Inky darkness swirled around her vision as she pulled on the memory. It was fighting her as if a fish was trying to escape her grasp, but her mind was too strong to allow it to escape, and eventually, it unfurled for her. Pressing in, the dull shadows united around her

The ballroom gleamed under the glow of crystal chandeliers, their light spilling gracefully across the cream-colored ceiling. Through the double-storied windows, the soft glow spilled into the vast garden beyond, casting a gentle radiance on the sprawling landscape. Delicate music spun from a group of musicians in the corner of the room and reached all corners of the space with ease, adding to the refinement of the warm evening air.

Fashions of all kinds graced the room, from lavish flowing dresses to pressed and starched cloth. There were even polished armors made from exotic leather and metals on display here.

All of this was to say that Eva felt wholly out of place. For most of her known life, she'd gotten by with clothes that would have looked at home in a storeroom used as a dusting rag or something for worse.

The excess on display here felt unnecessary to the extreme. Why did they need such fancy things to get on?

One of these dresses was probably worth more than all the entire reward she'd received from her benefactor.

Unfortunately, the lull of conversion would not allow her to remain hidden forever. A woman dressed in fancy noble clothes approached Eva with a genial smile on her face.

"Well, if it isn't one of Mr Valloria's pet projects, apologies if that sounded cruel; it wasn't my intention. I hear one of you was selected as a vessel for his youngest, but even so, I can see he has the same tastes as his father." The noblewoman laughed at her own joke.

Eva smiled politely while holding back her bitter expression, wishing she could strike the woman upside the head.

Of course, the implications were wrong, but this was not a person Eva could afford to insult right now; no one here was.

Every word coming from her mouth was like a dagger, ready to cut without mercy, but all she could do was nod and smile. Even the grand achievement of becoming a vessel for their house felt lessened by her cavalier attitude.

Fortunately for her, this woman's words were easier to ignore tonight. The fact that Eva had been chosen was something she'd been working towards for almost two years. Hels, it was the only reason she was here tonight, to meet with the sons of house Valloria and hopefully be of use to them.

Eva, with practiced ease, tilted her simple dress out and bowed just enough not to be insulting.

"I'm so grateful for your kind words. I shall endeavor to be exactly what he needs," she said.

The woman's mask fell for just a fraction of a second, but it was enough. She had expected more of a fight from Eva, but there was nothing to gain by letting her pride get the better of her, so she would endure. The response seemed to frustrate the woman all the more, so she supposed it was almost worth the insult.

The main door at the back of the hall opened,d and in walked Mr Valloria himself, followed along by two young men.

Emily bowed once more to the woman.

"It looks like my duties take me elsewhere. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your night."

With how the woman's face fell, she could tell this wasn't over. She'd pay for it later, but right now she didn't care.

Moving towards the grand staircase, Eva watched as the trio descended. She'd met with Mr Valloria only twice since he'd inducted her into the 'family'. The most recent meeting had been to congratulate her on the final selection.

The two young men next to him were a different story. Eva hadn't met either of them, their studies taking up too much of their time, but tonight was the night to fix that.

Of two brothers. The older one was named Zarial. She had heard he was training to become the next head of the family and had a ruthless personality. While they were just rumors, there were whisperings that he was none too kind to attendants, even going so far as to beat them. If she could help it, she didn't want to work for him. The younger man was named Alexander.

Most only knew him as a bookworm without any real-world experience, but Mr Valloria had picked her because, apparently, their future titles could work well together. So if she could get Alexander to trust her, she would be one step closer to repaying Mr Valloria for all he'd done for her.

Eva watched as his sons broke off from him and went to greet the other guests. So when it looked like they were almost done, she made her move, slipping closer to Alexander.

They were popular, so Eva had to politely nudge others out of her way, but when she got to him, she bowed to the fullest extent.

"Sir Alexander, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Eva, and I look forward to working with you from today onwards."

Alexander glanced around at the crowd and pursed his lips, seeming to size her up. There was a look of recognition on his face and perhaps just a hint of something more, worry?

"Greetings, Miss Eva, Let's find a place to talk," he said, leading her away from the crowds. "My father informed me of you, but as of right now, I don't have much need of a vassal as I have nothing for you to do."

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Eva's brows knitted together. She knew he wouldn't want to commit to anything, but she couldn't let him turn her away just yet.

"Of course, I understand. But even if you choose not to make me your person, I'm still interested in working with you," she said.

Alexander shook his head, his face stubbornly set in place.

"I need you to understand, I intend to join Frontier Explorers. I don't need a vassal," he said firmly.

Eva bit the inside of her cheek. Mr. Valloria said he wouldn't be keen on the idea, but outright rejecting her? To go on adventures, no less.

Just as she was about to broach the subject again, his brother turned from a conversation with a portly man and walked over to them.

"Little brother, who do you have there? Is that the vessel we were promised by Father? I have many things for you to do, so please be prepared," He said as his gaze raked up and down her form.

Eva got goosebumps as he stared at her with a hollow gaze. It was as though he were staring at nothing more than a tool or inanimate object. He didn't see her as a person, and it sent sweat breaking out over her brow.

