Y/N P.O.V
I followed behind Lady Albedo. Experience taught me that attempting to walk side-by-side with a woman of Nazarick was the height of folly. It was all to easy for them to interpret such an act as a means of myself trying to stand as their equal, which would then lead to a cruel punishment inflicted upon me for daring to think I was equal to them in any way.
I also kept my head lowered. It was an even greater height of folly to give someone like Lady Albedo the impression that I was checking her out. All I could see of her was her sandal-cladded feet. I had a lingering fear that even that action would lead to a misunderstanding but if I didn't look at some part of her then I wouldn't know where the hell I was going.
Conversation wasn't a thought I considered even once. It was obvious that speaking only when spoken to was the best course of action, my encounters with Solution weeks prior had drilled that into my head forevermore.
Still... I really wanted to ask how much longer we would be walking. And as to where exactly we were heading. But I wasn't so stupid as to push for answers. Not from Lady Albedo.
"Do you usually walk around without a collar?"
I resisted the instinct to lift my head. My mind remained steady, controlling my muscles finely and with little strain. My head remained lowered and I was able to utter a coherent response, absent of stuttering or sobbing.
"Yes, Lady Albedo, I do," I answered hastily. "Lady Yuri is very good to me. I'm eternally grateful for the privileges and life both she and Lord Ainz have given me."
It was a calculated answer. My words were chose carefully, despite how fast I had responded. Life with the Pleiades had taught me that thinking quick wits were a must for survival in this tomb.
I had praised both Lord Ainz and Yuri as well as spoken with as much articulation a fox halfling could muster. I hoped for the best; but still winced in fear of the worst.
"You're well-mannered, compare to the rest of your human counterparts, that is," Albedo stated. "Not so many of you are quick to accept the carrot before even tasting the stick."
As long as insults and demeaning comments are all she's throwing at me; I'll be perfectly fine.
Lady Albedo halted, so I followed suit. I glimpsed my head up, making great effort to only eye the background and not Lady Albedo herself. We had come to a stop in front of a pair of doors, carved onto their faces were all sorts of humanoid creatures of divine beauty or hellish grotesqueness.
Without so much as a push did the doors open. If one of the many perks of high-tiered magic was never having to open a door again than I was indeed very envious of both Lady Albedo and all of Nazarick.
Lady Albedo gestured me forward. I took the lead and entered the room with her close behind me, intentionally so she could cut me down if needed to.
"Have a seat," she demanded.
I did as instructed and planted myself firmly on one of the couches in the center of the room. Lady Albedo joined me, seating herself on the couch across from me. She placed a stack of blank parchment onto the table, uncorking the an ink bottle soon after.
"Be as detailed as possible," Lady Albedo instructed. "Obstruct any truths and I will know. You won't ever see Yuri again should you try and deceive me. But, believe me, that will be the least of your worries."
"I understand completely, My Lady," I said confidently. "I'll do my best to provide as much information as possible. Although... it has been sometime since I was last in the Theocracy so I'm uncertain of how accurate my knowledge of it is now."
