"Once again, I'm very sorry. But you must understand, I have the power beyond anyone's comprehension, magic that allows me to alter even the reality itself." He then stood up and turns her back on the maid " I must not fell for someone tainted with malicious greed."
I'm ALIVE!
Sorry for taking so long. It's just been very busy at work and I just find it hard to write, there is no problem with the plot. it's just I keep running out of words and I don't want to separate this into multiple chapters.
Anyway, this chapter is just the Neriya simping with Anne.
I'm not sure if someone still reads this but thank you, I guess.
After tucking her mistress to bed and making sure that she will indeed go to rest instead of playing or watching animes under the covers, Anne left Katarina's quarters and starts her trek towards her own room.
Well, perhaps one year ago that would be the usual case, however, normalcy seems non-existent here in the Silversky Manor. The moment she turned right after closing the door of her mistress's room, she was greeted by a silver-haired man leaning against the wall behind him.
"I did not think that she would actually sleep early tonight. I mean, I did tell her to, but knowing her, I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't" The master of this very mansion greeted her.
"Today may have been more eventful than usual, Neriya-sama. She may have been exhausted after everything that happened today" She responded to him, with a quick bow.
"Her kind should no longer feel any physical exhaustion, still we can't say the same about mental fatigue. It does get the best out of everyone." He then extended his right hand towards her, giving a gesture of invitation "Anyway, since it looks like your duty is over for today and it is still quite early, mind if you join me for some tea or something?" The warlock smiled after stating his offer.
"Aren't I supposed to rest early as well? Or does the master's kindness not extend to his house's maid? " She bantered while showing a slight pout.
He pulled his hand back to himself and slumped both of his shoulders. "You know that you can have a lot more than just my kindness, right?" It was then followed by a defeated sigh. After that, he straightened his posture and offered his hand to her once more. "Well, I'm only hoping to spend some time with you tonight but if milady wishes to retire as well, may I at least escort her to her quarters?"
After several seconds of pause, she lifted one of her hands to her face to hide her smile as she used the other to accept Neriya's offer. "Well, it will take some time for us to reach my room, would that be enough?"
Once their hands are holding on to each other, he then slightly lifts her hands while he also bends forward in order to give it a kiss and to gently pull her close. "That should be plenty" He answered her with a blinding smile on his face. "Good thing that we have such long hallways." He then placed himself beside her. With their hands still intertwined, they went on their merry way.
Anne would vehemently deny that this is normal but this is how her evening usually ends ever since not long after she starts working in this mansion.
It all started back on her then on her first day.
When the wall of silver light that suddenly surrounds them fades, Anne was unable to see her surroundings right away as the bright lights make her feel disoriented. After a few moments of blinking her eyes now manage to adapt to the moderate brightness of the area and see the place clearly.
They were now standing in what looked to be a long corridor. The floor is covered with a green carpet and the design of the hall has a majestic feeling on it but it is very different from what she commonly sees on mansions or even on the castle itself.
"This way." The warlock then walks towards the nearest door and she followed right behind him. He then gives the door a few knocks and waits.
A few moments passed and nothing happened. She looked at the door and then on the warlock.
The warlock met his gaze and looked back on the door, once again giving it a few knocks.
"Kataaaariiinaaa-chan, may I disturb you for a moment?" He called towards the door.
She looked at the door as well and held her breath, hoping to hear her mistress's voice once more answering the warlock's call.
Still, nothing happened.
Once more, she looked at the warlock and wait for anything to happen. He promised her that lady Katarina is alright and that she can work for her again if she come with him. A small part of her actually doubts the warlock's promise and that doubt is slightly growing as of this moment. Still, as a professional, she kept her expression formal and just waited for what the warlock will do next.
Litte that she knows that the warlock can read the unamused expression on her eyes. If he can sweat behind all of his regalias, then he probably is sweating buckets right now due to sheer awkwardness.
