Chapter 33: Danger on the horizon.

Entry 33:
Day 63, afternoon:
Everyday it just seems like less of a good idea to continue my job at the mansion. The steadily growing lust of the servants permeates the dark halls and sends chills down my spine. I am always on edge during my bath because the only thing standing between me and a lot of rape is a wooden door that does not even lock. Not even the members of TNA are of any protection; chances are they would simply watch. Thankfully, in what I can only assume is an attempt to remain professional, the servants have been keeping their distance. As a result the only servant I've seen in days is Cynthia, the human maid.

I assume in order to keep the other servants away Cynthia is assigned to the section of the mansion where I tutor Veronica. As a result, I often find her cleaning in the dark rooms and hallways on my way to Veronica's room. She may have been born in this world but she is still a rare human so I find it a bit easier to talk to her than the other female residents of the mansion; and since she is the only servant I see lately I at least try to say hi whenever I see her. As long as I do not take up too much of her time, she is more than happy to take a break from cleaning to chat. Normally we just have random small talk but since there has still been no word from Sebastian it has become a habit to ask if there are any updates. "So, any word from Sebastian yet?"

"Not yet," she slightly shook her head while maintaining a polite smile, "but it has only been a few days. It's a long trip, there is no cause for alarm yet. Just wait, give it a few more days and he will be back before you know it."

"I guess so." Nothing I can do about it anyway, so there's no point in worrying. "But couldn't he send a letter or something?"

Cynthia chuckles as she gave me a look that clearly says that has already been thought of. "Normally the very thing that delays the writer can delay the letter carrier." After a moment of silence she gets a bit more sullen. "But it is kind of lonely without him around."

I was surprised to hear that she missed Sebastian. I've been told that they were a pair that Victoria wanted to produce offspring but I've never delved much into how they actually feel about each other. Sebastian seems to think of it as little more than part of his job, but is the feeling mutual? I just had to ask: "What do you think of Sebastian?" She gave me a puzzled look so I tried to elaborate. "Does it bother you that Victory expects you and him to have children together?"

I was expecting her to be surprised that I would ask or get upset that I would bring it up. Instead, she gave me a simple smile. "Don't worry, I like him." She certainly did not seem un-fond of him as she closed her eyes to think of him. "He's polite, he's handsome, he's intelligent, and he's kind. I may not have a choice but it's not a bad arrangement. After all…" She becomes flustered and fidgets. "…he is gifted in certain aspects… so it's not like it doesn't feel good…"She finally realizes what she is talking about and covers her face. "Oh my! What am I saying?! In front of a guest no less! I've been around the others too long!" Seeing her hide her face form embarrassment as she talks about sex is a nice change from the norm in this world, it's refreshing. "I'm terribly sorry!" She shouts with a deep bow. "I shouldn't be saying such things!"

I dismissively waved my hand. "Don't worry about it." She really is cute, I can see why maids are a fetish. "I'm just glad there is no animosity between you two. I was worried, given the circumstances and the way he is."

"'The way he is'?" She curiously repeats. "What do you mean by that?"

"Err…" I honestly have no idea how she wouldn't know; Sebastian makes no efforts to hide it. But, if she does not know then it is not my place to tell her. "Nothing, just forget it." I just decided to drop the conversation right there.

After my talk with Cynthia, I went to have my normal tutoring session with Veronica. She is still difficult at times but our lessons have been going smoothly, almost too smoothly. You see Sebastian was still in charge of planning my lessons for Veronica when he left. He prepared about two weeks worth of lessons beforehand and left with the intention of being back before we finished them. Well we finished them, ahead of time, and he's late. I do try to teach Veronica a few things without guidance; but with no direction we spend a good portion of the time talking. Today in particular, what caught her attention was the servants' unusual behavior. "What is up with everyone lately? They seem on edge or something." It seems that Sebastian's absence has not affected her in the slightest.

"Sebastian was a big part of taking care of their needs." I have no problem giving a straight forward answer; I don't really see her as an heiress anymore. "With him gone everyone is…"

"Everyone is horny?" Veronica bluntly interjects. "Honestly, it's only been two weeks." She gives a small sigh as she props her head up on the table. "I've never done any of that stuff; you don't see me complaining." In a huff she finishes by mumbling, "I don't see what the big deal is anyway."

You know, I've been tutoring Veronica for a while now. I know she can be lazy, stuck up, and stubborn as well as excitable, overly confident, and prideful. But that last comment had me curious. "Say Veronica, can I ask you something?" What I was about to ask her was fairly personal so I didn't want to take her off guard.

"Hmm?" She fixes her posture and impatiently crosses her arm. "What is it? Just spit it out already."

"What are your thoughts on sex?" I bluntly asked.

She was obviously startled by the question, and rightly so. She quickly becomes flustered and shouts, "W-what brought that on all of a sudden?!"

