Louise, like many mages, liked to learn. She liked to learn about magic, spells, and when she had time she would brush up on Noble Etiquette because in the future when she'd be wed, she would need to act as a proper Wife at the same time as a Noble. And even though most of what she'd learn was because it would help her status as a Noble and a mage, she enjoyed learning nonetheless.

It was why she and her sisters often had tutors that helped her in lessons, to add just a bit more knowledge to their repertoire. Not all of them were good, if Louise had to be honest she'd even say that some of the tutors that she'd had were complete and utter rubbish and she questioned how they even got their job in the first place.

Some people would say that she'd be shifting the blame to the tutors, when it was her that was doing bad. But so what? She had a right to complain about who taught her, she had the right to grumble about not understanding what was being taught. After all, it wasn't as if it was something unique since she'd hear her sisters loudly complaining about how bad a tutor was as well.

Now though, looking bad at the many bad words she's said behind a tutor's bad and to their face, all the insults and shouts that she threw at them. She would be all too willing to take them all back.

Because as Bug failed to write down its name for the third time in a row despite instructions, Louise was beginning to realise that teaching someone wasn't as easy as she thought.

"No Bug," Louise barely held back a growl as she pointed at the big 'BUG' that she written on the top of the piece of paper that they were writing on with her quill. "Just write your name," She said in an exasperated tone.

Her Familiar looked at the words, looked at her, looked at the previous failed attempts. It didn't do anything at first, simply staring at its name written in big letters. It raised the quill in its hand.

And drew the exact same symbols as last time, meaning that it was total gibberish to her. Bug looked up from his 'writing', and then pointed at it with its own quill.

Louise looked at the symbols, and the three other symbols that littered the page. She let out a groan, dropping her face in her hands before she finally laid her head down onto the table.

'I know it'd be too easy,' Louise thought to herself. Her eyes went from the paper that Bug was using, to the other open scrolls that had more advance words and even sentences that were strewn about the table. All of them had the same effect.

At first she thought that it be fine to start with "I am Bug, Familiar to Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere." After all, it would need to be recognised as her Familiar. What if it got lost somewhere and it refused to speak like it had been stubbornly doing with her? She need it to be able to get back to her, so it being able to identify itself in her language was a necessity.

Only it just kept making those gibberish symbols, over and over again. At first she let it, of course that was probably its language so it was just trying to get the feel of its written language to hers.

But Bug just didn't seem to want, or at the very least not able, to write in her language.

Even when she went from "I am Bug, Familiar to Louise." To even simpler sentences like "I am Louise's Familiar" before going even simpler ones "I am Bug" until she reached just single words. And when it couldn't even write "Louise" she thought that it could at least write Bug in her written language.

But alas, it could not. And now the table was filled with scrolls covered with gibberish doodles. More than a couple few of the students were laughing her way.

"Still, if there's anything to come from this at least I least that you're a never ending ink well." Louise muttered to herself, looking at the pointed end of her quill. It was still as dark as when she wrote the first sentence, and didn't seem to dry anytime soon. Plus, it didn't drip or pooled if she lingered on a spot for too long.

She eyed her Familiar, who was just staring at her. It still occurred to her that she didn't know what it was, even if she was calling it Bug, it was obviously wasn't any kind of insect. And from the fact that it had made it so that she would never need to spend another ecu on an inkwell, then maybe it really was a Water Spirit?

She'd asked it, but then she'd get the same 'Born of Void and God' spiel and she didn't need to be labelled a heretic. Assuming she'd even get an answer this time, instead of just silence.

She looked at her Familiar continued to write down BUG in its language and pointed it at.

"Having trouble with your Familiar Louise?"

Her annoyance turned into irritation at the pompous voice. She raised her head, turning it a bit to look at Guiche. The blonde boy had his usual cocky smile as he approached her table. Her eyes narrowed "What do you want Guiche?"

His smile actually dropped, looking around in worry "I'm wondering if you've seen Verdante anywhere?" He gestured at her "I haven't seen him ever since I left the breakfast hall."

"I haven't seen your Familiar Guiche," Louise shrug. She sat up and raised an eyebrow "Why are you asking me though?"

He pointed at Bug "Well I overheard Kirche say that your Familiar is smarter than it looks." He shrugged "I figured that it might know where Verdante is since it was waiting outside with him."

Louise stared at the blonde for a while, inside her head she weighed the pros and cons of helping him. Personally, she didn't want to. But he came here because that Zerbst had said that Bug was smart, and she knew if she heard that Bug couldn't help it would be more ammunition for her.

