"I'll think about it," I say. I don't know why Aurora would take the fall for my asshole wives, but whatever. Maybe she knows I won't have the guts to punish a pregnant woman. "How did you know your daughter would be a maid?"

  "Her affinity and aura sealed her fate, my Lady. But before that, I was not the head or sed wife. Holy I only gnant because a man found it funny I had the aura for a breeder," Aurora says. "I am strong, or I would never gotten into a marriage myself, but I was not the stro of the five. The man I had a child with was weaker as well. So, all of that pushed Shy low on the priority for training. I did what I could, but I had the pain and had to keep w to prove my worth. With that, she could only find a pce as a maid. Affinity for tail made it so she would normally be the head maid for the wife. But with me joining her and you being our Lady, I got the position."

  "And my kids with you? What will they bee?"

  "That is harder to tell. Normally, those with royal blood like yours would find it easy to marry. But with how many kids you are likely to have, it will be harder for them all to find a marriage," Aurora says. "I will do my best to make sure they get the training o marry, but many are likely to beaids or soldiers. her are bad professions. Soldiers often marry anyway, just not to hey get to travel and grow strong and are important women in their ht. Maids get a number of perks. Right now, it may not seem so, but ohe family finds its footing, we will get a lot more breaks as the number of maids grows. Letting us enjoy a good ban life and enjoy the manor we work in."

  "I guess that isn't the worst thing," I say. Everyone o work. "'t maids marry?"

  "They marry. They 't marry nobles, but they marry oners. I had to divorce to join this family as a maid. You ot have your maids w for another noble by marriage. Security risk," Aurora says.

  "Is being married really that trolling?" I ask.

  "For those with a lot of mana like most nobles, yes, my Lady," Aurora says. "Mas magical tracts, like your colr and marriage, be enforced without mutervention. The Princess may not be shocked, but she will find it harder to make pns and move forward with her own wants if she does not work to fulfill her promise to you. Now, I uand her promise to you is not due for a while, but others have promised to help vince her to move it up, and that starts now. Sorry, I am talking about this again."

  "How do I know they make a binding promise?" I ask.

  "It takes you thinking they are sincere in asking or for them to be sihey have shared their promises with me, so I know they are sincere. Shimmer aa are both trying, and Princess Elora has talked about your Mother and friends. I ot promise a timeline, but it should be before the Princess bees Queen, my Lady," Aurora says.

  "Why are you saying my Lady again?"

  "I upset you, my Lady, and feel like I ehe versation where you agreed for me to call you by your name. I start again if you would like, my Lady," Aurora says, bowing her head.

  "We don't have much food left, but it would be nice," I say. "I just find it hard to believe anyone here really cares about me. Mommy wouldn't do something like this to me, or Mai, or Kelly. You say Yuki did, but she said she loved me. forted me, saw my pain. I don't think she let me gh all that willingly. She must've had a reason."

  "If she didn't, Alzi?" Aurora says, looking me in the eyes. "What if she didn't?"

  "I still want my mommy. I still want Mai and Kelly. Then Yuki has to prove her love to me again," I say. Yuki didn't hurt me. She wouldn't do that. She nearly died getting revenge for me. I hope they don't ask too deeply into all that. I don't think I'm supposed to let anyone know about that.

  " you let Princess Elora prove her love?"

  "I've told her how to show her love. Yuki would let Mommy marry me."

  "She does not have the same pressure as Elora does, but I ot speak to what Yuki would do when you are free. Could you let Princess Elora show her love in other ways? Let her build up love till she lets you marry your Mother?"

  "Like what?"

  "In whatever rincess Elora ."

  "If I don't think she is showing me love?"

  "Then she is not showing you love. Is that what you think right now?" Aurora asks for some reason.

  "What the fuck do you mean! I just fucked her all night with a taunt of marrying my Mother. How is that love? How is telling me I'm going to give some stupid noble a child love? How is she showing me love?" I demand. What fucked up world do they all live in!

  "She has me teag you. She is promising to marry your Mother who does not even have an affinity. She is giving you more freedom than the Mistress would be giving you. You are almost to the level of any man would have despite your colr. Here you are eating in a grand garden after a lesson with a well-known healer," Aurora says.

  "Nothing Yuki couldn't give me," I say.

