Felt's mind started to work once again and she opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, the world being nothing more than various shades of grey. Still groggy, she attempted to turn her body to the other side and realized she couldn't, someone or something was holding her body.
Slightly more awake, she removed the blanket above her like usual. Perhaps Grandpa Rom was holding her in her sleep. However, something was wrong. It wasn't the frayed blanket she was used to. And the pillow was far bigger and soft than the one at her hideout. It was still covered in drool.
With the blanket out of the way, Felt stared at the ceiling. It was painted white, with a golden chandelier in the middle of the room. The crystals on it were lit, illuminating the room. Felt took a look at her right side, and with her eyes now working properly she figured out who was currently tightly hugging her body: A naked woman she didn't recognize.
She put her memory to use and remembered who she was: Her big sis who risked her life to save her from a sure death at the loothouse. The memories of the event brought a red-haired figure to her mind as well.
"What did he-" Said Felt to herself as she freed herself from Natsumi's embrace. She took notice of both of them being completely nude, her anger rising the more she thought about it.
"Felt-sama!" The door swiftly opened and said swordsman walked into the room without knocking, an excited smile on his face. Felt froze for a second and blushed red, grabbing the edge of the blanket and covering her naked body with it.
"Kidnapping two girls and keeping them nude!? What a knight you are!" She spiked in anger, grabbing the pillow behind with her free hand and throwing it at Reinhard.
"Get the fuck out!" Sadly, the pillow failed to hit its target. Reinhard froze for a split second, before bowing after realizing his mistake. In his excitement, he forgot to have the courtesy expected of a knight.
"Understood, Felt-sama." He left the room, closing the door on his way out. Felt waited for the sound of his footsteps to disappear before leaving the massive bed and picking up the pillow she had just thrown.
She returned to the bed and laid down on it. The bed was so large that her small figure didn't even reach the midpoint of it. Having kicked Reinhard away, she pondered about her situation.
Had he kidnapped both of them? Keeping two young maidens nude in a room… Was he a sexual deviant? But he left as soon as she asked… And he also called her "Felt-sama"...
A breeze coming from the open window changed his focus to her body. She was still nude. She glanced backwards, and saw Natsumi sleeping in a fetal position, hogging all the blanket for herself. She got an idea.
Jumping off the bed, she approached the open window and ripped the white curtains off, turning them into a makeshift dress. It wasn't the best, but it was the only thing she had. Looking at the garden below an idea sprung into her mind.
The room was approximately one floor above the ground, she would take no damage falling from this height. She considered jumping and fleeing, but a whimper coming from behind her removed that from her mind. She couldn't leave her Big Sis behind, after all.
She laid in the bed once more, dozing off staring at the ceiling until she heard a knock on the door.
"Felt-sama." It was an elderly feminine voice.
"Huh? Who are you? Fuck off and leave me alone!" The young thief was already irritated at the interruption by that flame-haired idiot, now she had to deal with a senile old lady?
"The Young Master has been reprimanded for his mistake. I've got a change of clothes. They're more comfortable than the curtains you're wearing."
"Hgk!" She gasped. She knew? Did that woman see her? She approached the door with reticent steps and opened it a little, peeking through the gap with a frown. She examined the old woman: She had short, whitish blonde hair and green eyes. She was taller than Felt, wore a black dress with a white apron, and carried a yellow dress in her right hand.
"Now now Felt-sama, that frown is not fitting for a lady." She said with a gentle smile.
"Lady? Don't fuck with me!" The elderly maid put her finger in Felt's mouth, silencing her.
"The young master hasn't taught you anything, has he? I'll get you dressed up so he can explain." Felt opened the door, keeping her frown. The maid waltzed in, taking a glance at the sleeping Natsumi.
"Don't worry, I'll dress her up while the young master talks with you." Felt's worries abated slightly, and she reluctantly allowed the maid to do her job.
"You look gorgeous Felt-sama." Having finished dressing up Felt, the old maid walked in circles around her, examining her job from different perspectives.
Felt was currently wearing an elegant yellow dress, the dress was made of high-quality lace, the frilly gown made Felt look even more adorable than before. Her shoulder-length blonde hair had been tied into a neat bun, and her doe red-eyes combined with the overall charm of the dress, made her look like a small, yet refined rabbit.
"Gorgeous? Don't fuck with me! These shoes are uncomfortable, this dress is so hot and I can't even run!" Felt said holding the edge of her skirt. She looked at the old woman with spite, as if wanting to say anything, before turning her head.
"Now let's go! The sooner that bastard knight explains this the faster I'll get away from here." She walked towards the door with long steps, once more holding her skirt, clearly not used to this type of clothes.
As soon as she stepped outside the room, the maid followed behind. Felt took a turn to the right, and the maid politely showed her the way. Felt growled but changed direction. This exchange repeated two more times before Felt finally gave up and decided to let the maid guide the way.
She paid no heed to the luxurious hallways, full of paintings and pristine furniture. Arriving at a particular door, the head maid opened it, holding it and allowing Felt to enter the dining room. Reinhard was sitting in the middle of a large table, with an old butler behind him.
Felt moved to a chair in front of him, dragging it across the ground as it creaked. She relaxed in the chair, putting both of her feet on top of the table, not giving a damn about etiquette. Reinhard grimaced as the old butler walked towards a nearby door with silent steps, soon disappearing into the kitchen.
"Felt-sama, forgive my pre-"
"Shut yer mouth!" Growled Felt. She straightened up, removing her feet from the table and slamming it with her fist. "Now ya'll tell me why you kidnapped me and Big Sis."
Reinhard rummaged inside his pocket and took a silver insignia from it, identical to the one Emilia had except for one difference: The jewel was green instead of red.
"What's this? The insignia I stole?"
