Chapter Twenty-Six

  A thh iion of the attic revealed that the effect of the bination of her skills was weaker the further from where she cast it. While she didn't find any dust and Hyath didn't sense any vermin, the stacked materials at the far side hadn't moved.

  "If they're not expeg us until lunch, it looks like we have some time on our hands."

  "Grrupt."

  The toad strode off into a er and promptly id down for a nap.

  "Good idea."

  With all of her ret adventures, Harmony hadn't gotten proper sleep despite the high-quality bedding at the lodge. Not that she felt like she could take a nap right now. Getting caught sleeping on the job would be the end of her employment. She made her way back to the door.

  The boulder of pacted dust and former attic residents had stopped oozing. Using [Manipute Dead], she cut and shaped it inthly paving-stone-sized squares, moved them into a free er, then ed up the mess with the skill.

  The odds and ends she'd saved from beiroyed were mostly junk. [Analyze] didn't even pick up much, but it was a good way to practice the skill. Wooden spoon: Broken, Napkin ring: Rosewood, Tap spigot, and the like. The loose sheets of paper were invoices, old records of the attiventory, some poorly done drawings, and even more poorly done poetry, nearly thirty sheets of that. Thibodeux showed up among the books, worse for wear, dog-eared, and scribbled in with the blocky letters of someone who didn't practice their writing much. The praise it heaped ohor made the writing more distasteful.

  The sed book was aremely smutty romance from nearly a hundred years ago if the publisher's date was correct. Five pages in, she shut it, heat filling her cheeks. A gift for Fel, who she knew collected the things for inspiration.

  The st book bore the imprint of the manor library underh the cover. Not that Harmoertained any hope of being able to access it simply for returning a lost book. The librarian was a lord by blood, even if he wasn't by css or profession, and was very restrictive of who could access it. Weight and Distribution of age in the Allied Kingdoms. Not Harmony's favorite topic, but she'd read dryer or more poorly put-together works in Lord Tyler's colle. It was that or to delve into the steamy book with her spare time.

  The Evolved Kingdom of Acrabia age has the highest weight and purity. The eic powerhouse uses this to ehey are the premiere destination foods and services reted to adva….

  A third of the way in, she knew lunch would be soon, but she resolved to finish the book before returning it. It had been gone for years, so a few more days wouldn't hurt. The book talked as much about the kingdoms, their age, and eic factors influeng choices in each kingdom's mints as it did the dungeons and how the dungeon rewards led to those choices. The author's opinion attempted to hide ihe dry eic text, but Harmony could pick up the passion there.

  Closing it, she stretched, unsummoned her armor and put her uniform ba. Goosebumps from the chilly attic came to her bare skin. The improved armor had held off the cold, but even as she was aware of the chills' existence, she wasn't feeling it as much, trag that resistao her skill [Cold Touch]. Taking the books with her, she headed back dowairs.

  She stashed all three in her locker to deal with ter before heading to the staff eating area, a small room off the kit. They only ever got to use the big spacious ones during the rare golden moments. Passing through the kit, she grabbed some old m bread and a bowl of leftover stew.

  Jessica gred at Harmony from across her own stew. Bates was nursing a cup of tea. Two house boys were in some excited arm-waving level of versation.

  "A pet with frost attacks has a distinct advantage against reptilian oppos!"

  "Bolthus is ued against all oppos."

  She pictured them arguing about Prince Adri the colosseum, except they only allowed natural ons and armor, not that some wouldn't pay to see him naked. A much more amusing thought than her colpsed dream of an undead coatl taking it by storm.

  The only two spots in the small room were o Jessica or the head butler. The sun priestess's aura of irritation pushed out and physically maed as radiati. Which may have been nice if not for the pany, and the risk of getting toasted if you said, did, or in Harmony's case, were the wrong thing. Harmony chose to sit o Bates.

  "I mao cover for you with masters of the house, who were not amused. If you're asked, a bloom spore took residen the attic. Everyoill remembers when the gardening shed blew up st year." The head butler whispered between sips of tea.

  Harmony seriously hadn't heard anything. Was it that bad? "Thank you." She replied.

  "Just remember that. Oh, and please don't test your limits when helping the madam with her looks. It is possible to perform at your old levels."

  "Of course." Harmony flushed with embarrassment. Bates only knew a smidgeon of her fumbling mistakes. You'd thihought she might explode the matriarch as well.

  Bates finished his tea and stood up. "As soon as you're doh your meal, the mistress expects you to be at her disposal for the rest of the day. Fill up, but don't take too long."

