The Count looked more like a tax official than a noble—a slim frame, delicate features, glasses perched neatly on his nose, golden hair styled with an attention to detail bordering on obsession. His study was no throne room, either. Scrolls and ledgers spilled across tables in stacks so specific I suspected only he knew the system.
When I entered, escorted and still in chains, he barely glanced up.
"She's an odd one, yes," he muttered, more to himself than anyone. "But handing her to the Church might not be the best move. Can't let them gain an unknown asset… but what use could she be?"
Wow. Nice to meet you, too.
The elderly mage—my previous examiner—stepped forward, but before he could speak, the raven-haired knight-mage from the carriage cut him off.
"Then what do you suggest we do with her?"
Her tone was crisp, disciplined… but there was a subtle edge to it. Caution. Suspicion.
The Count finally looked up and locked eyes with her. Then his gaze flicked to me—brief, clinical, dispassionate.
"Assign her to your unit. Let her train. Evaluate. And while we're at it… she can serve as Regina's maid."
That earned a reaction.
The knight's eyes narrowed. She gave the Count a look that flickered with layered emotion—conflict, duty, maybe even worry.
My mind stumbled over a new name.
Regina? Wait—who?
Still chained, still ignored, I lifted my wrists a little, hoping someone would catch the hint.
Spoiler alert: they didn't.
I was dragged out again.
This time to what looked like the result of a one-night stand between a fantasy barracks and a modern military academy. Stone walls, steel-forged weapon racks, spell-inscribed dummies, and soldiers—both robed and armored—marching in rhythm.
It was loud, alive, and organized. And as we entered, I heard the chant.
(Leader): "Aether flows inside your soul!"
(Unit): "Take control, and make you whole!"
(Leader): "Mana burns and magic strains!"
(Unit): "Hold the line through all the pains!"
(Leader): "Silence mind and focus will!"
(Unit): "We are soldiers, standing still!"
(Leader): "One a spark, but ten a fire!"
(Unit): "Reach the County, rising higher!"
(Leader): "Drill Sergeant's voice rings true!"
(Unit): "Through the forge, we're coming through!"
(Leader): "For the Lord and for the Light!"
(Unit): "We are magic, sharp and bright!"
It echoed across the training yard like the heartbeat of an empire.
I stared, still dazed. Still processing.
And then—finally—the voice in my head returned.
[Snap out of it. You have better things to do and it's not like you have a choice in the matter, so use it.]
Great. The System's back. And smug.
"Oh, so now you show up?" I muttered.
[In your head, in the void, in your head that is a void… hard to say. Just finished an upgrade.]
I winced. "Explains why you sound clearer."
[Do you like it?] the voice asked, amusement dripping from every word.
"What," I deadpanned.
[Exactly.]
Of course, speaking aloud earned me a glare from the knight mage—who was now in full command-mode, speaking with what I assumed was her second-in-command. I looked away quickly.
Can you read my mind now? I thought.
[Yup.]
Then why did I have to talk out loud like a lunatic earlier?!
[Upgrades. You're welcome.]
I was halfway through thinking shut up when the knight and her second approached.
She glanced down at me with that noble stoicism, the kind that said, I'm used to people dying near me and I'll drink wine about it later.
Her second gave me the once-over. I recognized him—one of the ones from the summoning chamber.
He raised an eyebrow. "This her?"
"She's the Count's newest problem," the knight said.
"Great," he muttered. "Another mouth to feed. What's she supposed to be, a mascot?"
"No," she said flatly. "Regina's maid."
The name again. Regina.
Who was this girl, and why did the mention of her bring tension into every conversation?
And more importantly—
Why the hell was I now her maid?