"Fine," Louise sighed and turned back to her Familiar. " Bug," her Familiar 'hand' rose, seemingly waiting for another order to write something. She shook her head "No put the quill down." It obeyed her order "Have you see a," she paused and turned to Guiche "What does Verdante look like again?"

"Why, he's just the most adorable Familiar you've ever laid eyes on." He had proud smile on his face "Cute but intelligent eyes, a long adorable nose, and the finest brown scales you'd ever see on a mole." His finger then tapped his forehead "Oh and he has a green triangle on his forehead."

"Did you see anything like that Bug?" Louise turned to her Familiar.

Tilting its head, it picked up the quill again.

Louise "No, Bug don't write that down."

Her Familiar ignored her orders and began to scribble, and a moment later it held up the paper. Besides the 'BUG' symbols, there was one rounded creature that with two large eyes and a long nose.

"Oh yes, that's him!" Guiche smile widened "So you've seen him?"

Bug put the paper down and then pointed to the ground.

"Huh?" Guiche raised an eyebrow "Where are you pointing at." The blonde mage, looked at the ground where the stump was pointing to "I don't see Verdante."

It shook its head and then pointed down once more.

It took Guiche a moment, before he sighed and slapped his head "Underground of course, he's a mole after all." He let out an easy laugh "I should've expected that; no wonder I couldn't find him. Where did you last see him."

It raised a hand, pointing to the far wall. Both Guiche and Louise turned their head, and sure enough there was noticeable mound of dirt that the some of the staff were starting to push back into the hole.

"Thank you little Bug," Guiche nodded. He turned to Louise and smiled "Looks like Kirche was right, it is smarter than it looks." As he walked away, a snide look appeared on his face "It must be the only good spell you've casted in these two years."

The smile on Louise's face dropped into a harsh glare, for a moment she contemplated screaming after him. But she just sighed and leaned back into her seat.

Bug looked at the blonde as he walked away.

Pink eyes narrowed "So you can understand what I say," it turned its head to her "Sometimes you can even talk, and now you can draw from just getting a description." She pointed a hand at the piece of paper that had said drawing, "But you can't even write your name in my language?"

It looked down at the paper, and then scribbled the same three symbol that apparently meant 'BUG'. And then pointed at it.

Louise sighed again, picking up the piece of paper and looking at it "Either you can, and you're just mocking me. Or whatever magic that lets you understand in the first place is making you only write in this…" she glared at it "Gibberish."

Closing her eyes, she placed it down and picked up another piece of paper "Well in any case, if you can't write in in my language," she began writing down her alphabet, from beginning to end "I might as well see if I can understand your written language." With the final letter she passed the piece of paper to it "There, translate that to your language."

[Scene]

Marion was already having a bad day, and breakfast had just ended a moment ago. It started when she had to clean up a bunch of rat carcasses in the kitchen that had showed up out of the blue, thankfully she didn't have to mop up the blood nor did any of them manage to contaminate the food storage. After then she got an ear full from the chef when he started complaining about damages to the equipment, she had to shout back that she wasn't responsible for the scratch marks on the door nor was she responsible for the missing kitchen knife when he noticed that one of them was gone. She even questioned, out loud towards him, why she'd even need a kitchen knife.

It only got worse when she actually left the kitchen and when she went outside and saw that massive pile of dirt. For a moment, she was horrified and thought that one of the larger Familiars of the Noble brats had taken a gigantic shit on the yard.

But when she didn't notice any dreadful smells, as well as the lack of flies, she was relieved that it was just a large mound of dirt. She could let the groundskeeper handle that if that was the case. Unfortunately, that almost meant that she was stuck handing the food to the kids.

All of this was topped off by the fact that sleep yesterday had been brief, because she swore she heard tiny tiny footsteps and sudden squealing and silence. And when she checked, she just see flashes of white and black in the halls.

The maid let out a sigh, and tried to hide the irritated and tired look on her face and instead she adopted 'Happy' and 'Patient', she didn't need some of the brats to get angry at her just because they thought she was mocking them by looking 'Ungrateful' for serving. Wheeling a cart out to the tables where the Nobles and their Familiars were 'bonding' together, she began to hand out the food that was requested.

Marion went through her 'Here you go' and 'I hope you enjoy them' to the kids. Some of them waved her away, some of them ignored her, and only one or two said thanks.

Her next table was the Valliere, or Zero as the other Nobles called them. The staff liked to call her Explosion Noble for obvious reasons and the fact that this girl probably doubled the work load of the maids every time she casted a spell.

In any case, carrying a cup of tea in her hands she went to the table with the pink head of hair. She saw the noble looking at a piece of paper with a bewildered look on her face, an eyebrow raised and her mouth hanging open in confusion.

