78 – Meetings and Reports

The cook was almost done preparing breakfast when I arrived in the kitchen with Mia in tow. Someone else went upstairs to invite the guests today. On paying closer attention, I recognized the heartbeat as Lily’s.

That reminds me, I wanted to offer her a bond as well, with the excuse of evaluating her for a promotion. Mia’s assistant, was it? Might as well have that conversation today, before I forget again. Too many things were vying for my attention recently.

Predictably, only the handmaid accompanied her downstairs. In the time they’d been here, I hadn’t seen a single – presumably silver – hair on my sister’s head. Even Maximilian had only really appeared once after their arrival, in that unfortunate incident yesterday.

Linda entered the dining room ahead of Lily, who trailed behind with an uncomfortable expression. After the handmaid bowed – much less shallow than last time, I noted – she spoke.

“Greetings, Lord Steelheart. My lady has sent me to inform you she is declining your invitation.” So far, so expected, though she did use my name and title. At least a little progress there. Why didn’t she behave like this last time? I still remembered the way she’d simply stated she was supposed to bring food upstairs, without any formality.

It really was good that I had infinitely more patience than Kalin for my sister’s disrespect, or the situation would be much more tense. I was already annoyed as it was, though at least part of that was Kalin’s memories.

Is this the effect of putting Maximilian in his place? Did that finally make her take me more seriously? I had been rather vocal about my displeasure. No doubt he’d passed that on. I really should have put my foot down earlier, I thought ruefully.

In hindsight, my plan of acting like a generous host so as not to present anything that could be used to criticize me was overly optimistic. The motivation behind the act was still correct, in my opinion – there was no way no one in the family wouldn’t use any slip-ups against me – but it was a classic case of no plan surviving implementation.

Not that being intentionally abrasive would help me make friends, or even just win allies. I’d like to avoid actively making unnecessary enemies, if possible. Going forward, I would continue doing my best as a host, but my tolerance for bullshit would be minimal. In that vein, forcing Lenora to eat with me wasn’t necessary. However, I did want to meet her soon, whether she wanted to or not. There were too many things we had to discuss.

“Alright. My sister is free to refuse my friendly invitations, if she wishes. However, this has its limits. Let Lenora know that we will have an official meeting soon. There are many matters, small and large, that we must discuss. Refusing this is not an option. I am owed a certain level of respect as the host. She can either set a date of her choosing, or I will do it myself. If it comes to that, I will be very annoyed, and make the appropriate complaints to the duke. Am I understood?” My eyes drilled into Linda’s. She swallowed unconsciously.

Though I could tell the handmaid wanted to say something in return, she ended up just bowing more deeply and acknowledging my command. Before I dismissed her, I mentioned another topic.

“My acting steward informs me that there has not been any arrangement for laundry and other such small matters? Before you return upstairs, work this out with her. Aside from that, you are dismissed. Mia?” I glanced over at my confidant.

I had, of course, informed her of my idea concerning Maximilian’s blood when she came to ‘wake’ me. At that time, she’d confirmed that the lack of effort put into cleaning the blood off the carriage had been on purpose. She knew what I wanted pretty well, apparently. It was admittedly pretty obvious, in that case. If there was blood involved, I wanted to get involved as well. Obviously.

Mia nodded at my order and escorted Linda out of the room, to discuss and arrange what needed to be done.

While the two women talked, I began eating breakfast, with Lily serving me the food in Mia’s place. She was pretty diligent, though clearly less comfortable around me than her colleague and friend.

As I ate, I considered the previous conversation. I’d intentionally kept eye contact with Linda, feeling out how well influence built up on the middle-aged woman. From the encounter with the demon hunters, I was reasonably certain that this pre-activation influence wasn’t easily detectable, if at all. Though for those men, it had basically failed to get a grip at all.

The results with Linda were a bit inconclusive. It was far from the ‘water on glass’-like feeling I got from the hunters, but definitely less effective than with normal people. I’d put the resistance I felt at about the level of the spy, if I had to estimate it. Before the lapse in his will that allowed me entry and the subsequent blood bond.

So she’s undoubtedly trained, then. I just don’t know how much that would affect things.

