"Gabriel…"
He let the name hang on his lips for a moment. It was definitely better than something as careless as Tuesday, although he couldn’t quite agree on that angel part. As for how it stacked up against his previous name…
"Eh?"
He grasped at it, but it slipped from his mind. It was right there, at the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t recall it. The name, the core and origin of who he was, it slipped further away with each step he took closer. He dug deeper, plunged into the haze, but the only thing that resulted in was a headache.
It felt as if a jackhammer was going wild on his head, he could feel his skull rumble and crumble. He dug for his own name, but the deeper he went the worse the rumbling got, he could swear that he felt his own head cracking apart.
"Is it no good after all…?"
Suddenly, a voice cut through the rumbling and it stopped as abruptly as it started. He was still sitting in the uncomfortable carriage, he wasn’t even lurched forward. For a moment, it seemed as if that splitting headache had been nothing but an illusion.
But it was too vivid, the memory of that crumbling sensation was practically seared into his memories now, he doubted whether or not he could forget it even if he tried. It was strange, something was definitely going on. But who around him could give him answers now? Something like this had never even happened in the show so he didn’t even have a minor clue to latch onto. So, he had no other choice but to put it aside for now.
"Not at all, My Lady, I quite like it. I just needed a moment to memorise it."
The pitiful villainess next to him. Just the thought that he would reject the name she gave him made her look as if she was about to crumble again. How starved she must be for such a small thing to dictate her mood. She smiled happily when Tue… Gabriel, accepted the name, perhaps she didn’t even know how pitiful she was.
"That’s good, that’s good! You’re the first servant I’ve gotten to name so I’m glad you like it!"
Naming servants wasn’t exactly common so it was a strange thing to be happy about. After all, most noble families would only hire adults and the like, more often than not people from minor noble families or rich commoners. Who would want to take in orphans that they couldn’t trust and would then have to train?
Well, the answer was actually sitting right in front of him. The illegitimate children, the kids that had no home even in their own house, the ones that didn’t have a chair at the dinner table. The black sheep of the family, the one that would eventually get cast out, who would willingly want to work for them, who would want to bear that risk?
"Ah, we’re going to reach the portal soon! You need to block your nose and hold your breath, otherwise you’ll go barf barf!"
The little girl obviously couldn’t read into Gabriel’s thoughts, quickly speaking up as if she just remembered something. One hand pinched her nose while the other held her mouth shut, her cheeks puffed out as she straightened her back.
"Portal…?"
Gabriel’s thoughts lagged behind for a moment before he remembered. Right, that thing, a marvellous magic invention that allowed you to cross through space. He blocked his nose and held his breath, but he didn’t hold too much hope. Portals were a good comedic break for the show so the creator made it a point that no one ever found a foolproof method to counteract the nauseating sensation. The best you could do was get used to it and then tough it out.
He couldn’t see the portal due to how small the window was, but he certainly felt it as they passed through. First, every part of him started to feel heavier. His head, his face, his heart, his blood, everything felt as if it was sagging downwards. Then it shot upwards, then down again, then back up, then deeper down than before.
And then he felt squeezed, as if hands were pressing on him from all sides. For a moment, he was the clay that the gods first used to form humanity. And by how rough it felt, he could only be called a bad first draft that was quickly discarded.
It felt as if he was flying a high speed jet while also going deepsea diving, he could certainly understand why it was described as a horribly nauseating sensation in the show. But if there was one good thing about it then it was how fast it was. All it took was a second of discomfort and hundreds of kilometres could be crossed.
Retch.
But the price had to be paid once that second was over. The four orphans that would become maids, Gabriel, Alice, all of them keeled over and emptied their stomachs. The carriage was already cramped so the smell only got worse, assaulting them all.
"What’s that?! Elder Brother said that this was a sure-fire way to avoid the barf barf!"
Alice barked out a complaint in-between each retch, the foul smell and stinging sensation in her throat bringing tears to her eyes. But she, nor the rest of them, were allowed to ‘enjoy’ their time for very long as the door to the carriage was flung open.
"We’ve arrived, everyone out. Little girl, you can clean yourself first."
The bushy-browed knight stood beside the carriage, using a simple thumb gesture to chase everyone out of the carriage. Gone was the dry land of the orphanage front, what replaced it was a neatly paved road, pale grey bricks neatly stacked and lined up without a single one of the resulting lines out of order.
A bit behind them was a large silver gate, each door forming one half of the Vritara crest. Once closed they became a shield that protected the estate, the land of the Dragon Duke.
And estate really was the only word for it. The road that went from the gate to the actual main building stretched on for at least 10 kilometres, and that was only accounting for that one straight line. To the right of the road was a carefully maintained orchard while to the left was a man-made lake with a fishing cabin. Further down the road and to the left was even a small village, the homes of the carpenters and sculptors, those that worked for the duchy.
To reach the dwellings used by less important servants they would have to go beyond the main mansion of the duchy. The main mansion itself looked somewhat like Buckingham palace, except it had a few more towers and spires attached. Beyond this mansion there would be a sprawling forest for at least three or so kilometres, and only beyond there would they find the lower servant dwellings, tucked away out of sight.
"The new maids can report to Madame Myrna, the ‘knight’ can report to Knight Trainer Lawrence. They hate waiting so go there immediately. And little girl, your elder brother wants to talk to you so you just head directly to him once you reach the mansion."
The knight spat out orders like he owned the place, casting a sideways sneer at the mess in the carriage before he walked away. Gabriel and the other orphans obviously had no choice but to dismount, Alice quickly following them after she cleaned herself as best she could.
Once they were all out, the carriage took off, following the ornate carriage that was already going on ahead. And thus, only the young children were left on the empty road.
"We have to go, we can’t spend too long on walking. Gabriel, the training ground for the knights is to the right, a bit in front of the mansion so you’ll have to split up. The rest of you… Um… I can take you to Madame Myrna…"
The little girl spoke a bit more fluently to Gabriel than the rest, probably because the rest were still too scared to even look directly at her. At the same time, she started walking as if this was commonplace for her.
"Do you always have to walk from the gate?"
Naturally, Gabriel and the others followed her, it wasn’t like there was anywhere else for them to go. Gabriel took the chance to question her as they walked, judging the distance with his eyes.
It looked to be around 10 kilometres, at a glance at least, so if he had to hazard a guess using their current speed then it would take them two hours to get there. But since five of them were malnourished orphans it would probably take a bit longer.
"Yup! Eldest Brother said that a proper Vritara must be in excellent shape so I should walk as much as possible before I grow up!"
She swung her arms as she spoke, a wide grin on her face. For a second, Gabriel saw in her the future villainess she was bound to become. She loved, but she was not loved in return.