With a defeated sigh, he hung his head hard on the door which then causes a loud thud. "Katarina-Chan, I'm coming in and I'm with someone who wants to meet you. I hope you're decent!" With that, he turns the knob and pushed the door open.
The first thing that greeted them is the loud musical noise that echo's in the whole room, along with sounds of people talking but she cannot understand the language. The room is very dim so she cannot get a good look at the surroundings but not far from them, there appears to be a bed with a lady lazily lying on her stomach with both of her legs bent upwards. She was staring at what appears to be a huge mirror with moving pictures on it, similar to the screen the warlock used to back on the Ministry and the loud sounds also appear to be coming from that mirror if not near to it. Her right arm is leaning on the bed while holding to her chin to support her head while the other arm is grabbing snacks from different shiny bags that are scattered around the bed as well.
The warlock snapped his fingers and then several light crystals glows on the ceiling and illuminate the room properly, which then gives allows her to get a good look at the lady. The girl appears to have very long hair which is as dark as the night sky which is just like the snacks, also scattered around the bed. She wears what appears to be a sleeveless shirt that only has small strings to cling to the shoulder and for the bottom, she wears very short pants that are almost if not exactly a whole stretched hand above the knee. Her unmodest state of clothing shows a lot of her skin which is as pale as the moon.
The lady snaps her head towards their direction which then gives Anne a clear view of her face. Her cheeks swells a bit as she was still chewing the snacks that are stuffed in her mouth. Her eyes are wide as saucers, clearly surprised by what she is seeing as well. The color of her eyes, however, is completely different as it should be, gone is the emerald eyes that she inherited from her father and was now replaced by jet black orbs with a glint of silver in the middle.
Despite those, she recognizes still this lady, It is still the same girl that she has been watching for about 15 years and the one that she thought that she almost lost forever. The warlock already explained that her mistress looks slightly different than before due to the effect of reanimation, so she was not that surprised by these changes.
She won't deny the fact that her... image now expresses something unholy (as her lady really looks like a witch right now with all scattered hair, pale skin, and dark eyes) but she was sure that this lady was indeed her mistress.
"Anne!" The said was then shot from her bed towards her direction with both arms stretched for an embrace. Anne reflexively extended her hands as well to catch her incoming mistress, however instead of falling to each other's arms, the pale lady just phases through her, fell on the floor, and slides until she hit the wall.
"Lady Katarina!" She called her mistress who is laying flat beside the wall. She was about to rush towards her lady's side to check on her but she was halted by the warlock's hand.
"Worry not, she can no longer be harmed by such cases, but as you see, she has no control with her current abilities yet... Anyway, I'm sure that you have a lot of things to discuss, so Kitten..." He then turns towards the lady on the floor.
"Hai Neriya-sama?" Katarina immediately turns her head towards the warlock but still laying on the floor.
"Once both of you are done catching up, lead miss Shelly to my office." He then gave Anne a quick nod before leaving out of the room and the door automatically closed as he stepped out.
As soon as the door shuts close, her mistress once again lunges forward to hug her, thankfully, they did not pass through like the first time and were able to embrace each other properly this time.
"I thought that I'm never going to see you again" Anne was the first one to cry out as she can no longer hold her tears.
"I'm very sorry!" Katarina immediately understood what she meant and she can only do nothing but apologize to her maid.
They stayed like that for a long while.
"I'm so glad that you are here!" Katarina broke first from their embrace to properly talk with her maid.
"I really missed you milady, please don't leave me like that again," Anne answered, following her lady's gesture, and starts wiping the tears from her mistress's eyes as well as on herself.
"I am really sorry, Anne" The now ravenette girl hung her head once more "But you have seen it on the viewing, and even right now. I have dark magic which is causing harm to those around me, I incapacitated you, hell, even my death caused a lot of trouble for everyone!" Katarina cried.
"It's not your fault!" The maid once again grabbed her lady and pushed her against her chest.
"You didn't know, none of us did. I'm sure that you will never harm me or any of us...intentionally."