  The head butler left, and Harmony caught Jessica smirking at her disfort. [Poise and Bearing] let her features go ral. Jessica would reize it, but Harmony knew you o feed some moo distract them.

  After lunch, Harmony walked up the stairs to Madam Coodly's room. She sensed Hyath sleeping and didn't want to wake him. There she knocked on the door, and Astel, the personal maid, answered it.

  "The dy has been waiting." The iron in the woman's voice hihat such a thing was uable. Even with that, she cked the ahat Harmony had seen during her previous visits.

  "Show her in. The quicker we get going, the sooner we get you to training with The Keepers." The matriarch called from deeper in the room.

  That would expin the shift in attitude. Harmony also khat probably meant her days as a housemaid were numbered. She wouldn't miss the uniforms, but she wasn't looking to always be on dispy. Less time to plete a task and sneak away with a book. This assumed none of her secrets didn't get out in the open.

  "Of course, Lady Coodly."

  "Right this way, Ms. White."

  As though Harmony didn't know the room by heart.

  The old dy was waiting in her make-up chair in front of her rge vanity. Both the maids curtsied to to your lessons, Astel. I'll keep Harmony busy enough that you'll have plenty of time to get molded properly."

  The neancer leaned into her skills, allowio stand the picture of a perfect servant. Inside she fretted some, as it didn't take her that long to use her skills to beautify the dy. She wondered if this was a tryout to repce Astel. Of course, the other maid could train with that anization and keep her job here.

  "I was surprised when my grandson asked permission to take you on a dungeon dive. With Jessid Gethel, they could clearly help carry him while he leveled. Childish crushes aside, it made sense and didn't take too mara resources. I nearly denied him, but from the ats I've gathered, you performed well above your levels."

  "Thank you, ma'am."

  "May I inquire why you selected the neancer css when you awakened?"

  Harmony was sure she knew. No one asked now that she was older, but early on. Bates had even made it a requirement to be hired. Three choices to define your life and to set the path for you to go on, and she picked the often maligned neancer css.

  "The other options were worse." In that way, she could rete to Prince Adric. Even if he did take a profession, that meant his death.

  "Care to share?"

  Harmony could hear the honey oongue and knew Bates had told her. She probably had final approval anyway. The powerful always liked to see those below them id bare. Tyler, when he first found out, never asked. He called it fasating and discussed the pertage of people who selected aedly received that css. The man had his positive traits, not that it fave him for literally choosing outfits that made all the female staff nearly naked.

  "The Beggar css and that of Demon." Two cursed csses if you're to believe how most people view neancers. To have been offered that cursedly forbidden css always made her ge inwardly. Demon carried the death penalty for css-holders in all but a few kingdoms.

  "Many would have chosen Beggar if those were their options. But I am gd you didn't. Let me tell you a little secret. I, too, suffered from receiving the choice of taking one of the ten forbidden csses, corruptor. Forced me along the path of a thief, sidered a lesser offshoot of the rogue css, also looked down upon. Unbeing of a dy. If anythi missing, I was first accused, and sport was made of pnting stolen goods in my rooms."

  This was the old dy's attempt to bond through shared painful experiences, right out of a textbook. Harmony had read it, The Lord's Way. Tyler uses a copy to help level a shelf that wobbled. Perhaps his grandmother had given it to him as a gift. It certainly shined a light on some of the iions of those in charge.

  Harmony pulled from the of information and a thread of power from her social skills. It was her turn to respond. "It's hard to find someone who uands. Life is difficult being the one looked down upon. I'm touched by you tellihat may expin why she was hired. As calcuted as this approach felt there was a e there, ohat was hard to ignore now that es were a part of her framework.

  "Well, I'm sure you heard about the ruckus from the other day. The royals will be arriving sooner because of it. The local houses have decided to throw a masquerade ball to honor them. eous es barely identity cealing. Patriotism will be the theme as some fear they might be a suspe the theft. I've hired some artists, and I pn on lending your skills to true friends."

  "I heard they were looking for a neancer as the thief?"

  "You don't even have raise dead in your skill list. As skilled as you are with maniputing the dead, you 't make a body walk out of a room. A puppeting css is more likely." The madam answered, pig up on Harmony's nervousness. "Onake me up, we're goirice, Lizzell, and Patricia, then show them what you do. We'll also be using the house staff for the party as servers. You'll py double duty getting us ready before serving drinks. I've asked Bates to add ara silver to your sary for the pay period."

  Harmony fed [Poise and Bearing] more energy. Serving the royals who were there to find Prince Adric's body. She'd pay a silver not to do that. "How very generous of you."

  "Now, I want my hair as blue as Wyvern's wing today."