I’m 8 years old now. I’m quite used to the life in the Versam family.[1]
As a slave, I was prepared for the harsh treatment (training with my teacher was an act of abuse), but it was better than I expected.
As expected of a marquis’ family, they owned a big castle on the bank of the lake. But the mansion itself wasn’t that big. Apart from the building belonging to Mrs. Elsa, there were mostly dwellings for servants. Even if I said servants, there were only 4 maids, 1 butler and my teacher, Falco.
The main building is two stories tall. The first floor has a hall, reception room, dining room, kitchen, bath, and toilet; it is a floor for guests if anything. All rooms are large and the furniture is first class. The dining room is wide enough to accommodate about 100 people, or so I think. It seems that parties are held here.
The second floor is a living space, and the private room of Mrs. Elsa is placed here. There are also several other rooms, but a lot of them aren’t used.
「Our family is that of a marquise. So even with a status of a slave, you are still a part of Versam family. You should dress appropriately」
By the order of Mrs. Elsa, I received the same outfit as a butler. If fact, it looks pretty cool. The training suit was provided; there is also pajamas for the night. I have three meals every day, although the food was different from that of Mrs. Elsa. Overall, the situation with food is pretty good. There are a soup and bread every day, sometimes even something resembling a stew.
Most of the time, the marquis was staying in the office inside the castle. Even though it is called an office, it is quite spacious, with bath and toilet included. Not only that, there are also several rooms for his subordinates.
The Juka Kingdom was called the strongest in the past, but right now, it is decaying from the inside. The current king, Juka York Fan IV, 38 years old, despite his young age, has a reputation of the foolish king; he always shuts himself in the palace and disregards his duties. He surrounds himself with beauties and behaves like a spoiled child.
However, the 19 years old prince, Juka York Olren, is a very capable person, and he slowly takes charge of the political affairs inside the royal palace.
And Mrs. Elsa is the tutor of prince Olren, you can even say that she raised him. Of course, the prince trusts her greatly, in short, she is a heavyweight in the royal palace and has the right to advise the prince. And the marquis serves as the prince’s right-hand man.
The point is, the prince and the Versam couple, who raised him, carry out the kingdom’s matters. As a result, they somehow managed to stabilize the kingdom, but there are many people aiming at Versam family’s position, some of them even resort to underhanded means.
Until now, my teacher, Falco successfully dealt with all attempts on Mrs. Elsa’s life, but if someone attacked the marquis at the same time, one Falco won’t be enough. That’s why they have bought a slave with barrier skill.
Noble society is deeply involved in politics. In the Juka Kingdom, the prince’s faction holds the most influence, but the younger brother of the king, duke Hira, and the general Karugi have their own factions, you can’t let your guard down.
When I first arrived at the Versam family, I was training under Falco all the time, but recently, I also learned「Etiquette」and「Reading and Writing」.
Well, I’m 34 years old on the inside though. I learned how to read and write before I noticed it. After all, the words were Japanese and the characters were latin. I just needed to convert the words inside my head, there was no problem with pronunciation either.
「If I can raise my barrier skill further, I can become a butler and have a peaceful life」
While thinking about it, I collapsed onto my bed. Of course, this naive way of thinking was destroyed soon enough…
Rinos (Slave Barrier Master, 8 years old)
HP: 45
MP: 143
Barrier Magic LV3 (Teacher’s fire magic (LV3) doesn’t work anymore!)
Fire Magic LV1(I can create small balls of fire! )
Water Magic LV1(I can produce water! )
Recovery Magic LV1
Life Magic LV1
Chanting LV2
Appraisal Magic LV3
Etiquette LV1
Liberal Arts LV3(Appeared once I tried double digits multiplication)
- Here come loads of explanations ↩