I grunt in exertion as I haul yet another heavy suitcase out of the limo's passenger area and dump it by the entrance of the girl's dorm. The driver gives a tired huff as he finishes emptying out the limo's boot that had been filled to the brim with luggage and moves to help me with my share of the work. Does one person actually need all this stuff?

"Hurry it up Tensei," Rose grumbles from the dorm entrance, "I don't want to spend the whole day waiting around outside."

I pant as another piece of luggage is hauled out of the limo, "What is in all these bags anyway?"

"Uniforms, casual clothes, formal wear, my books, various knick knacks." Rose looks at me squarely in the eye, "Don't tell me that you are getting tired already Tensei. I thought that you were always a reliable sort. How disappointing."

"Its not that I mind helping," I say as I return to the limo, wrestling with yet another bag, "but can the dorm room hold so much stuff in the first place?"

Rose pauses for a moment, considering my question, "Maybe? Probably? I rented the largest room available. We can sort that out once everything has been moved inside."

The largest room? Well there are empty double rooms for rent at the top floor girl's dorm so I suppose all this stuff could be crammed in. In theory at least.

"It looks like you are almost done with the unloading anyway." Rose observes, "I'll go call the lift now."

I nod as I fish the last bag from the limo and nod to the driver. He nods in return and returns to the driver's seat, fires up the limo's engine and pulls away.

Rose quickly returns after the limo has left, exclaiming, "Oh! Where is the driver?"

I turn, looking at her with a quizzical look, "He left after the car was unloaded. What's wrong?"

Rose explains, "The lift is broken so we will need to use the stairs. I was hoping that the driver could help with moving everything upstairs, but since he is not here, I suppose I'll have to count on you, Tensei."

I face palm mentally. Good thing I keep in shape.

....

After hauling everything up to Rose's room in the dorm and arranging the bags neatly, I sit down on the bed and take a deep breath, letting my muscles unwind. Rose opens one of the bags and takes out a clean towel. She then climbs onto the bed beside me and begins drying my sweat.

"You're all wet." She says, "Take off your shirt." Without waiting for my response, she unbuttons my shirt and strips it off, chucking it on the floor. Rose then begins wiping my body vigorously with the towel.

"Rose, I..." I stutter as the towel moves across my back and torso, my face red as a tomato.

Rose moves closer to me saying, "Shh. Just let your sister help, alright? You have worked hard today."

I swallow and nod, submitting to Rose's ministrations. As we grew older, Rose got more and more into this kind of body contact. She claimed that it was only natural for family to be close to each other, but I never really got over my sense of embarrassment whenever something like this happened.

Rose finally puts down the towel, satisfied that I am now completely dry. She then begins kneading my shoulders and back, relaxing my tight muscles. "Its just like old times." I murmur to myself.

Rose laughs gently, "Eheh. You still remember? I used to do this for Tensei after Master gave you another thrashing in the field. Master even once complained that I was a bad student for refusing to do this for her after one of our exercises."

Rose then leans forward and whispers into my ear, "I respect Master, but this is a special service. Just for family." The pressure in her fingers builds and I involuntarily release a moan of pleasure.

This is way too dangerous! I need to distract Rose or we might do something ... something, well I am not sure what, but we should not be doing it! Whatever it is. Which Rose wants to do. Which we should not. Right? Right.

"What happened to Master anyway?" I ask. I was always curious about that after I had left Uncle's place.

Rose hums as she thinks, "Master? She left soon after you did actually. She was disgusted with how Nicholas was shaping up and said that her path of magic would not allow her to teach someone like him. I heard that she is currently working as a bodyguard for another rich family."

That makes sense. Master was sworn to some kind of code or ideology, I never really understood what it was. She was called the hand of judgment or something like that, and her magic was somehow tied to that title. Its strange, a demon walking the path of judgment, but from what I heard, Master was one of the strongest practitioners of this style of magic. That was the reason why Uncle hired her as a tutor.

"Why didn't you bring your maid to help move the luggage Rose?" I ask. That was a lot of it. I could have used some help back there.

I hear the annoyance in Rose's voice as she responds, "Don't remind me of her. I just had her lashed and thrown out of the manor before coming here. That idiot should have known better than to pull such a moronic stunt."

Lashed? I tense up immediately. What has been going on back at the von Amsterg manor?

Rose notices the renewed tension in my muscles and increases the force of her fingers as she explains, "That maid had pulled a silly stunt that confirmed my suspicions that she was working for Nicholas. She was lucky to receive just a lashing. Nothing happened to you, right Tensei? No meetings with strange people or anything like that?"

"Well, no, not really." I reply, "I did meet up with a strange person, a teacher here, but I don't think that he is linked with either Uncle or Nicholas."

Rose breathes a sigh of relief, "No. That is not what I was worried about. The person you are talking about is probably just a random weirdo Tensei, nothing to do with Nicholas."

"So, why are you moving here Rose? I thought Uncle had bought that manor for you?" I query.

Rose stops massaging my back and becomes completely silent. After gathering her thoughts, she finally replies, "Nicholas just moved in. So I moved out. That's all."

Nicholas is here, in The City? Something must be up.

"Tell me what's going on Rose." I gently urge, "I cannot help you if I don't know the facts."

Rose rests her head against my back, her grip on me tightening, "Nicholas came here to sort out my marriage. The family has decided that I am to marry the heir of the Haqim family. I called father, but he refuses to entertain me. Just tells me that if I am dissatisfied with the marriage then I should be the one doing something about it."

Rose takes a deep breath and continues, "So that is why I am here. Nicholas wants me to meet with the Haqim heir, but he can't force me as long as I am not staying in the manor."

That sounds just like Uncle. He probably sees this as an opportunity to put both his children to the test for the sake of who is to be his successor.

I pat Rose's hand reassuringly. "Nicholas won't dare do anything out of hand while we are not in Europe. You are safe here."

Rose's voice is a whisper, "But for how long? All the other members of the family are on Nicholas's side. What if they decide to cut me off? I have never worked a day in my life. I have no money of my own. If father decides to go along with their plan, I will be left with nothing."

I feel hot tears run down my back. No. I will not allow this to happen. Rose is the closest thing to a sister that I have. I will protect her.

"You still have me Rose. I will be here, by your side." I say.

Rose sniffles and asks, "Really?"

I turn around to look at Rose and place both hands on her shoulders, "We are family. That's what family is for."