Fortune

Jingyi found it a bit odd how it seemed like they knew the perfect size that would fit her before she had even set foot inside of the residence, but she just chalked it up to coincidence for now, not wanting to think about the fact that it was probably because Anoteros had groped every part of her body and had just learned this way.

The attire she and Linmin had decided on was actually rather cute, and comfortable, the girl had certainly not expected to wear something that wasn't degrading, but it just seems that she could not get through Edrick's head, no matter how hard she tried.

Her maid uniform was nearly completely white and went very well with her hair, only the edges of the dress portion and some symbol on the chest were of a different colour, the edges were of a similar green to her eyes, whilst the symbol was etched in black, greatly standing out across the clothing, and it was a depiction of the symbol used by the Elt family, which was a rather ominous-looking hydra.

The amount of heads wasn't actually fixed, so it could vary from one depiction to another, and this one in particular had the specificity of having one of its heads bearing a horn, which one had to suppose was just the personal mark Edrick had chosen for himself, so that it could be made clear that this wasn't just the Elt clan, but Edrick Lucien Anoteros in particular.

The outfit had long sleeves, a high collar and the likes, it actually looked like a real maid's uniform, what would be worn by someone who did actual work and weren't just glorified concubines disguised so that the house's lord could look good.

Still, the upper portion did stretch out like it was a dress, the sort that went down near the ground, but actually didn't cover the thighs or legs at all, it added some movements to the attire, all in all, although still nervous, Jingyi had to admit that she actually looked good in it.

"That's pretty nice, you are rather pretty all around… Although you should probably eat a bit more, you are a bit skeletal" Linmin judged that having a maid of weak constitution would be more of detriment that anything else, and was already planning on adding some proteins to her meals, a woman needed to have some flesh on her bones, at least, a human one did.

"I can hardly gain any weight, I have been like this my whole life" replied Jingyi, Yi and Li had often worried about her health as well, but her body just naturally burned through calories like crazy, seemingly adamant on keeping her as she currently was.

"Is that so? Well, we'll see that later… In Lord Edrick's residence, even the servants are well-fed, so I am sure you'll bulk up eventually, anyways, follow me, I'll show you around" the second wife led the way, showing his new recruit every relevant area in quick succession.

"This is the first wife's personal room, where she practises a variety of things, from arrays to alchemy and many more! She is the matriarch in the household, and you shall refer to her as 'Lady Fanqia' or 'Madam', no matter what she tells you, just keeps referring to her like that, wives and servants can and should be on friendly terms, but as a noble household, we need to maintain status in every situation, others can use even the smallest of things to try and undermine Lord Edrick!"

"Y-Yes Madam!"

"Ah, for me you have to use 'Lord', actually" corrected Linmin with a wave of his hand, continuing to walk as the newly employed maid stopped in her tracks.

"Is something the matter, Jingyi?"

"I- Huh… I am surprised is all, I was not expecting that"

"Most people are, although, quite a few still have not realised it seems… Lord Edrick does not mind, as long as someone is feminine enough, it falls within the range of his noble tastes, and if you wonder, there is no need to conceal the fact that I am foppoof in front of guests, although we need to be careful about many things, Lord Edrick has directly stated that this was something that was not be hidden, even if it exposes him to criticism and mockeries" explained the servant-wife, nearing another room of interest.

"He… He must really love you to not care about that, huh?"

"Aren't I fortunate to have such a wonderful husband? But realistically, it's because he is probably envisioned to have more foppoof within the residence in the future, so it will be found eventually, so might as well get that out of the way as early as possible, right?" he stopped and waved to another door.

Jingyi was honestly dumbfounded, although she had not seen the other wives yet, Linmin was already showing a picture she had not expected, why did he seem genuinely happy with Anoteros? How come he was so aware? She had expected that Edrick was merely manipulating his wives to make it seem like he cared about them, but the more she listened and looked at Linmin, and the environment itself, the more it seemed like there was no fabrication and no deception.

Linmin just seemed to be on the same wavelength as his lord-husband.

How could this vile brute make anyone happy?

"Here is the third wife's personal room, you might know her personally, as she was, and still is, a librarian in the sect's library, but even if you are familiar with her, remember to call her 'Lady Hui', in here, she reads books, translates books, and even makes books amongst other things, she gets a bit sensitive to light when remaining inside for too long, and often focuses so hard that she loses track of the surroundings, so if necessary, you are allowed to nudge her a bit to get her attention"

Jingyi nodded silently, and they soon moved again.

"And finally, this is the fourth wife's personal room, 'Lady Luxuli', people do not know about her yet, but she is a demon, so do not be surprised by her appearance, alright? She is mostly learning about magic and training her special aptitude to appraise objects, unlike Hui, she does not get too engrossed, so simply knocking or calling out is enough"

Then, they moved on to more general rooms, the residence was larger than Jingyi had expected from the outside, there were plenty of bedrooms intended for maids and servants, many stocking areas for multiple things, training rooms of various kinds, multiple bathrooms, areas to clean clothes, living rooms of varying sizes, and even dining rooms and the likes intended to be used by the maids and servants.

The quality of living of mere workers was better than how some people lived in their own homes, far above it in fact, as this place was well-insulated, was warm and provided everything one might need, and Jingyi wasn't even expected to work all day long.

This felt like a honey trap, but realistically, that was unlikely, Edrick didn't need such a stratagem to get her in his house, he could have literally just picked her up and taken her here after playing with her when it was dark.

"Oh, by the way, when it comes to remuneration, you will have to discuss this with Lord Edrick, and also, you shall address the lord as 'Master', no need for anything else- And here we are, the icehouse is where we stock all of the food that goes bad, it is very cold in there, so do wear gloves when grabbing something"

It was where Linmin had put the various pieces he had cut earlier, so he grabbed some of them whilst he was here.

"And now, you'll help me with tonight's dinner, though, you'll only be able to eat after we do, that is common practise"

"Yes, Lord!"

"You're learning quickly, that's great, I am certain Lord Edrick will be very pleased with you"

Jingyi looked down, wondering which would be worse, whether Anoteros was pleased with her, or if he was displeased, both seemed like they would be terrible.

She just gritted her teeth, and tried to think positively, who knows, perhaps he would turn over a new leaf now that she was technically his employee, Edrick was a strange, unknowable man, and maybe that aspect would actually turn out to be good for Jingyi this time…