"We had assumed that something had happened," one of the maids said. She didn't smile, even apologetically, but some of the others did. Notably, they were all nervous.
Luna gave them a gracious smile. She still wasn't sure exactly why they were being so respectful. At this point, you might even call it reverent.
But if they were being courteous to her, it was only eight that she did so back to them. At the very least, she would treat them as more than objects.
"What was it that you assumed had happened?" Luna asked. She used an elegant voice, superior but not egotistical.
"That you had activated the bell, Mistress," another maid responded.
"I did," she said shortly. If they knew about the bell, it was likely that they knew what happened when someone rang it. And although Luna knew that she was an anomaly in this regard, she assumed that if someone rang the bell, they died, or at the least were grievously wounded. The manifestation hadn't seemed to be of the sort to care about human lives. In fact, it reminded Luna of those sadistic nobles who enjoyed causing others to suffer.
Obviously, there was a range even of that.
Some of them loved to deny their partners things, especially pleasure, or appreciated others being embarrassed or humiliated.
And then there were the ones that got off on literal murder.
By Luna's guess, this apparition was near the latter end. She hadn't attacked Luna right away, but then again, she had smelled Lukas's scent almost immediately.
Again, it was hard to make assumptions about the apparition's nature, because most people would have a different experience with her than Luna had.
And yet, despite her assumptions, she had felt pity.
How was that possible?
There was some logic behind it, though.
After all, if no one bothered to treat you like a person, why should you act like one?Similarly, if everyone treated you like a sentient person, of course you would act like it.
People did what was expected of them more often than not, and they were inclined to act in a way that fulfilled people's expectations.
That was why the nobles stayed noble and the peasants stayed peasants.
Well, that and the weight of tradition, which hardly ever fell light.
The maids were looking at her, astonished.
"Surely not..." one of them murmured, barely audible.
"So you didn't..." Another began, then trailed off, bit her lip, and corrected herself. "Nothing happened? You were fine?"
She had been about to ask whether Luna had been brought into the subrealm of the artifact. But apparently it wasn't meant to be common knowledge that Lukas had such an item, or at least its location was a secret.
"The other maids are sometimes more aggressive and less helpful," one of the others supplied helpfully. "We're one of the few groups who wouldn't try to take advantage of you. We just wanted to make sure that none of the others got here first."
The others nodded agreement. Most of them were able to hide their relief at the deft deflection, but not quite all of them.
"Well, something happened, of course," Luna said. "After all, one doesn't interact with an artifact without expecting that something will happen."
The maids were clearly unsure exactly how to feel. They were stuck between being afraid of what that meant and being relieved that Luna hadn't been harmed.
Luna knew that this wasn't the most orderly group of maids in the manor. She had seen some whose decorum, precision of movement, and actions resembled or outclassed even her father's military.
That meant that they wouldn't have been the first to mobilize and arrive here. There was a possibility that their quarters, or wherever they had been, was closer than the other groups, but then there would have been other factions that arrived late, and Luna would likely have noticed them, even if they hadn't entered.
The maids were rotating watching her.
Well, either it was her or it was Lukas's room, but Lukas absolutely seemed attached enough to set forth procedures so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed. Even if he didn't know directly about the factions among his maids, he wasn't dense. He would still be able to tell that when people came over, they were often put off or distracted by the different groups. That was, of course, assuming that people came over.
He might also have a manager who was in charge of directing the maids. Luna wouldn't be surprised; in fact, she'd be more surprised if he didn't. This many were too much for one person, especially since Lukas, as the Lord of the North, was often away.
So what exactly did that tell her about him?
It told her that he was capable of compassion, even if he wasn't the best at showing it.
Lust, and regular passion, she absolutely got those signals. But as for compassion, she had noticed a severe lack.
Clearly, that wasn't because he didn't care. He just... didn't know how to love.
Which was perfect, because neither did Luna.