Lilith’s expression was twisted up in a smile, her green eyes dancing in delight at the anticipation of something, though Lucia had no idea what that might be. She winked in an overly friendly manner when Lucia met her gaze, licking her lips.

Shivering in horrified disgust, Lucia dropped the other woman’s gaze and focused on the two strangers instead.

The first man was around her own average height, with a faintly bronze-tinted skin tone. He had a thin and lanky build, with auburn hair that curled softly in ringlets before stopping right above his shoulders. His face was not ugly, but also not average, or incredibly handsome either. Somehow, his appearance seemed to blend the three ‘types’ into one.

Sitting on the bridge of his nose was a pair of thick, square, and silver spectacles, hiding reddish-brown eyes that were shaped in a sharp manner on his face. The man was dressed in a dark blue shirt that covered even his neck, the material folded over because of its length.

The shirt hung tightly enough to his body that Lucia could tell he had a few muscles, though not nearly as much as Luther. His trousers were quite a bit looser, made of some sort of grey material that looked quite comfortable, honestly. Leather shoes with sharp tips hid his toes, along with a matching leather belt hung from his waist in a tight manner.

The man behind him was about a head taller than the first man, with skin that reminded Lucia of tea with a few drops of milk mixed in. He was tall and lean, wearing a white shirt with silver buttons running down the front. Over the shirt was a dark red jerkin that covered his arms, with pants that matched the jerkin perfectly.

This man’s dark brown hair appeared to reflect the light, glistening ever slightly as he walked forward. His appearance was good-looking, but nothing compared to Luther (in Lucia’s mind), which was a bit marred by the annoyed expression on his face. His violet-colored eyes were narrowed thinly as he walked forward, his lips slightly pursed in a frown.

The first man was carrying a thin object under his arm, while the second man had what looked like a book cradled protectively against his chest.

Once the two had reached close enough, Lilith moving off to the side, they bowed deeply in respect. Sitting beside Luther, Lucia glanced up at his face, seeing that most of the irritation seemed to have disappeared.

That, of course, couldn’t be said for his voice. “Took you bastards long enough!” Luther hissed, causing the two men to flinch.

“My most sincere apologies, sir.”

“Do forgive me for my tardiness, sir.”

To the side, Lilith hid a snicker behind her hand, green eyes dancing in glee.

“Jegudiel, you’re covering for Ronny at the moment so you need to get your act together!”

The second man, with the purple eyes and brown hair, bowed deeper in regret. “Of course, sir. I apologize immensely for my incompetent self!”

“While, you, Pahaliah, have a bit more of an excuse, considering. But, even still, it shouldn’t take you nearly ten minutes to respond to a summons!” Blazing gold eyes, along with a biting tone, were the only sign of Luther’s displeasure. His face, other than that, was strangely tranquil.

“Y, yes!” The first man yelped, paling in fear. “I have no excuse!”

Watching the proceedings silently, keeping a poker face on the whole time, Lucia wondered just what these men had done to make Luther so angry. Ten minutes was hardly enough time for a messenger to be sent in order to fetch them. She wanted to speak up on their behalf merely out of principle, but she kept her silence.

She was in a different world, which meant everything she knew might not be the same. Perhaps ten minutes of waiting was considered an absurd amount of time after a summons here.

For now, Lucia didn’t want to do anything to step on Luther’s toes and jeopardize her station. If he chose to break his promise and cast her away, she would have nothing.

No, she couldn’t risk doing anything to displease him, no matter how much she might not like it.

Luther paused, glancing down at her. Keeping her expression calm, she smiled back at him, not saying a word. He frowned briefly before returning his attention to more pressing matters.

“Sweetling, you will need to attend schooling for a year,” Luther started to explain.

Blinking, Lucia’s expression finally changed into a frown of confusion. “Schooling? As...as in taking lessons with a tutor? You do not need to worry, I have already completed my required lessons two years ago.”

Shaking his head firmly, Luther’s gold eyes gazed down at her, his tone allowing absolutely no disagreement. “No, you have to go until you become an adult.”

That made her jump to her feet in surprise. “Adult?” she repeated, staring down at him in disbelief. “I had my coming-of-age ceremony last year! I am already an adult and of age for marriage and motherhood!”

Lips twisting in displeasure, Luther sighed in frustration. “Here, in this world, you aren’t. You don’t become an adult until you’re eighteen. You still have a year and two weeks to go.”

Mouth gaping open in a very unladylike manner, Lucia stared deeply into Luther’s gold eyes. After ten seconds, she pulled herself together and slowly sat back down. “Y, you’re serious.”