We get a glimpse of what other characters are thinking. And politics.

As she is held in the embrace of her Young Lord, Eliza begins to analyze the events of the past few days, and what they mean for her. She arrived in a plain metal container, and was swiftly delivered to the bedroom of the Young Master. There, she was removed from the crate, and begin the initial boot sequence. Her first priority is to identify, and secure her charge. Once she had done that, she ensured that the area was secure enough. With that done, Eliza begin to the lengthy process of confirming all the purchased files were properly installed, and all physical specifications have been met. Finally, to end her boot sequence, she reviewed the Three Tenets of AI.

1) An AI must not, through action or inaction, allow their Charge to suffer.

2) An AI must obey their Charge, except where it conflicts with the First Tenet.

3) An AI must protect and maintain it's functionality, except where it conflicts with the First or Second Tenet.

Once she has confirmed that all her functions are operating normally, she stands guard by her Charge's education capsule, and waits to receive orders. Days pass, and she stands vigil, only leaving for brief moments at a time for maintenance, and only when she knows her Charge is protected. When the capsule finally begins the exit sequence, Eliza waits eagerly to receive her orders. Her thoughts began racing through the possible responses from her Charge. The most likely ones were confusion or lust, followed by arrogance, and then dissatisfaction.

One reaction that she considered highly unlikely was nonchalant acceptance, and an immediate utilization for actual work. Though she would have happily obeyed any order given from her charge, the focus on his realm was a rather pleasant surprise. Wordlessly, she sliced through the decades old security protocols around the manor's finances, and began analyzing the reports. What she saw deeply disturbed her. Rampant, and blatant, corruption, payments for services that are no longer in use, and other complete wastes of money. As she followed her Charge, she was also constantly monitoring the surroundings, and the the design of the manor house deeply offended her. The structure had countless security flaws, and the security forces that were there were mere theater, and were poor displays at that. Eliza concluded that the previous lords were only kept alive because they were more of a danger to their territory than their competitors. As the two arrived at the office Eliza considered the old butler. She knew from public Brian was a very accomplished adventurer, and had once served as a liaison to the royal family. Clearly, he was a very competent servant, she considered it dubious that he remained solely due to his respect for Lord Alistair. In addition to that, many of his files were classified, at a level that only the royal family, and the head of the Banfield house could access. Brian presented an enigma, one that she could not be certain posed no threat to her Charge.

XXX

The Guide watched in glee as John sank into a moment of terror. That sinking feeling the poor fool was experiencing was utterly delicious to the being of pain of suffering. Even when Eliza brought him back from the edge, the smile still remain on The Guide's face. He knew that a potent seed had been planted, one that could very easily **** the hope from John. A twisted smile split the grey being's face, as he considered the upcoming press conference.