"It's just unusual." I explained. "Far from the usual 'take what you can get' attitude, I've heard you have refused everyone who's ever been presented to you. I know vampires are known for being choosy about their partners but your mother seems to be quite insistent on getting you some experience. She even went so far as to ask me, a mutt, to be your first if you show interest." I held up three fingers, lowering them as I go through my list. "It is acceptable in this society, your family not only approves but encourages it, and I'm sure your instincts have been causing urges." I had to smirk when she averted her eyes after I mentioned urges. "Not to mention that it does not have to be a permanent partner, try one, try five. Your mother is wealthy and has influence, if you don't like him I'm sure you can get another. But you still refuse." Finally done explaining, turned my palm upward as I presented my question. "I just have to ask; why?"

"Mother really needs to mind her own business." She grumbled before giving a long sigh. She looked away with a sullen look before answering. "To be honest, I don't really know." I was half expecting her to just blow me off, I was surprised when she actually opened up to me. She closed her eyes as she presented a list of her own. "'It feels amazing.' 'There's nothing better.' 'It looks bad if you have no experience.' I'm just tired of everyone telling me that sex is this great thing that I'm missing out on. When I find someone I want to do it with I will. Until then I do not want anyone treating me like I'm less of a person for being a virgin."

It's odd, in the other world it is the guys that are ridiculed by their peers for being a virgin. But far from finding this funny I was quite touched and quickly clasped her hands. "You know, you and I are very similar! I used to think the same way!"

"Always getting so familiar." Since she started cooperating, I have allowed the black-out curtains to remain closed and have been using simple candles for light. Currently stronger than me, she calmly pulled a hand free, pinched my hand, and set it to the side before giving me a cold glare. "And what do you mean we are similar? You got one girl pregnant, marring another, and have nine others I'm not sure you have stopped doing."

Ouch, true but ouch. I have to chuckle to get through the sting of her words. "Circumstances change. I was raped on my first day here, willing my second, and have had to turn girls down numerous times. It's funny considering in the other world getting a girl is difficult."

"So you went from having to pull to having to push?" Veronica sarcastically remarks. "Sounds to me like you failed in both cases."

"I don't think so." I cheerfully retorted. "I probably would have been devastated to leave the other world if I had a girl of my own. Instead it was…"

"A dream come true?" Veronica interjected with a confident assumption, a wrong assumption.

I was silent for a moment. It was hard to answer. "No, not quite." Veronica was honestly surprised as I solemnly explained. "I'm happy to be sure. I have a girl I love, ten others that might get there before long, I have a home, and I'm starting a family. I would not give that up for the world, but it does not mean I'm without regrets. I had to leave my old family to find my new one; I often worry about how they handled my loss with no idea what had happened to me."

For once, Veronica became visibly saddened after what she said. "Sorry, I did not mean to bring up a touchy subject."

Being depressed just does not suit her, so I sat next to her and slapped her on the back. "Don't worry about it! Everybody has their baggage to carry around." I pulled her in close with a playful grin. "Not that you would understand, miss Richie Rich."

She quickly pushes me away as she shouts. "And just what do you mean by that?!"

"You can only turn down the men you're offered because you can have one whenever you want." I grinned as I teased her. "Without your money you would be taking anyone you could get, just like the others."

She apparently found this insulting, her mouth a gasp from the insinuation. "I'll have you know, even without my money I could have any man I wanted!"

"No you couldn't." I answered her questioning 'why not' glare with a 'gotcha' grin as I pointed to myself. "Because this man is taken." She became flustered and apparently chose to not even justify my corny joke with a response. She just crossed her arms and muttered 'Stupid dog.' After being thoroughly amused by Veronica's reaction I leaned back to stretch out. "But maybe the two of us just need to relax. I will admit it is nice, but sometimes I think everyone overthinks sex. It's perfectly natural, it doesn't have to be the big deal everyone makes it out to be." I had to pause as the girls currently in my life flash through my mind. "But then again I probably shouldn't be saying that since I'm getting married and have kids on the way."

"Speaking of your kids." Veronica finally speaks up. "You know imps normally have more than one at a time right?"

The thought hits me like a shot. "That… could be a problem." I had no idea, I could be in trouble. "Merry made me promise I would have more children with her than I would with TNA. If I were unable to fulfill that promise…" I pause to think for a moment before quickly raising up. "Alright, pop quiz! How would I find out the rate I have children with TNA?"

"Back to math?!" She said with a start before giving me a glare. "And what is with the topic?"

"Just work with me on this, I could be in trouble."

She gives a long sigh as she agrees to go along with it. "Fine. You would need to know the rate of conception and average number of offspring, right?"

"Uh-hu." I nod. "For simplicity's sake let's assume that there is a fixed probability that they can get pregnant in a given year; write a simple equation."