"What is this?! It's like you didn't even write and you just drew something in a circle!"

Marion hid away her curiosity, she doubted she could understand whatever was on the paper if even a Noble couldn't, and headed up to her with the cup in hand. "Your tea, My Lad-" Marion's voice hitched when she saw the other person sitting with the Noble.

Or rather, the other thing.

It was only through her experience for keeping calm in the face of petty Nobles that she didn't drop the cup in her hands as she stared into the black abyss that was the eyes of the creature on the table. The white skull seem to almost glow in the sun, which was a rather fitting considering that it was doing the same when she caught glimpses of the thing roaming the halls last night.

"Is something the matter servant?"

She knocked out of her stupor by the voice of the Valliere, shaking her head she plastered the smile on her face "Sorry about that My Lady, I've brought you your tea." She placed the cup on the table, before giving a bow.

"You were staring at my familiar," her voice was annoyed, that wasn't a good sign for Marion. "Is something the matter?" She asked.

"W-Well," Marion gulped "I thought that I might've seen this same creature roaming halls yesterday night," she raised her head to see that Valliere was looking at her with a raised eyebrow "B-But, it must've just been my imagination, My Lady."

She sighed, and turned to the creature "So you were roaming the castle halls yesterday." She shook her head and turned back to her "Bug didn't do anything, did it?"

Marion found herself staring bewildered at the attention. She tried to think of something that might've been related.

"Nothing, My Lady," she told it.

She wasn't impressed "If Bug hadn't done anything, you wouldn't look so shocked at it." She crossed her arms "Did my Familiar do anything?"

Oh no, why was she being tested like this? She was just trying to get through the day, and here she was getting accosted by a brat wanting to know what her little creature did wrong.

Marion stared at the Noble, who raised an eyebrow "Well?"

'Think Marion, Think!'

The rats? No, that might insult the Noble thinking that it's precious familiar was with vermin. Not to mention, just flat out saying that there were vermin in the castle would cost her job.

The damaged goods? Not that either. She recalled the second years last year had said something stupid that Familiar was a part of the mage, if she said that it had damaged the food it would be mean that she was basically telling the Noble she was sabotaging the castle. In which case, her job would be the least of her worries.

She tried desperately to think of something, before she recalled the other thing the chef had complained about this morning.

"Umm, we're missing one of our knives My Lady," she opened her mouth and immediately regretted it. She was quick to hold out a hand forward "Bu-But, I'm sure that it had nothing to do with your umm… Familiar."

The Noble wasn't looking at her, instead she asked the creature "Did you take anything Bug?"

And before they could react, the small creature reached into its cloak and took out a kitchen knife that was covered in dried blood. Even from her spot, she could see that the edge was chipped and dulled.

She heard the Noble gasp "Bug! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Marion winced at the sudden shout. She couldn't really blame her, holding a bloodied knife wasn't really a good thing no matter who was holding it. But Marion didn't panic, instead she simply recalled the rat carcasses that she had to clean up. Many of them had cut marks and slash wounds, some of them had lost entire limbs and heads as well. It was why she was lucky she didn't have to mop up the blood.

She turned to the Noble, her face had gone pale as the creature held up the knife. She admired the terrified look on her face for a moment, before she clarified "My Lady, do not fret. Alongside the missing knife, we found some rat carcasses nearby. Your Familiar appeared to have gone out hunting yesterday." She said out loud.

"R-Rats?" The Valliere asked, eyes still wide and face still pale.

Marion nodded.

"O-Oh," she gulped "I see, that's good then!" The girl took a deep breath and tried to calm herself "F-Familiar!" The Noble's voice was still shaky "You shouldn't take stuff without permission, your actions reflect on my status as a mage." She pointed at the knife in its hand "Give it back to the servant."

The creature looked up at her with its unsettling eyes and then offered her the dirty knife.

She reached out and plucked it out of its grip "Thank you," she said. And held it close to her and began to walk away.

"Why did you have a knife? It's dangerous to have one, even if you're going out to hunt rats or whatever. Why were you even hunting rats? Were you hungry, you should've just told me! From now on, I don't want you carrying knives and tell me if you get hungry, got it?!"

Marion could never understand mages.

"Ah there you are Verdante!"

Speaking of, she managed to see a blonde boy holding up a mole in the air. She ignored the large mound of dirt on the ground, and instead looked at the mole seemed desperate to lick the blonde as much as it could. And despite that the blonde was laughing.

This was the same Noble that she recalled would throw a fit over a piece of dirt on his cape. Marion shook her head; she would never understand mages.