Without a mental weakness like what the spy showed, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to properly influence the handmaid. I’d have to build it up over several minutes of near uninterrupted eye contact. My relatively higher social position should help here, though how much was unclear. She seemed cowed right now, but was that how she really felt, or just a performance?

My main issue was still that I didn’t know whether the training she received would allow Linda to maintain some awareness while influenced. That was the big risk I’d rather avoid, if at all possible. Same for a potential blood bond. Which was why I would be confronting my sister. Willingly or not.

Shortly before I was done eating, Mia returned. At my questioning glance, she confirmed that she’d successfully arranged various housekeeping tasks related to our guests that had been mostly up in the air before. It was, of course, standard for the host’s staff to deal with laundry and other such concerns, but it hadn’t actually been properly discussed until now in this case.

This outcome gave me some hope that our guests would open up a bit of their own accord, going forward. The meeting I had ‘requested’ – and would force, if necessary, though I’d prefer not having to resort to that – should also help with that. I was certain that I didn’t have any previous issues with Lenora, so any serious dislike she had for me must be based on misconceptions. Intentional or not.

Clearing up those matters – at the very least setting the record straight about what level of respect and standards of behavior I was owed – should open up more possibilities for friendly interactions in future. Or neutral ones, if that was too much to ask. If she was sent here for punishment, I wasn’t told anything of the sort. So it really wasn’t necessary to make life difficult for both of us.

Whatever conspiracies or opportunists targeted her were unlikely to stop just because of me. The incoming agents were an example of something that concerned up both, in all likelihood.

Before heading upstairs for training – and before I forgot – I had Lily join us in the study.

“So, I assume Mia has already explained some things to you?”

“Yes, Lord Steelheart,” Lily bowed. “She said you were considering her request for me to become her assistant and were planning on testing me.”

“Correct. Are you in principle interested in the idea?” It would be a waste to go through a bunch of trouble if the person in question didn’t even want the job.

“Very much so,” she smiled. “While my family doesn’t need the money as dearly as Mia’s does – did, I guess – it is still good to have more. One day my parents will grow old, so being able to take care of them is important to me. Also, working with Mia sounds good.”

“Alright. What about the test? You must know that being the steward’s assistant means potentially coming in contact with sensitive information, so loyalty is important. As such, I will be using special magical means to evaluate you. It’s nothing dangerous, but still highly invasive to your privacy. Are you willing, after hearing all that?”

Lily gulped, but her eyes quickly filled with determination. “I am. What do I need to do?”

“Nothing much, just relax for a moment.”

Before she could formulate a proper reply, my influence took hold. Just to be thorough, I asked the standard questions regarding her allegiance again, to which the answers were still the same. Lily hadn’t suddenly become a spy over the last week.

Slightly unnecessary, sure, but confirmation was good for my peace of mind.

Following that, I drained a small amount of her blood into my cup, less than half full. I saw Mia roll her eyes from my peripheral vision, but ignored her. Recent windfall or no, I couldn’t just go around giving away blood all day without some replenishment. But at the same time, I didn’t want to tax Lily’s body too much. This was the middle ground.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

After my quick drink, I refilled the cup with some of my own blood and had the maid drink.

Only a short time later, she woke back up from her trance.

“It’s done. The evaluation will be ongoing over the near future, so do your best. With Mia’s endorsement, I believe you will do fine.”

“Thank you, Lord Steelheart. I won’t let you down.” She was slightly nervous at the prospect, but also full of enthusiasm.

“On an unrelated note, you haven’t experienced any fatigue recently, have you? Did you follow my advice?”

“Ah, yes! I ate more meat and leafy greens, as you said, Lord Steelheart. How did you know?”

Well, the taste of her blood had changed for the better, compared to the somewhat lacking flavor last time. But I wouldn’t tell her that, obviously. I was relieved it was apparently some form of simple iron or vitamin deficiency and nothing more severe.

For a moment I considered whether my blood could help treat such difficult conditions, but quickly reigned myself in before going down the tangent.

Outwardly, I just smiled, instead of providing an answer. “That’s good to hear. I would prefer you stay healthy, so don’t neglect your body.”