"A fixed probability huh?" She grabs a pencil and some scratch paper and starts writing. "The simplest solution would be a Bernoulli trial. Here." She presents me with the following equation:

Y=x*(1-p^10), where y is the number of children born per year, x is the number born per pregnancy, and p is the probability per year the imps will not become pregnant.

"Why to the tenth power?" I ask after looking at the equation.

"You have ten imps right?" She confidently explains. "Only one can become pregnant at a time but I assume you do all of them. That means that there are ten trials, only one need succeed so simply to the power of ten. Am I right?"

"Shit!" I yelp before covering my mouth and nervously stammering. "I mean, excellent point Veronica." I take a moment to try to compose myself. "Alright, as for Merry once I get her blessed she will definitely become pregnant. If we assume she only has one at a time and the effect is permanent then her y simply becomes 1. So if the y for the imps is greater than 1…"

"You're fucked." Veronica bluntly finishes my statement.

"*sigh* I know." Someone save my loins. T-T

A short time later, Cynthia entered the room pushing a cart with trays on it. Like a proper maid, she quietly does her job until she is spoken to. "What's with the food?" Veronica asks as she curiously eyeballs the covered trays. "I did not request anything."

"It was Mr. Adams that requested this." She answered as she took one of the trays from the cart.

"I did?!" I yelped as she sat the tray in front of me. "I don't recall requesting any food."

I swear there is a twitch in her eye. "You gave us some pretty strong hints." She lifted the top off to reveal a dish rife with sliced cucumbers… What? "We got cucumber salad," she grabbed another plate and set it down in front of me. "Cucumber sandwiches," and another, "Cucumber soup," and another, "and Cucumber salsa." … What? "The next time you have a craving for cucumbers please just let us know." She was smiling, but if Merry has taught me anything it's that smiles can be scary. And Cynthia's is terrifying. "Don't just hide them throughout the building." …What? Cynthia then pushes the cart out of the room before turning around to say one last thing. "I was also told to inform you that Miss Victoria would like to speak with you tomorrow." She gives a polite bow. "Good day." And slams the door behind her.

… What? I said I was going to buy cucumbers didn't I? Did you think I was joking? I thought if I bought cucumbers and hid them throughout the building the servants could use them to ease their needs. "What possessed you to think that?" Veronica asked after I took the time to explain. "Do I even want to know?"

"I don't know why I thought it would work." I honestly answered. "It doesn't make any sense to me either, I just thought I would try." Stop it, just stop it! I hear you laughing at me! I'm not crazy, you're crazy! What do you know anyway?! You're just a journal! Don't make me give you to the imps! … Sorry, you're right, that was uncalled for.

Anyway, getting back on track, Veronica was just as confused as you are. "So let me get this straight: You hid cucumbers all throughout the house and you don't even know why?" She asked with 'that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard' written all over her face.

"Not quite," I explained, "I bought the cucumbers but I didn't hide them."

"Then…" Before she could even ask Annie and Abigail burst into the room.

"Big bro!" Abigail shouted. "We hid the cucumbers just like you asked us too!" Giggling as she excitedly flutters in front of me. "You won't forget your promise, right big bro?"

"Don't worry," I pat the happy imp on the head, "You did good, I'll keep up my end."

"Anything I want, right?" She has to look up through her long hair as my patting messes it up.

"Of course." I nod with a smile.

"Good, so we're finally done?!" Annie shouts as she carries the last cucumber above her head. "This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever done! Get it through your thick head! It is not a cucumber you are thinking about!"

Veronica perks up when she hears what Annie is raving about. "Oh, so you know what is going on with the cucumbers?"

"Yeah! Get a load of this!" Before she can explain she has to get a few cackles out of her system. "Big bro thinks that those girls with cucumbers just have cucumbers strapped on, it's so stupid!"

Veronica burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha! Are you serious?!" I don't know what was so funny, there was no contradiction in what Annie said. As she continues to laugh, Veronica walks up to Annie and holds her hand out. "Let me see that for a moment."

Annie gets a big grin after she realizes what Veronica is planning. "Sure, go for it!"

Veronica takes the cucumber and holds it so it is sticking out from her skirt. "Look Jonathan, a big, hard, juicy cucumber. Want a taste?"

As she moves it closer to my face I reflexively step back and stumble onto the floor. "G-get that away from me! It's disgusting!"

She continued to chase me around her room until she was satisfied with my reaction. Once she was done she tossed the cucumber onto the table and sat on her bed. "You really are amusing, I think I might like you." She crosses her legs as she looks down on me with one of her haughty smirks. "As a dog that is."

For some reason I was really embarrassed about my behavior. So before it could get back to that topic I choose a subject that needs addressing. "What does your mother want to speak with me about?"

"Who knows?" She showed little concern. "It might have something to do with Sebastian's long absence."

I suppose I will have to find out tomorrow. Whatever the reason, I have no choice in going. I best head out early. One thing is certain: you don't keep Victoria waiting.