My Servant System

Jahi PoV

Reaching the Palace, I took a peek through the curtains inside the carriage and stared at the towering structure with awe.

Made from a mixture of deep black stone and burnished gold, the Palace was carved out of Sanctus Ignacia, nestled into the crown of this volcanic mountain.

We had just reached the gates of the Palace, and I was still surprised to see that the pathway leading towards the real entrance was hundreds of feet away from us, all while a whole separate city flourished above the Capital.

Glancing back at Leone, I raised a brow as I asked "This is where you lived? Inside of an entire city meant just for you and your family?"

The Vampire blushed slightly at that, though her Aunt chimed in, her voice still warm as she added "A large family, mind you. Igna's boy, Dante, is already around two hundred years old, and he has three wives, each of which bore him three children. Then they married and had children... That's not even adding on Fenryas's two brats Vienna and Roman; they both have harems of their own..."

Blinking, I turned back to the view outside as Lady Yusa continued on speaking.

"Besides that, many of our closest servants live inside the city as well, alongside their families. Then there are the guards, as well as the quarters given to all the Knights of Cinder. Also, any of the family that wished to join their sons or daughters who married into the Empress' Family live up here as well, plus some influential merchants rent out houses here to barter with the inhabitants. This is where the powerful reside, and as such we need our space. Otherwise, we'd be at each others throats constantly. I know that Fenryas would already have whipped most of the populace into insanity if the Empress didn't seclude her off to the side..."

Mom shivered at that, nodding in agreement as she muttered "Thankfully...", which made Lady Yusa smirk.

Letting out a 'Huh...', I sat back down beside Leone and Anput, my thoughts wandering around as I took in the elaborate black and gold buildings, the architecture all symmetrical and domed off, while beautiful columns were chiseled out into the sides of the walls as decorations.

Statues of important historical figures adorned parts of the road, key parts of their statue made from gold while the rest was that black stone.

Braziers illuminated the city in a warm red, adding to the relaxed, cozy atmosphere that draped the area.

A minute or so later we reached the entrance to the Palace, the towering domed structure engraved with intricate runes that shone red.

Stepping out of the carriage, I pursed my lips as I felt the dry, warm air around us that was laden with power; the mix created an almost suffocating pressure, but I managed to remain unfazed by it after a few moments.

Turning back, I reached out my hand for Leone, helping her out of the carriage, before doing the same with Anput, giving a small smile to both of them.

Mom and Lady Yusa stepped out and joined us, with Mom sighing as she looked up at the giant Palace with a nostalgic glint to her eyes.

"Alright, let's go see how Adelina's doing, then go speak to the Empress before we depart."

I nodded, following behind Lady Yusa as she led us into the Palace, opening the giant golden doors with a wave of her hands.

Long red carpets adorned the shining black floor, cracks of gold splintering through the tiles, while the walls were adorned with various tapestries, paintings, artifacts, and runes.

Some were of the Empire itself, old maps with scribbled notes encased in protective glass, while others were of people themselves; a family here, a single portrait there.

They were of notable figures, be it Vulcan or Lilith, or of lesser people like talented musicians, performers, or writers.

Each was hung on the wall without separation of importance, while shelves under and above them were adorned with various items related to those people, creating small shrines to them.

Leone followed my gaze as I looked around, and she smiled softly as she said "Each person inside this entrance hall was someone who made an impact on the Empire in one way or another. Knights of old join famous writers and singers; swords and pens are equal to Mom, and she places great value on them both. Some are rather unknown; that painting there, of the male harpy, is actually the creator of the Empire's various fables, and his name was Foren Stroud. Any famous ballad or story you here is likely derived from one of his many, many anthologies.

Over there, the Tigerkin woman? She is the alchemist who created Monster Lures and Phantasmal Fire, while also managing to govern the prosperous Market-City Archimedea. Her entire school of thought was named after her, and it is the current leading school for most alchemists; Towana Zadith, founder of the Zadith School for Alchemy.

