Her hands felt like a real human being’s hands. A truly marvelous creation. Her pure white skin, her golden hair that shined even in this dim light, and the color of her eyes reminded me of the sky.

I felt a sense of strength with this spirit that inhabited this flesh golem. There was also a sense of security with her, her small body that reminded me of a young teenage body that will fool anyone who thinks they could harm me when she is around.

Ten thousand souls. Ten thousand souls were used to summon this familiar, there probably is some hidden strength within her that I could not feel, nor could anyone else in the room.

This false sense of safety is what I need for any future missions involving espionage. After all, no one would expect a teenage-looking girl to be a spy to another kingdom. But first, I need to know the extent of her abilities…

“Vienna?”

“Yes, father?”

“Before I introduce you to this world, I will have you train my elite royal guard.”

“Train?”

“Yes, as a part of royalty, and someone who will most likely be going outside with little-to-no guards, you will need to learn how to protect yourself.”

“I see…”

“But, before I send you to train with the guards, I will have my most trusted servants take care of any- I mean make adjustments to make you more suited for court life.”

“Didn’t you say that you would keep me hidden, not reveal me to anyone?”

“W-well yes, but since you will be living in the castle, I need you to learn court etiquette, besides, there is no harm from learning the etiquette that the nobles of this world abide by.”

“Then I have no issues with it. It seems like you have thought this through father, as your daughter and someone who has made a contract with you, I will not say anything further.”

“Good… now, Minister Juniper, take her to the Hidden Church, she will privately be appraised by you. I have some private matters to attend to with Cardinal Redwood before I return to the court.”

“Yes, milord. Is there anything else you would like me to take off afterward?”

“Take Vienna to the Yellowstone Manor, the one besides the Elite Royal Guard’s Barracks, when you are finished appraising her, and tell my servants that she is a bastard daughter of mine, that I decided to take care of after her mother had died.”

“It will be done.”

Minister Juniper bowed before me, then used his arms to guide Vienna to the door leading out of this chamber. When the two have left the room, it was just Cardinal Redwood, two of my most trusted guards, and I in the room.

I glanced at Cardinal Redwood, with a wide grin.

“She is perfect.”

“Come again, milord?”

“No, not in that way, she is a perfect servant, that will do everything I order her to do.”

“Calm down, milord, we don’t even know her abilities yet, nor has she been appraised, so we do not know the extent of her power, and that is assuming that the summoning ritual was perfectly done.”

“Y-your right, but still, even if she is not all that powerful, surely a familiar that seems as knowledgeable as she will be able to take down a Great Beast.”

“Knowledgeable?”

“Surely since we summoned her from the Aether, she would possess some otherworldly knowledge.”

“I understand milord, but we simply do not know whether, or not, that she is merely bluffing.”

“Don’t be so negative Cardinal Redwood, knowing you, you have performed that spell perfectly, after all, you were my most trusted mage in the Legend of Ironclad.”

“But that was several decades ago, I-no we are no longer in our prime. As the cycle of life goes, we shall be replaced eventually when we grow old and useless.”

“And that is something we shall not fear. Hope is what will guide us through this long hellish game known as life.”

“You always were an optimist, milord.”

“And you were always a pessimist… now shall we begin heading to my throne room, we have much to discuss the future of my Kingdom.”

“Yes, we shall.”

As we prepared to head out, I turned at the summon circle, it seemed to be running out of mana as the light began dimming from it. The room grew darker with each step we took. I looked up the ceiling that had dust raining down from it.

There was a lot of activity above us, but I was not too worried that it would collapse revealing this room. The barrier within this room will ensure that. What worried me, however, is what kind of girl this familiar will turn out to be.

According to the customs of human kingdoms, a female heir will just be married off in the future, as this a patriarchal society, but will she turn on me beforehand? Surely not, because her soul is bonded to me since it was my blood that was used to summon her.

Only time could tell, the gamble that I took to summon her in hopes that she will serve me went smoothly, but how smoothly will it go? Cardinal Redwood made some good points that I will not lightly toss aside. His intuition was always right and I trust his opinion more than anyone else in my court.

A familiar like her, if she is as strong as I hope, will one day rebel against me, or at least defy me someday. It was only a matter of time, and I will have to discipline her one day, or at least show her that I am her master and that she is my servant.

As long as we can maintain that footing, she will stay loyal… at least that I was hope for. I took a deep sigh, before treading onwards.

“What is it, milord?”

“Nothing Cardinal Redwood, oh right… I’ve been meaning to ask, but how are the matters of the Church?”