"Please pick it up, Felt-sama." Felt obeyed, examining it closely. It shined a bright green upon being touched.
"What about this? It just shines." Felt said while still examining the insignia. She flicked the insignia, which clicked with a metalic clang, before dropping it to the table.
"The shining is the most important part. As you can see, the stone didn't shine when I was holding it. Only those chosen by fate can make it shine." Reinhard smiled as he explained.
"Chosen…? By fate? Ha!" Felt snarked as she threw the insignia back at Reinhard, who caught it effortlessly. "Listen here, knight who kidnaps naked women. Fate is the magic word the weak use. Only those who give up on life believe in fate."
Felt stood up and started walking back to the room she woke up in. However, the maid standing behind her grabbed her shoulders with enough force to lock her in place.
"Felt-sama. I believe what Young Master has to tell you is extremely relevant to your stay here."
"Stay?" Felt attempted to shake her shoulders and free herself, but failed. "So I'm really kidnapped? Just let me go!" Her efforts were fruitless and she scowled at Reinhard. He briefly looked at the ground before answering.
"Felt-sama. Your stay is extremely relevant to both your future and that of the kingdom." However, his words only worked to irritate Felt even further.
"The kingdom? What has the kingdom done for me? The kingdom couldn't care less if I or grandpa Rom was dead or alive!"
"As long as you live here, you enjoy the protection of the knights, either di-" Reinhard spoke with a slight panic in his voice, but was cut off by Felt.
"Knights!? The same knights who let assassins roam free, destroy houses and kidnap young girls!?" Felt lashed out. Reinhard averted his gaze from her. A few seconds later, Felt sighed and spoke again.
"I'll stay with two conditions." Reinhard looked at her with surprise, and the maid dropped her grip on the young girl's shoulders. Felt took the chance to point at the knight.
"First, you'll find Grandpa Rom and bring him here. Second, you'll pay to rebuild the loothouse you broke. Do that, and I'll stay here until the loothouse is built again."
"Understood. As a royal knight of the kingdom I, Reinhard van Astrea, give you my word, Felt-sama." Reinhard said. Now free, Felt started walking towards her room once more but was once again stopped by the servant behind.
"Ara. I spent all night making these sweets and you won't eat them?" Felt stopped in her tracks before turning back and sitting on her previous seat, averting her gaze from everyone.
"Hm! If you worked so hard I can't let them go to waste." The two other persons in the room warmly smiled at Felt's poorly disguised excitement. A second later, the old butler returned with a car full of silver plates filled with food to the brim.
Felt's mouth salivated at the sight. She had never seen such luxurious food. Perhaps staying here wasn't that bad. Once the butler left the silver lining in front of her, the scent of meat filled her nostrils.
On the dish were various foods .Rye bread lightly toasted and buttered, a dish she quickly identified as an omellete and big chunks of meat roasted in different ways, the sweet succulent smells of the meats marinated in a dark glaze made her mouth salivate. Moreover, a bowl full of fruit was in the middle of the table: peeled appas, cut grapefruit, picked blueberries... All delicacies that she could never afford.
She didn't notice the dumb smile on her face until she caught Reinhard smiling in her direction. She wiped the drool off her mouth and started eating, grabbing the food with her hands and completely ignoring the fork, knife, and all sorts of table manners.
Digging in straight with her hand, Felt began to ravish the slab of meat in front of her. Tearing at it like a rabid pack of ulgram, her teeth tore apart the tender meat.
Reinhard dashed to her side, distressed.
"Felt-sama, ple-" He was interrupted as Felt turned her back to him and kept munching. However, she stopped and started coughing. In her excitement, she didn't chew as much as she should and a slice of meat stuck in her throat. The butler offered her a cup of tea, which she quickly gulped down.
"What's this? So tasty!" The tea she had drunk down was nothing more than tea with some sugar and honey. However, to Felt, tea was something unheard of, completely out of her league, much less with honey and sugar on it.
"Felt-sama, please use proper table manners. Eat with the fork, not your hands." Reinhard attempted to get Felt's attention to no avail. She had grabbed a loaf of bread and was currently devouring it.
"'on' weffl me whaff to 'o!" She gulped. "I hate you! Now fuck off and let me eat!" She once more turned her head to the plate. Reinhard was left disheartened, but returned to his seat and ate in silence.
Sometime after, Felt relaxed in her seat after having devoured her entire plate. She had licked her plate clean. Not a single speck of food could be found, much to Reinhard's disappointment. But breakfast wasn't over yet.
The old butler returned to the dining room once more, this time carrying a covered silver tray. He left it in the middle of the table and removed the top, revealing a cake covered in cream, with strawberries at the top. Felt was already full, but perhaps she could make some space in her stomach for it… She had never tasted one, after all.
Her mouth watered as she was handed a small slice of cake. She lunged forward to grab it but stopped midway as she felt the maid's gaze piercing her soul. Turning her head backwards she saw her smiling with her eyes closed. Despite her warm smile, Felt got chills. She slowly moved her way to a small, silver spoon and proceeded to eat the cake with it.
Taking a bite, it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. The biscuit melted in her mouth and it was sweeter than anything she could reasonably buy, the flaky texture driving her to engorge herself on the sweet. She went to take another bite. Then another. And another, but the cake was already gone.
"I want more!" She said, with a bit of cream on her cheeks.
"No, Felt-sama. You'll have to earn it next time. We ignored your poor manners because it's your first day here, but from now on, for every time you don't eat properly you won't have any sweets for three days." She said with a warm smile. Despite her caring and motherly attitude, to Felt she looked like the second coming of Satella. She made a mental note not to anger her.
And, just like that, the chaotic days at the Astrea residence started.
This marks the end of Arc 1 Interludes. Next chapter will start Arc 2.