"hic!" Katarina stuttered from her cries upon hearing her maid's remark. "I would never!" She answered. "... But that is why I have to leave, I will just endanger anyone that would remain close to me. I'm really such a villainess."
"Please don't think of it like that lady Katarina," Anne frowns on her mistress's statement but she already knows from long ago to not push through that direction. "Besides, even if you can't right now, I'm sure that you will learn to control it soon. I will help in any way I can."
"Thank you!" Once again, they broke their embrace "It hasn't been a while yet by I really missed you, Anne. How long will you be visiting?"
"I'm not here just to visit milady." She answered, "I did promise that I will always be with you, remember?"
"Yes, but..." She then blinked for several moments until her mind created an interpretation. Her eyes then widen as an idea popped into her mind. "Anne, d-do you mean...did y-you..."
The maid, of course, was already familiar with how her mistress's mind works, thus she went ahead of her lady before she can even complete the idea "Lady Katarina, I assure you that I am completely alive and well. " She clarified.
"Whew!" Katarina released a deep breath that she did not even know that she took. "I almost thought that you died as well... because of me. Thank goodness!" She then lifted her head and look directly at her face with a worried expression "But Anne! I'm no longer a noble, I am just an apprentice now. There is no way I can pay for your service."
"It is alright, milady!" She reassured her mistress "I am serving you because I love you, and I always will even if you have no longer a noble or have nothing to pay me" She explained. "Besides, it is sir Neriya that personally hired me to work here."
"Neriya-sama did?" Katarina gasped in happiness however, it soon was replaced with dread as Anne explained further.
"Yes, to be specific, sir Neriya told me that he has a student that keeps getting late on his lectures and asked me if to do something about it" Anne replied with a smile that looks more like a smirk.
"EEEEEEEEEEH!" Katarina cried as chills starts to crawl from her body. Anne was always caring and kind to her but she can also be strict and stern when Katarina stepped out of the line for too much. "I swear it is the last time that I'll be late! Neriya-sama said that it's alright!" She tried to reason right away.
"Yes milady, but we have to make sure that it will never happen again." The maid retorted, still keeping the threatening smile on her face. Deep inside her, she was honestly glad that her mistress seems to be alright now. It's been so long since the last time she saw her like this. "Anyway, I think it's about time that we to sir Neriya's office."
"Okay!" She stood up, dusted her clothes for a bit, and went straight to the door.
"Lady Katarina!" Anne alarmed her mistress.
"C'mon Anne! Neriya-sama's office is quite far from here. We better not make him wait longer." And with that, Katarina dashed out of the room.
"But your clothes!..." Yelled Anne as she chase after the teenager.
Needless to say that she already lost track of her mistress just after several turns. She sighed. She considers calling for her but she doesn't want to make a noise and disturb the other residents behind all of these rooms. Since she cannot even remember the way back from where she came from, it was apparent that she was now lost inside a foreign mansion. Well, with nothing else to do, she decided to continue walking around the hallways. Perhaps she'll encounter some other servants that can point her in the right direction.
As she was about the pass by another room, its door suddenly opens, and from there comes the master of the house.
"I assume that lose sight of her?" Sir Neriya called her.
"Yes, I'm sorry for the delay and for the trouble." She bowed.
"That's fine. As for now, may I invite you to my office? I believe that we need to talk about the terms of your employment." He stepped aside and pointed his open hands inside the room, inviting her to come in.
"Uhmm..." She responded while looking further in the hallway where she think Katarina went.
"She'll be fine, she did the same thing on her first day here. I'm sure that she will find her way here or back to her room later. "
"But she may trouble the other residents on this mansion..."
"Oh, right! I'm not sure if I mentioned it already but, we are the only people here. Aside from either of us, she won't have anyone else to trouble with."He chuckled" If you are worried, then let's go collect her first." He then closed the room and starts walking. Anne followed close behind him.