Age-wise, he looked well into his teenage years, with peach fuzz beginning to come in on his top lip.

Eva was well aware of what he was doing. Mr. Valloria hadn't said that she was to expressly work for Alexander, but Zarial scared her a little, so she wanted to do everything in her power to avoid working for him.

The only good thing to come from the meeting was the possessive scowl that appeared on Alexander's face.

"Brother, Father has already spoken on the matter-"

Zarial waved his hand dismissively.

"Yes, yes, but my workload has doubled as of late, and I find myself in need of a good pair of hands. You'll let me borrow her at times, won't you?"

Eva found herself holding her breath. If Alexander said yes, then there was nothing she could do but follow his orders.

However, it was clear to Eva that Alexander seemed as put off by his brother as she was and shook his head

"No, that probably won't work, brother. If you need help, you're going to have to ask Father for another vassal. Miss Eva is mine and will be too busy most of the time."

Eva refrained from sighing in relief, glancing toward the older boy.

His face was a mix of restrained annoyance and something far darker, but he masked it quickly with a relaxed smile.

"Ah, what a shame. Well, I know when I'm beat. You two enjoy the rest of the event."

Zarial turned on his heel and made for other groups to mingle with.

Eva stared after his back with a frown. Alexander's brother did not have the best interests at heart for his brother, but why go to the trouble to use her? From what she'd heard, he had plenty of aids. Unless this was something more, was he trying to take Alexander's power from him?

Eva turned to look at the young man, and he was still staring at Zarial's back with a light frown.

Noticing they weren't alone, Alexander led them further from the throngs of people to the edge of the room.

There was less dancing here, so when she turned, she couldn't help but smile at him.

"What was that about having nothing for me to do?"

Alexander blushed at her words but shook his head.

"Trust me, you don't want to work for him. I'm still not going to require you, but I needed an excuse to make sure you were safe from his clutches."

Eva was taken aback. Why would he save her like that? He shouldn't have any loyalty to someone he'd just met, and better yet, was not of Noble blood.

The question must have resonated in her eyes because Alexander sighed.

"Look, you may not get it right now, but my grandpa used to have this saying—nobility isn't just in the blood, it's in the duty."

Eva frowned. She wasn't sure what he meant, but she'd heard the idea in classes a hundred times before coming here.

"Noblesse Oblige," she whispered to herself.

If Alexander heard, he didn't answer, but she knew the saying was the same thing. The fact that this young man had already ingrained it in his everyday routine was enough to cause admiration to start growing in her heart.

The rumors surrounding Alexander were that he was smart but didn't care for people. Eva was not sure where the rumors had started, but she had a feeling she now had a good place to start.

One of the tasks of a vassal was to take care of their master's image, and Eva had her work cut out for going forward.

The ball was quickly winding down, and by the end of it, Eva had gotten a better handle on what kind of person Alexander was. He was cold at first, but the longer he talked, the more she could see he cared for people. Though there was a strong pragmatism that she couldn't quite put her finger on for now. He was someone worth following

As the night came to a close, so did the memory as it faded near the edges like a burning page.

Emily realized she was surrounded by memories once more; their attempts to pull her down into the depths were incessant, but each time she came to this place, she grew more aware, more powerful.

It was true that while she was slowly being poisoned by these memories, she was also gaining more control over them.

Lessons focused on etiquette forced themselves into Emily's mind, and while she didn't reject them, she wasn't well versed in them. Smiling while plotting the next verbal jab had never been her strong suit, but basic court structure was not bad to learn.

Emily would rather just curse like a sailor and get rid of the offending person or thing, but hey, she supposed it could come in handy at some point.

As her consciousness drifted further from the vault of Eva's memories, Emily found her stars waiting patiently for her.

Holding out her hand was all it took to get them to come running. They swept her up and deposited her in the grassy field with the small saplings stretching out all around her

Two constellations now glowed in the skies, surrounded by orbiting bodies of light.

It was her newest active title, Experimentee, waiting patiently for her to notice it, and her ever-faithful Scarlet sister.

As time moved on she grew accustomed to what Scarlet sister could offer, but her second title was still very much a mystery.

Regardless, staring up at it seemed central to Emily.

Then the stars began to rush around like pixels, all waiting to get in line for her. One by one, words began to take shape.

'66 - Forth threshold released at rank 100'

'Skill threshold released at rank 75'

Active slot: Scarlet sister - access to the Scarlet sister skill tree, along with the Blood Mage skill tree. Increased learning speed when consuming blood, this is further increased if the blood is given willingly. Increased learning speed when studying blood wards.

Active slot: Active: Access to the Experimentee's skill tree. Accelerated source purification. Increase learning speed when taking in source. Increase learning speed when outputting source.

Passive slot: Explorer - Increased learning speed when engaged with new environments.

Passive slot: Mercenary - Increased learning speed when accepting missions for coin. This is further increased when in proximity to the sub-species[Rime wolf].

Passive slot: Void plagued - Increase learning when one is lost.

Blood points:613

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