Chapter 15: 15

As I lay in the warm water, I could feel my heart beat with anxiety over the decision Marian would make. Would she cast me out, or would she accept who I was? Time seemed to crawl as she stood their, a wet sheen covering her skin from the condensation of the steamy bath water.  I closed my eyes both to distract and try to calm myself.
At some point I heard Marian move and began to wash her body, yet as she was still silent I also did not speak. It wasn't until I felt her intrude into the bathwater that I opened my eyes. She sat across from me, our feet nearly touching, as she looked straight at me. "Was it all an act?" she asked as her eyes scanned me, as if my expression or movements would reveal the answer.
It wasn't a question I had expected, and unexpectedly one I wasn't quite sure the answer of myself. I had most definitely and purposefully mislead and deceived those around me, but at worst it was a sin of omission. Other than hiding my true Status, I didn't feel that I had been putting on an act. Thinking such I shook my head. "Other than hiding my Status and memories, I haven't acted at all. It was never my intention to deceive you, I was just fearful that my Status was abnormal, especially with a Gift named Heretic."
I waited silently as she released a heavy sigh, then suddenly before I could react, she leaned forward and pulled me into her lap, the soft flesh of her stomach on my back, while my head rested in the valley of her breasts. "I thought you were going to be someone different, yet all I can see before me is a child. Even with your past memories, you cried for your birth mother, and you looked at all the things you've never seen in wonder and splendor. Perhaps I could call you a bit strange for your age, yet strangely I feel closer to you than my actual flesh and blood."
Hearing her words calmed me down and eased the fear and anxiety I'd been feeling. As I began to relax, I suddenly heard Marian speak again, this time her voice was serious as if she was reprimanding me. "Even though you have the memories of a past life, you're still far too young for what happened this morning. I'll forgive you this one time, but don't let it happen again, at least until you hit puberty." She mumbled something that sounded like a complaint about Alcrem before lightly coughing as if she wanted to hide what she'd been saying.

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Before I could ask what she had said she suddenly stood. "We'll talk more tonight, I still have some questions, but you need to be going to the lessons with Gabriel and Kalista, the tutors will throw a fit if you're too late."
I still had some lingering anxiety as Marian dried me off, but it seemed for now at least she had decided to keep my secrets. While I wasn't excited to have to attend lessons, I hoped at least that history would be something I would be taught. I lacked information about this world, if I was to survive and deal with the Outsiders like the Queen of Hell wanted me to, it was important that I knew as much as I could.
As dutiful as ever, Reine had prepared clothes for both me and Marian. I almost wanted to question how I had gotten a new set of clothes so quickly, seeing as we had only visited tailors less than a day ago, but decided that it was probably just one of the perks of belonging to the duke's household. I was also thankful that Reine was there to help me dress, as not only was the dress more formal than what I'd worn yesterday, I was still somewhat reluctant to wear dresses, but with her cajoling me I had little choice.
Marian also wore more formal clothing, so I began to suspect that comfortable clothing like yesterdays was unusual and the more stiff and proper attire was something I was going to be wearing much more often. I supposed it made sense, this was the household of a duke, and I'm sure they needed to keep up a certain set of appearances. If this worlds politics were anything like Earths, I could imagine the hardship and slander they would need to endure and deflect, and something like a lax dress code was something someone could nitpick if they really tried.
As Marian separated ways from me and Reine, I couldn't help but feel that the road ahead of me was going to be filled with hardship. A part of me felt it might of been better if Marian had banished me, at least then I wouldn't need to deal with any troubles that came with being nobility.

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