At night, after finishing washing up, the twin maids sat quietly in their bedroom waiting.
They'd been doing this every night recently. Sometimes young master David would even call them to his room, but he never forced anything... This made both of them feel very fortunate.
They hadn't been subjected to any terrible treatment.
In fact, aside from not having much of a pleasant expression normally, young master David had always been gentle with them. In daily life, he showed none of the bad habits certain nobles had and never spoke harshly to them.
For two slave girls who'd lost all memory of their identities, this was already a very good master.
Zoe thought these days would continue like this, until tonight, when young master David called them to his room.
"I called you here today to ask you something."
David leaned against the desk with his arms crossed, calmly addressing the two maids. "I've found a method that might let you recover your forgotten past."
The twins looked at each other in shock, somewhat at a loss.
"Don't you want to restore your memories?" David raised an eyebrow.
Zoe didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her head with a complex expression.
What was the point of recovering memories? They had no power to change their status.
Even if they remembered everything from before, it would only cause them pain.
But young master David seemed to need their memories. If they didn't agree, it meant they'd be abandoned...
To Zoe's surprise, Yui, who'd always been somewhat timid, bravely nodded at this moment.
"Young master, I want to restore my memories. We both do..."
Zoe stared blankly at her sister Yui and found she was also looking at her.
Zoe, whose heart was connected to her sister's, immediately understood her thoughts—since David Frank needed their memories, they should give them to him.
To survive, they couldn't hesitate at all.
David nodded with satisfaction. "Don't rush. My method isn't one hundred percent guaranteed to work..."
He beckoned the twins to the desk and pointed at the unfurled scroll. "This is an advancement ritual. Before performing the ritual, we still need to collect the corresponding ritual materials... Do you understand what an advancement ritual is?"
After patiently explaining the supernatural path to the two sisters, both twins' eyes lit up.
Perhaps their lives would have a chance to change...
"You need to consider the unknown effects the ritual might bring yourselves. I only need information about that arm from your memories. If you gain power capable of resisting the mundane world after completing the ritual, I can even let you leave."
Hearing David's promise, the two maids made their decision on the spot—they'd agree to all of David's demands.
Young master David really was a good person...
As for the "unknown effects" the ritual might cause, they directly ignored them.
With that settled, the three began studying the ritual on that scroll.
This peculiar "Fool Angel Ritual" seemed to come from part of an unknown deity's power system, similar to the Goddess's Blessing Ritual recorded in the Sun Goddess's teachings.
The materials it required were also strange—three things David had never heard of.
"Fluorite Mask, Winged One's Tongue, Heart's Teardrop."
He couldn't very well go look for these mysterious materials in the Order's warehouse. This was when Doug would come in handy...
...
The lackey didn't disappoint David. With his natural keen sense for shady dealings, Doug successfully found a wave of suspicious characters in a small tavern on the edge of the southern district, in that most complex and filthy slum.
After getting beaten up, Doug finally learned the password for the black market from street beggars and successfully infiltrated it disguised as a beggar...
"So why would they accept a beggar?"
David looked at the ragged Doug, wrinkling his nose in some disgust. The guy's smell right now really wasn't flattering.
"Hehe, young master, beggar is just an identity disguise. They operate through large and small beggar gangs on the streets. Now I've found my way in. Whatever you command, I'll risk this life to get it done for you!"
Doug's body was filthy, but his face was spirited, as if he'd rediscovered his life's purpose. Most importantly, he liked this feeling of freedom.
Today a beggar, tomorrow a king... cough cough, even if he couldn't become a king, with his (self-perceived) exceptional (lackey) talents, Doug was confident he could make a name for himself in the underground world!
To this, David made no comment. He handed Doug a list of those three items needed for the ritual, then gave him a sum of money.
This was a very generous sum, coming partly from David Frank's savings accumulated over years of throwing his weight around, and partly from David's hunting gains on the frontier last year.
Those dark creature materials had also sold for quite a bit of money on the black market.
David wasn't worried the lackey would pocket the money and run. He was a Church Hunter with Fourth Prince Roland backing him. Doug could be dragged out no matter where he hid...
"This money is for you to grease the wheels in the black market from now on. After you buy those three items for me, you can manage the rest yourself."
Doug nodded carefully. He wasn't a greedy guy—compared to money, he preferred women...
Take the young master's money to find women?
He really didn't dare do that...
As long as he completed the young master's tasks well, the young master would naturally satisfy his needs. This was the long-standing tacit understanding between this scumbag master and servant.
The lackey dove back into the night. David stood at the upstairs window, quietly watching him disappear into the shadows.
Doug was a capable servant. If he could restrain himself and settle down, David's expectations for him would be even higher.
...
After waiting quietly for two days, David got Doug's reply.
He'd brought back two items for David—"Winged One's Tongue" and "Heart's Teardrop."
"Young master, this teardrop is actually just made from the tears of a grief-stricken girl. Not worth much.
But this tongue is different. This is the last Winged One's Tongue in the entire imperial capital's black market, and it's a collectible that dried up many years ago. To find another one, you'd have to search caves in the deep mountains for those dark creatures..."
Doug placed a small bottle containing transparent liquid and a small box in front of David, then continued:
"As for that fluorite mask thing, the black market doesn't sell them. But they provided intel. Supposedly in the massive sewers below the imperial city, there's a weirdo who sells such masks."
"Sewer weirdo?" David frowned.
"Uh, they call that person the 'Sculptor'..."