"I shall introduce myself now. Earl Roth humbly presents himself as your master." Earl told Aria happily while holding her face.
In the carriage, Aria looked sideways to avoid Earl's gaze. She did not say anything in response to Earl's words. But even with her lack of words, she looked as beautiful as ever. The delicacy and charm of her face could be comparable to Ari's.
"It would sadden me if you were to be like this forever. Don't worry, I'll fix you up when we return home."
Earl's words caused Ari to laugh.
"You'll scare her if you talk like that, you know?"
Ari was sitting across from Earl within the carriage because Earl wanted to sit next to Aria.
"Ask her a few basic questions first." She then leaned forward and whispered to Earl.
"Ah." Earl nodded in understanding. "Aria. Have you received any training yet?"
Still looking sideways, Aria whispered out her words. "Yes. I've been trained to be obedient and can serve the master in basic tasks."
The answer sounded monotone and rehearsed but Earl was not disappointed. It was a new experience for him and he was excited.
"Oh? And what are these basic tasks?"
"This slave is able to brew and serve tea. Tend master to tasks like dressing and undressing. Arrange files and documents for master. She can also read, write, and clean."
"Don't look away when talking to me, Aria."
Aria's body jumped slightly at Earl's request. "T-that would present to be a difficult task, master. This slave has not been taught such a thing."
Earl's brows widened in surprise at Aria's response. She was still underage like Earl and did not know everything. He could hear her personality within the response.
"Then it will be an order. Look at me in the eyes when you talk to me."
"Y-yes." Her head moved and their eyes met for the first time. Aria's yellow eyes captivated Earl who could not resist running his hand through her beautiful silver hair.
"What do you feel when I do this?"
"This slave has not been taught this."
"What about before you became a slave? How would you feel if I do this to you?" Earl held Aria's silver hair in front of him and admired it.
"T-this slave does not know. N-no one has done it before..."
"I understand. Forgive my actions." Earl let her hair fall out of his hand and stood up to sit next to his mother.
"It's fascinating how you're treating her," Ari remarked. "She's just a slave, you know?"
Her words reminded Earl of the different standards of the two worlds. Back where he came from, slavery was not tolerated and the thought of acquiring one never came to his mind. As such, he did not know exactly how to treat Aria.
"But it's fine too. It means I have taught my son well about respect." She dotingly patted his head.
"I will learn how to treat her as I grow up. For now, can we go shopping for some clothes?"
They arrived at the shopping district.
The experience reminded Earl of the time he went shopping with Ari years ago. But this time, they had an extra person, invisible as she was.
Ari held Earl's hand as they walked through the streets with Aria following behind them. She did not talk much. Or rather, she did not talk at all when she was not questioned.
Aria appeared to be in a permanent daze which was only natural for a child slave. The experience of getting her tribe wiped out must have been a traumatizing experience. Earl took his eyes away from her.
Even though she was wearing rags and had a slave collar, there were many eyes on her simply because of her gorgeous appearance. It did not help that she was following Ari and Earl who looked beautiful together.
She began to walk closer to the mother and son pair unconsciously to shake off the discomfort.
A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
"How about here?" Earl pointed.
It was a cute and small shop. Having traditional Japanese construction with a modern twist. The modern twist being all the bright pink and white colours that decorated the shop.
'Milly's Shop'
The sign read. Outside, there were glass windows that showed the contents within the shop. Three mannequins were lined up.
The first mannequin wore a frilly French maid outfit.
The second mannequin wore a short and skimpy kimono.
The last mannequin wore a revealing shrine maiden outfit.
"The style quite suits her, doesn't it?" Earl said innocently. His eyes shifting to the side to gauge Aria's reaction.
To his disappointment, there weren't many changes to her facial expression. He was quite looking forward to seeing a cute reaction from her, but it appeared that she was too hidden in her shell. He would have to try harder to get her to come out.
"Fufu, it would be cute, indeed." Ari hid her laugh behind her sleeve.
"You too, mom!"
"Eh? Okay, fufu."
They entered the shop and was greeted by a blast of pink. Seeing it from outside was one thing, but stepping into the shop was a different experience.
It was like they entered a shop that maxed all its stats into 'Moe'. There was cute, frilly, and pink everywhere.
"Welcome!" A young lady stepped from behind the counter.
She was a dogkin with droopy dog ears that appeared cute quite. Her face was small with a mischievous, toothy grin. Her hair was light brown in colour and cut short. Her body was small and petite, being almost the same size as Sheryl. And most important of all, she wore a frilly French maid costume.
Her eyes immediately began to scan the three of them. Earl could visibly see her eyes light up when they landed on Aria.
"Oh my! What fine specimen we have today! Come!" She excitedly brought them deeper into the shop.