Fall of Autumn, Week 5, Day 2

Leaving the sitting room, I headed down to dinner. Madame Griselda had given me quite a bit to think about in general. It reminded me of what I'd thought of just a week ago.

Am I selfish?

The answer was, of course, yes. I wanted what I wanted, and I wanted it on my terms. I hardly considered others in my decisions outside of worrying about their perception—nor the consequences for them when I broke etiquette or darted away.

I told myself that was the way. It was how it had to be.

Is it, though? Am I willing to put Clara or Clarence or Philip—or even Juniper—in a position of such impropriety?

Heaving a sigh, I paused in the hall outside the dining room. Beside me, Noir manifested by climbing out of the shadow of a piece of art—a painting of a woman with too large hair and vibrant blue earrings. Noir leaned against my leg, and I bent down and picked him up. He was light as a feather, and I had to control my every movement to ensure I didn't send him flying.

Well, he'd likely just sink back into a shadow rather than actually go flying when I thought about it. But still. I wasn't interested in forcing Noir to deal with that. So I gently pulled him to sit on my hip, and he wrapped his shadowy limbs around my torso.

"Nora, you're doing great today."

"You're just saying that so I feel better." I gave a small laugh and pulled open the door to dinner.

Inside the room stood several recognizable faces from around the manor—one of which was from just this morning. The teenager from the kitchen was setting the table with a dreamy look. I half expected her to nick herself with the knife in her hand as she dazedly messed with the silverware.

"You can't prove that," Noir hummed, his melodic voice filled with laughter.

I glanced down at him, and his head had bunny ears protruding out as if they were just another part of him.

"Do you miss the bunny you lived in?" I asked gently.

"In a way. I miss being so close to you."

I nodded. "It's worse, you know, without you. But better, because you're free to do as you please. And I love knowing you're there with me."

As I took my seat, the kitchen staff uncovered the choice of dishes for the evening. It was too much food, as always. Once, I'd asked Gristle what they do with the leftovers. He told me that they give the staff first choice, then preserve and package the meals for them to take home if there's anything left fit for consumption. I felt slightly better knowing the fanciful food wasn't just going to waste when I didn't eat it.

Gristle also told me that many nobles prefer it to be trashed entirely. I wasn't thrilled by that.

"Tonight we have three choices of entrees. Smoked ayr thighs with an orange glaze, sous vide ayr steak with a crispy breaded exterior, and roasted ayr breasts with an herbal sauce topping them. We prepared four sides for you tonight, Lady Nora. They are citrus rice, a nyre salad, three bean soup, and roasted vegetables with a chili glaze."

I looked at the dishes and smiled at the man who introduced the meals. "Thank you, I'll enjoy it."

He nodded, smiling, before disappearing back into the kitchen. All who remained in the dining room were me, Noir, and two maids—whose names I believed were Helena and Erie. The blue-haired woman, Helena, poured me a glass of juice, and I smiled gratefully at her. Erie's blonde hair was in a simple braid, and I felt my fingers twitch.

I hadn't braided anyone's hair since coming from elsewhere.

"Um, Erie?" I called. The blonde looked over at me in surprise before hastily approaching.

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Ah, would you—" I paused, biting my cheek in uncertainty. The young woman's face softened, and she bent down so we were at eye level.

"My Lady, how can I help?"

"Well, I was wondering," I swallowed thickly, "can I braid your hair?"

Erie blinked, bringing her hand up to her braid. "My hair?"

I nodded. "I, well, I have a Skill—and it's at a bottleneck. And I realized I hadn't braided anyone else's hair, and I thought—" I cut myself off, nervously fiddling with my own braid, before finding the drive to continue. "I have some thread and stuff to add in, and I just think it would help, you know?"

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"For your Skill, my Lady?" Erie said, confusion clear in her voice, before she glanced at Helena. Then, after Helena nodded tentatively, Erie met my gaze again and nodded herself. "All right. But after dinner. You have to eat your vegetables."

I scowled, offended, and Erie laughed before heading back to her spot on the wall.

I always eat my vegetables!

But still, I made a point of looking right at Erie as I ate the roasted green and purple vegetables. They tasted like green beans and broccoli with a slight tang. They were delicious. But most everything made here was, so I wasn't surprised. I ate quickly, chatting with Noir and laughing when he disappeared into the shadows to make them dance.

When I was done, I hopped up and dragged a chair next to where I'd been sitting.

"I'm going to go wash my hands and then I'll be back with some stuff for the braids," I said, my voice rushed and excited, and all but ran out of the room. The nearest bathroom was right next door, so it was a quick thing—scrubbing any trace of oil off my hands and making sure I was clean up to my elbows.

While I was in the bathroom, I took a deep breath, envisioning the color that would complement Erie's hair the best.

[Weave of Darkness]

Several balls of a deep rose pink, with threads as fine as a strand of hair, fell into my palms. I also summoned two of the iridescent threads I used for my own hair.