"So... I take that you will accept my offer?" He asked.
"Yes, Thank you so much for saving lady Katarina, as well as for taking me with her."
"I have my own reasons for that, same as I have my own purpose for you being here, but you're welcome."
They walked together in silence for a while until Neriya suddenly went to a halt and turns to her.
"Say, is there a reason why you are two-step behind me?"
"Because I am following you...sir?"
"Yes, but I mean, you can be here at my side, do I smell or something? "
"N-no...It's just, it's improper for a maid to walk beside their master"
"Okay, so it's a maid thing. I see... Well, I find it rude to talk to someone while I have my back turned on them so please... " He then signaled her to come forward beside him "Besides, I'd rather not stick to formality, especially in my own home so let's try to be casual as much as possible."
Anne was astounded. Formality was one of the most lessons ingrained in her during her training as a maid. No matter who is your master is, the maid has to keep her formality, this includes staying several steps behind your master when you are walking together. The maid has to be close so they can immediately support their master and the distance itself indicates one's position of standing. Walking beside someone indicates that both of you are on equal or comparable standing, or at the very least, has a very close relationship.
Despite how informal and chaotic her mistress is, this is something that she keeps doing and she has to keep doing since Katarina is still a daughter of a duke. Since her mistress is far cry from being a formal lady, she has to keep that semblance for both of them.
This is the first time she was asked to be informal and by the very master of the house no less. She has no idea how to respond.
"No go?" Neriya tilted his head. Seeing that the maid was troubled with his request, he decided to make his own approach instead. He stepped in beside the maid and extended her arm around her shoulders.
Anne gasped from this sudden contact. Needless to say that she was shocked about the sudden kinship.
"Since we are going to wander around, might as well show around the mansion." The warlock stated, " C'mon let's go to the lobby first, Kitten should be on the next several turns along the way." He then gently lead the maid for a house tour.
Thankfully, the warlock only held her for a short time and let then let go of her shoulders right away as he felt the discomfort of the maid without her. Still, it appears that Anne understood the message and keeps walking beside him.
Neriya then brought her to the different parts of the room, starting from the living room, kitchen, dining room, etc. All of them are filled with things and instruments that she did not even know existed and for most of them, she admits that she has no idea how to even use or what is for at all. Another thing that she notices that will surely be her problem is that all of the doors, hallways, corridors, and whatnots look the same, to the point that some of them seem to be improper, like arent some of those rooms should have larger doors, especially for all of that equipment that she saw? But no, all of them only have a single door with the very same design as every other door for every other room. The only place that is not which does not follow the very same design in the lobby. Instead, what it has is a very large double door that leads to this endless hallway, or as the warlock calls it, the 'room of doors'
In regards to Katarina, they found her after Neriya show her the living room. Turns out that she got lost as well.
"I swear it was two turns on the left and the first door on the right!" Katarina claimed.
"There there"Neriya patted her head "You'll get it some other time." He then turns towards the nearest door and opens it, revealing an infinite space of white with nothing but a desk and a couple of chairs on it. "Anyway, that covers most of the stuff here in the mansion, miss Shelly and I will be discussing her terms of employment. For now, please wait in your room until we are done, then you can help her design a room to settle in"
"Right!" the young girl then bolted away, only to slowly turn back towards them just after a couple of steps "Uhmmm, c-can you tell me where my room is again?" she asked while scratching the back of her head.
Neriya shrugged and went inside the room
"NERIYA-SAMA!" Katarina yelled in protest.
"You'll be fine, cats don't get lost. I'm sure that your room will be the very first door that you'll open" his voice comes from deep inside the room. "Ms. Shelley, may you please come in?" He then called the confused maid.
"Yes, sir Neriya." She then bowed to her 'mistress to be once more "Lady Katarina, excuse me for a moment"
"It's alright Anne, you're technically not my maid yet until you get the deal sealed with Neriya-sama. As for me, I'm sure that I can find my own way as well." Katarina answered before resuming her track to find her room.
