Lucien's eyes flared with disbelief. "Your retainer?! Are you serious right now?"
Damian held his ground, arms crossed with a calm and serious expression. "You heard me."
The air in the chamber thickened.
Lyra stood awkwardly between the two, her gaze darting back and forth like she was watching a fire about to explode.
Lucien scoffed, breaking the silence as his face turned red—a mix of rage and humiliation. "So what if she's your retainer, a mere commoner has no ri-."
"That's enough Lucien—" Damian interrupted, clearly annoyed at his choice of words.
"How infuriating," Lucien snapped, his voice like a whip. His eyes, once filled with superiority, now brimmed with something else—an injured pride. "Enjoy your little fantasy world, Damian."
He spun on his heel and stormed out, the heavy doors slamming shut behind him like thunder.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then all of a sudden, Damian burst out laughing.
Damian leaned against the nearby pillar, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh man... did you see his face? Hahaha, priceless" he said, wiping a tear from his eye.
Lyra on the other hand blinked in confusion before forming a smile. "It was… funny," she admitted softly.
"I know right?" he grinned.
But her smile quickly faded into curiousity.
"…Why did you... say that I'm your retainer?" she asked quietly. "It just came out of nowhere."
Damian looked at her, a little surprised by the question as his expression softened. "Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you're against it—"
"No!" Lyra cut in quickly, "I- I didn't mean it like that. It's just… I wasn't expect it."
A smirk tugged at Damian's lips. "Then we're good, yeah?"
Lyra looked down, a small shy smile playing on her lips.
"Besides," he added with mock pride, placing a hand on his chest, "I couldn't just leave a damsel in distress to get hurt. That's just not my style."
She tilted her head to the side. "So you're that type, huh?" she stated innocently.
He recoiled in surprise. O–of course not!" he waved his hands frantically though a bit flustered.
"I just... Well If I didn't give you some sort of title, you'd be treated even lower than a random maid wandering the halls. And besides, I can't exactly let you go, now can I?"
Lyra's smile faltered, replaced by something more thoughtful. "You really did that... for me?" she blushed.
He nodded once. "Yup"
Her lips parted, but no words came out at first. Just a soft "Thank you…" that took advantage of her cuteness, causing Damian to blush a little.
'Too cute' he thought.
While scratching his chin in embarrassment, a thought came to him.
"Lyra, have you been awakened yet?"
She looked up at him, blinking. "Awakened? No… not yet... I turned twelve exactly a week ago."
"A week ago!... So then you're older me..." he whispered with a shrug.
She blinked. "I am?"
"D-don't get the wrong idea, it's only by a few days." He blushed with a little pout as she tilted her head in confusion.
Sighing, Damian crossed his arms and spoke up. "Then it's about time you got yourself a class."
Lyra hesitated. Her voice dropped, quiet and unsure. "But… I don't have money for one of those awakening orbs."
Damian smiled. Not the cocky one he wore for everyone else—but a warm reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about it," he said, already turning for the door. "I'll take care of it."
She opened her mouth to respond, then paused and glanced toward the window. The night was young with and the sky was still pitch black outside.
"Okay… umm, but…" she said softly, pointing at the sky. "maybe we should wait until sunrise."
Damian blinked at the window, then at her.
"I guess you're right," he chuckled.
• • •
"I'll have you know that this is beneath me young master." Winston stated bluntly.
"Sorry about this once again." Damian apologized while clasping his palms together.
"Hmph"
"Umm... Damian... Should I begin now?" Lyra asked nervously.
"Yeah go on ahead." He confirmed.
Early the next day, back in the room where the class awakening took place, the trio—Damian, Lyra and Winston were present as witnesses to Lyra's awakening.
Lyra took her position on the chair as Damian instructed her earlier. In a moment, the orb flashed brightly as Lyra's body immediately went limp and inanimate. Luckily for her, Damian had told her beforehand to position her center of gravity in a way that when her consciousness got spirited away, she would fall backwards.
Sighing, 'So far, so good… I wish I could help more, but I don't even know what class she might have had in her past life—if she had one at all. Then again… the slavers probably wouldn't have let her choose one... She did mention she was a noble, so it should be fine I guess...' he pondered
"Young master..."
"Yes, Sir Winston?"
"Enlighten me... What do you see in this young commoner that makes you think she's worthy of being your retainer?"
Though Winston was merely a butler, he had been his father's right hand for years. A question like this carried more than just words.
One wrong statement and he could even lose his right to the throne.
"Why I picked her?..." Damian inquired, shooting the unconscious Lyra a glance.
"Umm... She's pretty?"
"Are you—?"
"Just kidding," Damian cut in, sticking his tongue out playfully.
"Tch... Then why do you insist on keeping her?..." Winston asked again as Damian stared back at Lyra with a relaxed smile.
"She's strong..." Damian whispered.
"And what exactly do you mean by... 'strong'? Winston inquired.'
He said while raising a hand to his chin, slighty tilting his head backwards a bit, mimicking a thinking posture as he shot Winston a glance from the corner of his eyes. "You'll see..."
"Hmph... Such faith..." Winston remarked, closing his eyes. "Then I'll just have to wait and see how strong she is for myself " Winston added.
Damian barely noticed it, but for the first time, he finally saw Winston smile at him. He was about to point it out before a grunt interrupted them.
"Lyra?"
"Y-yes" she replied, still a little dizzy from just regaining consciousness.
Winston approached her with a measured steps
"I do hope this 'strength' doesn't disappoint the king… for your sake," he said without looking back.
Without another word Winston put on his glasses and recited the enchantment.
"Status reveal..."
For a moment, he was calm and unreadable before his composure broke apart instantly, his eyes widening in surprise.
"What?!!!!"