New law of Beast Taming

'I got angry. I cannot believe I got angry at that Dwarf's provocation and I even choked him. There was no reason for me to do such a thing and yet I…'

Amane looked down at her hand with disbelief. She could not believe that she had lost control like this. It felt so surreal to her.

"Yoko, you are finally here. How are you feeling? I cannot believe that you were arrested for something you did not even do. Talk about an unfair world."

Charlie Suzuki was the first person Amane's eyes turned toward when she entered the room. Not because she was the loudest in the batch or that she was sitting the closest to the entrance.

But her commanding presence made it impossible to ignore her.

"Lady Tsurugi, I wanted to say that it is a pleasure to see you again, but the circumstances are less than ideal. I hope you do not mind us visiting you."

Now this person surprised Amane a lot.

She had not expected to see either Ely Zhen or her grandfather anytime soon. But here they both were, sitting on the guest room sofa and waiting for Amane to tell them all that happened.

And then there was Sakura who looked around the place but did not say anything. Amane had a feeling that Sakura wanted to tell her a lot of things but was holding herself back. She was not going to say anything in front of people.

Being around familiar places helped Amane feel better as well. She could feel her earlier agitation leaving her body and her mood becoming better suddenly.

"I should be the one to say that it is nice to meet you all. Being in this guest house is quite lonely and I was just carving company."

Amane gestured for the party to keep on sitting and she walked toward them as well. She saw the maid come out of her room with a pale face and quickly move around.

Now, Amane should have called that maid over and asked her to serve things, but she decided to cut that poor thing some slack.

This might have been her first brush-in with violence and some had a hard time forgetting such things.

"This place…is there no servant here to look after you? There should be a few at least since this is the government quarters, right?"

Sakura asked as she looked around the room. She had likely spotted the felling maid as well but she was and her words were just loud enough to be heard by the maid.

Now that the maid knew about her discovered presence, she could no longer hide herself and had to walk out of her hiding spot.

Her body shook as she took in the important assortment of people in front of her. A single mistake would cost her life and everything she owned.

"W-Would you all like tea or coffee?"

The maid tried her hardest to suppress her fear but the flashes of that strangling moment from before kept on flashing across her eyes.

"You can take an early off today if you want to. There is another servant that is about to arrive any second now and I can keep our guests entertained until then. If you want to go back home, you can go."

Amane offered the maid this and she looked grateful before looking frightful once more. She bit her lip and looked away before her eyes hardened.

"I…no. Please allow me the honor of serving you, Lady Yoko. I will bring out refreshments soon."

Amane watched the maid turn around with a determined face and walk into the kitchen. She had no idea what happened and from the looks of things, the others also had no idea what just happened here.

Only the maid knew what she was thinking about and her logic was simple - she was doing this to survive.

Even if Yoko Tsurugi had given her permission to head back home, the maid was not sure if she would remain alive by the end of the day. It was quite possible that Yoko Tsurugi would have her killed.

So, it was better for the maid to stick around and assure the younger of her loyalty. That would be the only way for her to live.
Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

'I will serve Yoko Tsurugi well and I will live a long life as well.'

The maid was determined and she quickly walked out of the guest room and into the kitchen. She was sure that she could do it - she could serve Yoko Tsurugi well.

But all her confidence dwindled once she stepped into the guest room once more with tea and snacks.

She felt like crying when three pairs of curious and searching eyes looked at her with a curious expression on their face.

......

That scared yet courageous maid made everyone in the room curious. The one most taken aback by her actions was Amane, but she did not let it show on her face.

"Yoko, you have been here for only a day and you have already seduced an innocent person? Tsk, you are a dangerous woman."

Charlie Suzuki spoke in a jesting voice but she looked completely serious. Her eyes looked especially mincing and seemed to be planning the maid's death behind their humorous mask.

"That's right Yoko. You need to control your aura. It is not right to make people lean on you like this. What would happen to that poor maiden's heart once you are out of this place?"

Sakura joined in the joke as well but she looked worried as well. She was not sure if she felt worried for Yoko or the maid more.

"I cannot help it that I am so charming that people keep falling for me…but I think that you are mistaken in this case and about this maid. I don't think she likes me in a 'romantic' sense."

Amane explained just as the maid exited the kitchen and placed a tray of snacks in front of the guests.

She looked at Amane for approval but flinched when she saw Amane make the barest move to reach out toward the tray.

Suddenly, the maid no longer looked like a love-stuck fool but like a prisoner terrified for her life and awaiting her sentence. Everyone was curious about her reaction and why she was like this.

"I-If you want anything else, then please let me know. I will bring you whatever you need…"

The maid quickly fled into the kitchen without looking back. But she took extra care to keep an eye and ear out for whatever their group might need.

"Looks like that maid likes you, Yoko. isn't that a good thing for you?

Jealousy surged beneath Ely's happy facade. She forced herself to speak these words and tried to hold back her bitter smile.

She was the only one who could not tell that this maid was terrified of Amane and let her jealousy get the best of her.

The maid looked even more shocked and terrified once she heard Ely's words. She could not tell if it was aimed to praise her or to mock her. All the maid knew was that she had messed up.

"I…I should get going now. Please call me if you want anything from me."

The maid quickly left the scene and everyone watched her head out. They all kept quiet for a few more minutes before Charlie decided to break the awkward silence.

"Anyway, I want to ask you something, Yoko. You were not the one who caused that Bloom accident, right? If you were the one who planned it, then there would have been no witness or suspicion on you."

Charlie knew Amane well by this point. And she was right when she said that Amane would have left no evidence behind if she had been behind the incident.

"Hmm, I have no idea what happened either. But I am sure that it was aimed to sully my name and get me out of the way of someone. I think we all have an idea who could be responsible for this."

Amane hinted toward the culprit but everyone in the room (except Ely, who pretended she understood what was going on) agreed.

"It seems like your home is a battlefield right now. It might be for your good that you got out of there in time. But we also need to prove our innocence before it is too late. So do you think you can help us out here?"

Charlie asked as she mixed her tea. Her brain was already formulating plans that could help her out.

"Well, I would like to help you out, but I am stuck in this place with no way to go out. So, if something does happen, I will not be able to interfere."

This was a very subtle way for Amane to say - 'do what you want to.'

Both Sakura and Charlie got her message and they both grinned. They had not needed this permission to act, but it was nice to get it anyway.

"Uhm, Yoko, how are you holding up in this place? If you want, I am sure that we can get your permission to live with us instead of in this detainment house. S-So…"

"Ely, stop!"

Marshall Zhen yelled at Ely and she flinched. But she did not want to back down from the promise she had made to him.

Ely Zhen seemed to have a misconception about Amane being in this prison and Amane decided to clarify it.

"Ely, I am here by choice and not because I was forced in here."