's shoulder
Celestine was right, these really are impossible tasks. Just a way to try and motivate soldiers to fight hopeless odds.
"Anything else, sir?"
"No, that will be all."
The two Maids continued standing at each side of the door.
I need a break from all this. Well. It should be a good day to step out and explore the city.