南瓜影院

—The Black Manor—

It was midday and a woman stood at the balcony of one of the topmost rooms in the Manor. Her hands rested on the black stone railing as her green eyes stared off far into the distance while her grayish-white hair swayed in the breeze.

Yelena\'s lips were pursed and the longer she gripped the railing, the tighter she held on to the point where her knuckles were turning white.

The sounds of footsteps coming from behind didn\'t cause her to turn. She knew who it was anyway. It was a servant girl \'meant to see to her every need\' in this unfamiliar home she had found herself and found it difficult, no, impossible, to leave.

"My lady," the servant girl called gently, "Lord Aleric has invited you to the hall."

After speaking, the Servant girl went silent for a few minutes before bowing,

"I\'ll let him know you\'re not yet feeling well enough." She said in a tone that made it clear that was a response she was getting used to delivering.

This absolutely beautiful lady had been brought to the Manor barely a day after some thieves struck and destroyed parts of the building. She awoke that very evening and Lord Aleric gave the order that she was to be shown the best care. While also ordering for her to remain under watch because she was not to leave the premises. Not even to venture into the City proper.

The day after that, Lord Aleric, through this servant girl, had asked Yelena to join him in the hall but she had refused. She had refused every time since then so the Servant girl, of course, expected today to be the same.

"No," Yelena said suddenly in a clear voice just as the servant made to turn around,

"I\'ll see him."

The servant girl\'s eyes widened,

"What?" She asked, surprised.

"I said I\'ll see him," Yelena said again and turned around to face the girl.

"Al-Alright, My lady," the girl said.

"My name is Yelena," Yelena said with a small smile despite herself. She found it slightly funny that the girl was so flustered.

"I couldn\'t dare call you by your name, My Lady," the Servant girl said while shaking her head.

"How old are you?" Yelena asked.

"I turned Twenty-two last month," the girl said.

"Well, I\'m Twenty-five. So not much older than you," Yelena said with a brazen look on her face.

Three hundred and Ninety-Two years old was far from Twenty-five but in Yelena\'s defense, she didn\'t look her age.

"It\'s not about age, My Lady," the girl said and shook her head,

"You\'re the Lord\'s guest."

"What\'s your name?" Yelena asked suddenly.

"Marla, my lady," the Servant girl said.

"Beautiful name," Yelena said.

The girl flushed and shook her head,

"No," she said, "It\'s ordinary, My Lady."

"No, it\'s not," Yelena insisted, "It\'s beautiful. And again, call me Yelena."

"Alright, I\'ll try My L— Yelena," Marla said with a bit of a stammer.

"Good," Yelena said with a nod, "Now, please lead me to the hall."

Marla led the way out of Yelena\'s room and out into the hall where she saw two men in uniforms guarding her door with even more on patrol. Yelena was glad they didn\'t escort her and Marla on their way.

"Marla?" Yelena called.

"Yes, My La— I mean, Yelena?" Marla said with a stutter.

Yelena smiled but acted like she hadn\'t heard the slip,

"What happened there?" She asked and pointed at a section of crumbled wall where Men were at work trying to mend.

"Oh," Marla said, "It was horrible. Thieves stormed the Manor! They killed so many people. Guards, Vykers… Even the Lord\'s Warlocks. Horrible, horrible."

"I see," Yelena said and that was it for her attempt at small talk.

After a few minutes of traversing the Manor\'s long corridors and spotting signs of destruction in certain other areas, they finally arrived at the door to the hall.

"He\'s waiting for you, My Lady," Marla said.

Yelena was so occupied mentally that she let the slip slide. The Guards opened the door and Yelena walked in alone as they closed it behind her.

The hall was large and mostly empty besides ornaments and some paintings that adorned the walls. Yelena ignored all else and kept her eyes on the black-robed man standing some feet away from where she was.

"You finally came," Maude Aleric said and turned slowly to stare at her with his grey eyes while a small smile appeared on his face,

"I was growing impatient."

Yelena said nothing.

"You know it\'s good manners to speak when spoken to. Or, better still, to perform a respectful curtsy when in front of a Lord."

"I\'m sure it\'s also good manners to not lock up a stranger who\'s done nothing to you, but here we are," Yelena said with her hands behind her back.

Maude Aleric raised a brow and chuckled,

"Fair," he said, "I mean, I can see why you\'d think that but I did not lock you up."

"The Guards…" Yelena started.

"… are purely for your protection. You must have seen the recent wreckage on your way over. Imagine a similar incident happening again. It would be a shame to see such impressive talent like yours cut down before you can truly blossom."

"When you took me from the Ruins, there was— I mean, was there someone else with me?"

"Mmm," Maude said slowly,

"There was one body at the scene but it was horribly burnt. Just what he deserved of course. For what he did to you and me."

"What?" Yelena asked, confused.

"Angus Dionisio," Maude said with a raised brow,

"I assume he was the reason you were in the wreckage of the Mansion. I can only imagine what a bastard like him tried to do to you."

Memories of her last encounter with Angus came rushing back to the forefront of Yelena\'s mind. The attack on the Mansion that was quite literally her lifeline, the attacks on her mind that saw her lose control of herself. She shivered ever so slightly at the memory. Maude caught that and the look in his eyes became sympathetic,

"I\'m sorry for what you had to go through. People like Angus Dionisio only seek to strike and subjugate their betters…"

"I wasn\'t asking about Angus," Yelena said,

"There must have been someone else you saw in the ruins."

Maude seemed to give it some thought and then shook his head,

"No, I don\'t believe so," he said and sighed,

"Besides, you are dwelling on the past. It\'s a sad thing to do for one with your talent. The future is bright and the location or well-being of anyone other than you should be unimportant."

Yelena said nothing and just pursed her lips.

When she woke up four days ago, she was greeted by a screen;

[Yelena Hadron, Congratulations on getting bound to the System!

You now have access to your Status screen however, as one who was not specifically chosen to have the System, you will not be issued Quests and thus, will not ordinarily receive Rewards.]

"What is this?" Yelena asked confused, "What\'s a System? What\'s a \'Status Screen\'."

And so another screen appeared, this one littered with numbers;

——————

[Name: Yelena Hadron]

[Race: Human (Infernal Spawn)]

[Class: Witch]

[Title: Gunslinger\'s Partner]

[Health: 150]

[Mana: 200]

[Strength: 35]

[Agility: 50]

[Stamina: 25]

[Intelligence: 1500]

[Spells: <Arcane Tendrils>.]

——————

Like probably any inquisitive person would, Yelena had clicked on the tabs seeking understanding. She clicked on the tag right beside her race first;

[(Infernal Spawn)

Description: One who has been touched by Infernal Energy. An Existence promised to Hell.]

"Holy—! Hell?!" Yelena let out with her eyes widened,

"Is that what that ritual did? Promised me to Hell?!"

When Yelena\'s shock eventually waned, she clicked on the next tab to catch her eye;

[Title: Gunslinger\'s Partner

Description: With the System as a medium, you have been bound to the Gunslinger, Henry Morgan.

Tapping into his Physical Stats, you have received the following boons;

-Your Health has been permanently increased by 50.

-Your Strength has been Permanently increased by 20

-Your Agility has been Permanently increased by 30.

-Your Stamina has been Permanently increased by 20.

These increments will remain for as long as you possess the Title \'Gunslinger\'s Partner\'.

This Title will remain for as long as Henry Morgan lives.]