After that meeting, Cass had a lot to learn and she had multiple tutors this time- of a much higher quality as well. The sheer volume of information about politics and etiquette made Cass feel like her head was going to explode. It was not just the name and current position of families and their affairs, but their pasts and their connections with each other. Cass felt that she could study this country forever and not understand it.
And surprisingly, her best tutor was Owin. Having seen him as Rat, she could only describe those two facets of the man as different people altogether. His ability to explain the words of the tutors in a way that could be understood by someone off the street was invaluable and took a great deal of stress off of Cass. That Clare had also seemed to step back was also a great weight off of her, but Cass could not relax. Still, Cass did not think she was defeated- the sheer terror that would seize Cass when Clare would so much as smile at her…
Almost as bad was Cass’s reuniting with Maurice.
Natalie had came back with Owin and Birdie, and with her came Maurice, who had been training her as a maid. Cass was glad that Nat had a chance to meet Maurice, but when Maurice had looked at her with such sad and disappointed eyes, Cass could not help but feel ashamed. Cass’s revenge had not gone unnoticed, and Maurice was smart enough to put two and two together and figure out that Cass was the culprit. Especially since she must have heard about Cass’s exploits in Beergmutar from Natalie.
Still, Cass did not run from this- instead she made time to talk to Maurice and they were walking through a courtyard. Though it was quiet between them, and Maurice broke the silence first.
“I got something for you, as a birthday gift.” Maurice produced a small book and gave it to Cass. It was a copy of the First Testament, one of the holy books of the Church. Cass was stunned, she had never received anything on her birthday- for that matter she was surprised that Maurice even knew…
“Thank you, but how did you…?” Cass took the book with reverence. It was not a basic copy of the book, but gilded and artistic. Books are expensive, but one like this was a treasure. “Maurice, I could not possibly take something like this!”
“Well, first, it was pretty easy to know when your birthday was Cass- all orphans are counted as having it at the beginning of spring, so congratulations on turning fifteen, Cass!”
“Th- thank you, but still…”
“Please, accept it- after all of that, I feel you need it more than anything else right now.”
Cass could not argue against that, “Maurice, I… I do not know what to say…”
“Cass, I heard about what happened.” Maurice said quietly, and Cass looked away- after everything Maurice had done for her, and now that she had been given such a precious gift… Cass felt shame near what Clare had shown her and she was barely able to prevent herself from fleeing. But Maurice would not even let her look away, she cupped Cass’s face and guided her to meet Maurice’s eyes.
“Cass, I cannot say that I am not disappointed- but I am also proud of you.”
“Proud?” Cass started, “how could you be proud of what I did?”
“Cass- I do not think you are as far from good as you imagine.” Maurice said quietly, “what you have done for Natalie is wonderful by itself. She told me about how you shut down a brothel and your attempts to protect her and her family- even within the chaos you did good.”
Maurice smiled sadly, “what makes me sad is that you felt the need to return here and serve him.”
“He is not as bad a person as you think Maurice,” Cass spoke quickly, defending her Master. “I often think he is a better person than me.”
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Maurice sighed and let go of Cass’s face, “I will not argue that with you. Regardless of how you arrived at the emotions- you love that man, and what person would not like to think the best of the person they love? But Cass… Sometimes I think you feel you need to have someone over you, and I think that you are better than you think.”
Maurice could see through her too easily, but Cass did not agree with her conclusions. Still, she was felt better with Maurice’s words.
“And I hope that the First Testament helps you become better still- especially considering your new position, my Lady Cass.” Maurice’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she called Cass ‘lady.’ And admittedly, Cass did react in what was probably an amusing way.
“You do not need to call me that!” Cass said hurriedly, “please just call me Cass! I can hardly believe that this has happened at all!”
“Just keep to the teachings of the Church, and work towards your dreams.” Maurice said and smiled, “before you felt that your dreams were beyond what you could accomplish, but look- you are closer to it now than you were before!”
Cass had to admit that it was true, and when she parted with Maurice she was in a far better mood than she was before. She had gone into the conversation afraid, but Maurice always made her feel better.
Natalie was doing quite well herself, even as one of Cass’s attendants her quality of life had increased- and Cass made sure she was kept busy to prevent her from thinking back on her family. Natalie was given a room in Cass’s suite at Cass’s request and was getting along well with Owin and Birdie- though Cass had never told Nat about how she had threatened Owin with a painful and slow death if he ever touched Nat.
“So I think that she should have an actual name- it must just be demeaning to be called that every day.” Natalie was saying as she walked beside Cass in one of her rare moments of free time.
“Oh?” Cass laughed, “and what would you call Birdie instead?”
“I asked her about it, and she really liked ‘Svala,’” Natalie replied happily. “What do you think about it, Lady Cass?”
Realistically, Birdie did not have a name currently. Lord Hall could be barely bothered to remember that she existed, and aside from Owin and Cass the rest of the test subjects were dead. She had been called Birdie, but her name was not recorded anywhere and considering her new duties, a more proper name would likely be better. According to Nat, ‘Svala’ was a name that referred to birds in Old Beergmutar, so it fit rather well.
“If she is ok with it, I think that is a great idea.” Cass smiled, “though you might be surprised at how people react to names in the lower rungs of Haj’s society. When I was on the street my name was far too good for me. Those above me would be angry that I would associate with them, and those with me on the streets would think I was arrogant- all because of my name.”
“Owin mentioned that,” Natalie said thoughtfully. “He told me that when he was on the street he went by the name ‘Rat.’ It seems sad to me that he would be afraid to use his own name- but Cass is not your actual name, is it? Why did you not choose a lesser name if that one causes so much trouble?”
Cass laughed, “No, it is my name- just not my full name. My mother named me Cassandra- and that is all I have from her. I just have never been able to throw it away, sad as that is to say. It is a kind of sentiment that does not serve you well on the street, and I paid for it more than once.”
“Ah, I see…” Natalie was suddenly quiet, and Cass cursed herself for her idiocy. To mention a family member was a terrible thing when talking to Nat right now.
“Hey Nat, I almost forgot to show you- take a look at this.”
A flower appeared in thin air before Natalie and she gasped, and reached for it- but her fingers passed through.
“Haha,” Cass laughed. “It was not really there, the groundskeepers have them in a greenhouse not far from here- I am just using magic to show you the image. Want to go see them?”
“Yeah… and that magic was amazing Cass!”
Cass chuckled and thanked Natalie, guiding her to the greenhouse where the groundskeepers kept the flowers while waiting for the weather to be ready. Then they would plant the flowers so that it seemed that flowers had bloomed immediately.
Cass was explaining this while trying to hide her trembling limbs. What she had done was a variation of her invisibility system, and it took so much mana that even Cass could not maintain it. To make a single flower appear had driven Cass to the edge of consciousness, but it was worth it to distract Natalie. Cass did not want to see her sad...
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