  "Yes, those are not great shows of love, but they show you being more than a sve. A Princess gave you trol over her body for a night. A sve could trol a Princess. The way she did it may not have beehought out, but the Princess struggles to ect with others. Most of the wives uand her desire to serve the Queendom and how that shapes her love. Yhtfully so, do not uand that. It is something she o work on, not something you o ge. But I just want you to know she loves you. Just struggles to show it correctly."

  "The Princess o figure it out. Right now, I feel zero love and a lot of hate," I say. Fug my owner is a show of love? It was nice seeing my sperm coatihighs, but the taunt and ade it hard to see any love.

  Whatever, Aurora rave about the better treatment, but I'm still a sve. I give the Princess some credit for better treatment, but I think I'll take it all away for making me wear the colr.

  "Everyone is w with her on it," Aurora says. "It seems we finished dinner. Would you like me to show you to your room now? I will wait outside it, and you call me for anything you need, my Lady."

  "That would be nice," I say, moving the silly napkin up to the table.

  Aurora follows suit and stands up. Leading me back through the garden, to the stupidly rge house, and up to the fug fourth floor. What a show of love. At least I have smaller heels on than normal.

  Inside my room is a pleasant surprise.

  Bck. My light is no longer shining all over the pce—a ce to fall asleep naturally at night.

  I think about thanking her, but they should've ged my room the first night I was here. The least they could've done was ge the demediately.

  "I am sorry about the wait, my Lady. I asked for everything to be ged. Normally, the furniture stay white for a while, but I asked for it all to be removed. The furniture was made just for you. I hope it fits you better as well. I will leave you be. I will be just outside if you need anything, my Lady," Aurora says, bowing out of the room.

  "Wait. Do you have a piece of wood I have?" I ask before she close the door.

  "Wood? He? Do you care about the type or any other properties?" Aurora asks.

  "No, about five inches should do," I say.

  "Five by what, my Lady," Aurora asks me.

  "By what?"

  "The other length and thiess, my Lady. I give you a board of wood or a block or stick, but I o know the size and shape," Aurora crifies.

  "Cube is fine, and I don't care about the rest," I say.

  "I think this should do. It is a bit dented and not really square, but see if it works for what you need. If not, I get a better piece for you, my Lady," Aurora says, handing over the dark wood.

  "This will do," I say. "That is all."

  "I will knock when dinner is ready to be served," Aurora says.

  "Ok," I tell her, turning to go out onto my baly. I haven't used it yet, and well, now seems like a good time to test it out.

  The cold temperature is a lot more noticeable on the baly, but I'll be fiill it gets dark.

  I sit down in one of the many chairs they have out here and look over the cube Aurave me. It really is dented. It looks like someone had a habit of hitting it with a thin roaybe rubbing it with a ring.

  Aurora didn't give me something precious to her, did she? I was hoping to make a statue of Geta out of it, but I think I should do Shy instead in case it is somewhat important to Aurora. I don't have Shy as well memorized, but if I give her a simple dress I get away with it.

  I don't know why I said a cube would work. I'm going to be cutting so much off the sides. Oh, and I don't have a lot of mana.

  I really phis poorly.

  Well, first thing first. Make a notch for where the base will go, then shape out the head and start cutting.

  The base is slightly less than half an inch, and the head be about an inch, I think. It's just a simple shape. I haven't seen Shy pin her hair up or anything. The shoulder bdes should be a fih.

  Eh, I'm just going to hand it over to Aurora. It doesn't o be my best work. Well, it may be important to her, but I shouldn't make it too ugly.

  I keep marking out the features on the cube so I cut away the rge se of waste before w oails. The pose will be really simple: Shy will stand with her arms crossed in front of her. I don't think I do the full details of the maid uniform. So, I'll switch that over to a simple dress.

  Maybe Aurora will like it better that way. It doesn't seem like being a maid is too bad, but I would imagine a normal dress should look better on the nightstand.

  I surge my mana into the wood and start to make the first real cuts. Taking my markings and giving the figure a real shape. The head pops out with a block for hair. Thinning out for a neck before the shoulders and chest to form.

  I have to leave extra material below so I have something to work with iing a dress. Then, I will finish up the base and cut a bit off the bottom to give it a ft base to rest on.

  I start on the hair , just giving it a bit of texture over the block I started with and finishing up the faext is the top half of Shy's dress, cutting out her arms and hands.

  How far down should I make her dress? Knees should be a servative guess. Give it a bit of a wave, then a thigh gap. Add simple shoes, and I'll have made my first clothed figure.