Everyone in this hall has impacted the very fabric of this Empire multiple times over, and their creations or beliefs still persist even to this very day. I studied each of them as a little girl, since I was curious, and I have to say that it was worth it. It really does change your perspective of the world!"

I smiled as I watched Leone get animated again, the familiar sight of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge finally resurfacing ever since...

Anyways, it was nice seeing her returning to normal, to be the bubbly, enthusiastic Vampire who craved to know everything.

Anput felt the same, if her smirk was anything to go off of.

"Though, the things you don't get to learn of in those books of yours are rather important too, Leone~! Foren Stroud was an arrogant, pompous man who almost got executed for comments he made about a few Noblewomen, while Towana Zadith was crazier then most Alchemists as she pursued eternal life through potions instead of magic. She insisted that the Core was an inefficient organ to rely on, and instead wished to prolong her life with herbs and monster parts, which eventually killed her."

Leone pouted as Lady Yusa turned to grin at her, the woman's pale features filled with wisdom as she gestured around the hall.

"Indeed, most people here are important, but you'll learn little if you simply study their accomplishments. Instead, look towards the hardships they faced and learn from that; most of their lives were cut short due to unbridled arrogance and -reasonably founded - beliefs that they were geniuses who knew best. Sadly, sometimes knowing a lot can be your downfall."

Nodding, I glanced down at Leone, who was still pouting as she let out a 'Hmph!', making me chuckle softly as I resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks.

The rest of the walk towards the infirmary was spent looking at the various shrines, though the commentary from Leone as she listed off her favorites was a welcome distraction.

Reaching the infirmary, we found Nirinia leaning against the door with a frown, her jade green eyes unfocused as she stared at the red carpet, only to jolt 'awake' as she heard us approach.

Seeing Mom, her eyes widened for a moment as she hastily straightened herself out, an apology forming on her lips.

Raising her hand, Mom smiled softly at the Djinn, saying "Don't blame yourself for what happened, Nirinia. I should have done more to keep everyone safe, but I didn't. You did the best you could in a situation out of your control. Now, how's Adelina?"

Brushing the Djinn's self pity away, Mom looked at the door for a moment before turning back to Nirinia, who was frowning.

"She's... healed. Lady D'Arcon came by and healed her completely. It's just..."

"Mental trauma. After all, it was members of her Command Squad who betrayed her. Members of the Legion were already a sore point for any good Commander, but having your own hand picked Command Squad betray you must wear at your confidence. So... why are you out here?"

Nirinia flinched, her jade eyes moving back towards the door as she muttered "Adelina made it clear she didn't want to see me. Made a big scene about it two days ago, tried to use her magic to kill me. So... here I am."

The pain in her eyes was obvious, especially with the way she clenched her fists as she stared blankly at the door, unsure of how to act.

Exchanging looks with Leone and Anput, I chuckled wryly as I stepped forwards and laid my hand on Nirinia's shoulder, getting her attention.

"Listen, I can't say much on what you should do, but I can say that this is unlike you. Where'd the confident, cocky, insufferable Knight in the making go? You seemed hard headed then, so what's with the change? Did you realize that you feel something towards her? If so, are you going to run from it? Hate to break it to you, but you and Adelina will be seeing lots of each other in the coming months; we have a Crusade to wage, and both of you are apart of it."

She pursed her lips at that, though I was uncaring about whether or not this Djinn would be capable of overcoming her crush on the Lioness; that was no concern of mine.

No, what I needed was them to at least be amicable towards one another, since any outbursts between the Commander and a future Knight of Cinder would be bad for morale going forwards.

How they went about it made little difference to me; if they wanted to begin dating again, cool, if they wanted to be friends again, cool, and if they wanted to be more then friends but less then girlfriends, cool.

It didn't bother me one bit.

Though, seeing her in a modicum of the pain I felt when my loved one was ripped away from me soothed a small, dark part of my heart, a part that I tried desperately to ignore.

Patting her shoulder once more, I took a deep breath and rapped my knuckles against the door, speaking loudly to the inhabitant.

"Adelina, it's Jahi Asmodia; may I come in?"

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