When Corvo was younger, he was a lot more aggressive than he was now. He may have had a bed to rest his head on, but it was in an orphanage that could not even properly provide for every child it had. Before he learned to become a thief, it was not uncommon for him to go days on end without food. Every scrap countered and the general mood around the place was horrible. Tempers flared, fights started, and at one point, a kid had been killed in a conflict about stolen food. It was nothing compared to the heaven that he was in when his parents were alive, but since he was so young when they were killed, maybe that was just him remembering it incorrectly? Well, either way, Corvo was one of many young men who could only eat when they stole or fought for it, and you don't grow up with the kindest heart in those scenarios. The thing that separated Corvo from the rest was that he just simply desired nothing more to life. He could be bored, so long as he ate and drank. It was only when others got the funny ideas to rob a store that he was ever involved, and it was only because he simply could give no reason not to.
But things have changed since one night had him staring at the barrel of a gun. He started as nothing more than a simple brute, being the muscle for whatever he was needed for. But eventually, he became more than that. He was no genius, but through manipulation of his one goal in life, he was formed into a proper person to serve the Branton family. His aggression had an outlet in the form of those who opposed the family, and his lack of any real desire meant that he didn't mind doing busywork in the least. He learned anything he would ever need to know to further this goal, and his natural affinity for fighting was improved upon by years of training with the best the underground could provide. And so, the street rat became a thug. A thug became a butler. A butler became the Head Butler.
But now the Head Butler was a bodyguard, too.
He was not unknown to this kind of work, as it was something he was constantly forced to do as a "thug". Dealers couldn't be left defenseless, after all. But it would be the first time he was ever asked to protect something so... fragile. A girl? Well, she was the daughter of one of the few people Corvo actually respected, but she was still a schoolgirl who knew very little of the dangers that plagued the underside of her father's company. Someone like that was going to be a lot harder to safeguard, compared to someone who had signed on for this kind of thing. The added pressure of this being a Branton was there too. If he failed to keep her safe, then he might not just simply be fired.
Well, no problem. That was just a possibility if he failed to protect her, which he decided he would not let happen. He was resolved to punch even a god down if it threatened someone he was assigned to protect. That was just how it was. A man with no true goal other than survival was really good at putting every bit of effort he could into whatever he was doing at the present. Just let them try to get through him!
Her door opened.
"Hello, Master Layna." Corvo greeted with a blank look on his face, having already been waiting outside the room for a while now. He was beginning to question if he should go in there and check on her, but that seemed like needless worry. "If ya--" He immediately cleared his throat. He had tried to make it a habit to not speak informally around a member of the family, but it wasn't always easy. "...If you have everything you need, then we can leave. You may quickly eat breakfast here or at the school, simply decide and we'll go from there, but we'll be taking an unmarked car from a rear exit so that we don't attract the crowd from outside."
Corvo was aware of how the day was 'supposed' to go. From the moment Layna Branton awoke, he was to escort her to school. From there, she would attend school. After that, he would pick her up and bring her home. The schedule was relatively easy, though minor variations were possible. He was also encouraged to interact with her more than in the past. Whereas he did not have any active role in her life before, he would spend as much time with her as he could now. At home, this would mean that when he got a break from his duties at a butler, he would need to be near her. Of course, if for some reason she was to depart from the household, then so would he. His duty as a bodyguard were the priority, so his other duties would then be relinquished to another staff he decided was suitable when he was away.
That should be easy, right?