"Erie is going to shine," I sighed to myself before taking a few minutes to combine three pink threads and two iridescent ones. A five-thread braid was complicated, but my Dexterity made it easier than it should have been—and [Weaving] augmented my skill even further. It took me about ten minutes of continuous work before I felt I had enough for the young woman's braids.

Heading back to the dining room, I only found Helena, the blue-haired maid with honey-colored eyes. She smiled gently down at me.

"Lady Nora, let's head to a salon room so you'll be more comfortable as you practice." Her voice was light, airy, sweet. She made me feel calm, and her expression was one of compassion.

Every time I met Helena, I felt at peace.

"Okay, let's go. Which one are we using?"

"How about we go to the one by your room? I believe Erie is already there."

I gently wrapped my five-strand thread around my hand before following Helena out of the dining room and up the stairs to my room. It was a long walk, as was everything in this manor, but it was made in companionable silence—and with Noir jumping from shadow to shadow down the hall. I watched as he made shadows look like bunnies as he took them over.

In a way, it made me feel as if I'd taken something from Noir by giving him his name officially. Maybe Shade and Haze felt the same. But I knew they'd never say as much, which made the weight on my heart even heavier.

When we reached near to my room, Helena opened a door I hardly even remember seeing. Inside were Erie, Juniper, and Sylvie. Sylvie was standing by a counter with mirrors that went from the top of the counter up the wall to the ceiling. The counter itself also had three sinks spread out evenly across it, with plenty of space for the many, many vials decorating it. Juniper was halfway between the wall and Erie, who was sitting on a low-to-the-ground stool.

"Oh, a salon. Like for hair and makeup." I said more to myself than anyone else. I heard a slight huff come from Sylvie, but it made my gut wrench, so I didn't look at her to see what expression she had. Instead, I powered on.

"Juniper, do you want your hair braided too? I have enough thread, I think."

A smile broke through Juniper's serious expression, just slightly, before she nodded gravely. "Of course, my Lady. I would love to help you with your Skills—as a Lady's Maid, it is my duty."

My excitement didn't dim—because that was clearly what Sylvie had told her to say. And Sylvie wouldn't be around forever, so it'd just be a matter of Juniper learning the trade first and then learning the way of me later.

"All right," I said, looking at Erie and holding up the thread in my hand, a small smile on my face. "Are you ready, Erie?"

"Yes, my Lady," she said, pulling her hair loose from the braid it was in and shaking her blonde hair out.

The low stool Erie was sitting on made it easier to reach her hair—but not quite easy. So I used my perpetually active [Shadow Manipulation] to expand the shadows on my pinky finger.

The shadows flooded across the floor in a pool of inky blackness, before I gestured in a circle with my hand and created a cylindrical shape near to my feet that was about a foot tall. The edges were far from smooth, but that was fine. All that mattered was that the top was flat and it was dense enough to stand on.

Climbing atop the step, I ignored the sharp gaze from Sylvie and the wide-eyed look from Juniper. I was standing behind Erie, so she likely hadn't seen it overmuch, and thus she didn't even turn her head to look at me.

I flicked my wrists again, releasing the black shadows on my ring finger. Unfolding and refilling them, I gave it slightly more effort than the cylinder step stool. When I finished, I had a mimicry of a comb in my hand and began working through Erie's hair.

It was loose and hardly tangled, so all I had to do was a single pass through to section it off. Much like with my own hair, I began by looping the pink threads I had chosen around the roots of each of the sections—creating three secure partitions of hair. I then split each section into three, keeping the threads in a single area of each section. Deftly, I did a simple three-strand braid in each section.

Next, I took the braid at the back of Erie's head and pulled it up. Using [Weave of Darkness], I discreetly summoned a medium-thickness piece of yarn to secure the braid into a ponytail-like display. Then, I took the two other braids and began draping them along the side of Erie's head in loops. I used [Shadow Manipulation] to sever and loop the five-strand threads firmly into Erie's roots and keep the braids in gravity-defying designs.

Fortunately, Erie's hair was long enough to still have a decent length to add to the ponytail braid. I took the hanging braid and began weaving it back into the design in a mixture of a blended braid and bun. Before I decided I was done, I added one last dusty pink thread—shaped more like a flat ribbon than a true piece of yarn—and tied a draped bow around the bun, letting the tails trail down Erie's back.

The whole design took about an hour, and when I stepped down from my step stool, I stretched my arms as my back had grown stiff.

"Erie, tell me if you like it," I said lightly, turning Erie to the wall of mirrors and pretending as if I wasn't deeply invested in her response.

I had, after all, received two long-awaited messages after I'd finished.

[Congratulations! Weaving has met the requirements to level up. Weaving is now Level 11.]

[Congratulations! Weave of Darkness has met the requirements to level up. Weave of Darkness is now Level 11.]

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