Upon entering the warlock's office, Anne starts to doubt if this was indeed a reality or perhaps she was just having a very lucid dream. The door then vanished like dust being blown away by the wind right after the resounding click when she closed it. This leaves her in the middle of nothingness with just the warlock and several office furniture. Before she was able to ponder for it any longer, she was then called by her soon-to-be employer and asked her to take a seat.
She was then given a quill which is already dipped in a bottle of ink and an elegant piece of paper. As expected, it was the employment contract thus she lifted up and read its contents. It is closely similar to her contract on the Claes estate, still, she refrained from signing the document right away as she notices two things on the contract.
The first is that there is no written value about the exact payment. In fact, the space for where the payment is just a long blank space in it.
The second one is that the warlock has already signed the document. Anne was not an expert when it comes to handling documents like this but the normal custom for this is that the employee is the first one to sign the document, the hierarchy of all the involved will dictate who is going to sign next. The one with the highest position is always the last one to sign.
"Is there something wrong with the document?" The warlock seems to notice her... distress.
"N-nothing sir." She answered reluctantly. She then quickly grab the quill and immediately signed the document before pushing it back to her employer, who just looked at the paper and then back at her.
Both of them just stared at each other for a moment, both are trying to analyze what each other is currently thinking. Both are waiting for each other to speak.
After a while, the maid broke away from the sudden staring contest and looked down to avoid the warlock's gaze and the said warlock just sighed.
"Well, if you don't have any questions, you can go now. Feel free to select any room and just ask Katarina to help you get settled in. Oh, and kindly make sure that she gets on her training on time tomorrow." With a wave of a hand, the door that vanished just a while ago once again faded into existence. She made a quick bow before leaving the room.
Just after she left the office, she immediately stumbled with her mistress who is still looking for her room, thus she accompanied her in doing so. Despite having vague direction based on what Katarina remembers, it did not take them long to find the right room.
However, Anne was very sure that they simply circled around the corridor and this was the warlock's office where she just stepped out just a while ago. Anyway, she decided that it's better not to think of it and to (hopefully) avoid further confusion, she settled in the room in the very front of Katarina's. She did not expect that she has to design the entire room, literally from scratch as what greeted her inside was the same infinite nothingness just like the warlock's office. Thankfully, her mistress assisted her every step of the way, but that is some story for another day.
************************************************************
Her first week on the Silversky manor is something she can only describe as nerve-wracking. First and foremost, most of the objects there, even the basic furniture are different from what she was used to to the point that she can't even believe that such things existed in the first place.
She cannot say that it makes using them difficult though, after all, despite being the sole maid on the whole mansion, she doesn't have to do the other maid duties aside from literally assisting her mistress. Anything else is either being done automatically via magic (such as cleaning) or can be requested through the screen panels (like ordering food). In fact, almost everything in the mansion can be controlled using those panels, all they have to do is touch some images on those panels, and until recently, they discovered that they can actually talk vocally with the panel. It seems like the mansion itself is alive and serving them.
Thankfully, her mistress was more than happy to teach her how to use and interact with those odd objects thus it did not take her long in getting the hang of using them.
There was no problem with her accommodation too, After everything that she and her mistress did to it, her room is very far cry from a servant room and more of a noble's room (to the point that it was actually more grandiose compared to her lady's).
What makes her stay unbearable is the lord of the mansion itself.
Well, it is not like she was being mistreated or harmed in any way, he's not being harsh either. They rarely interact with each other and if they do, it's limited to greetings and on-point discussion.
The problem is that the warlock is always watching her. He is always observing to the point that it can already be considered stalking. Whenever they are around each other, even during Katarina's training sessions, she can literally feel his eyes looking at her from head to toe. He often tries hiding it but she was sure that she catches him eyeing her. It is very uncomfortable and creeps the hell out of her. Still, if that is what it means that she can stay with her mistress, then she will do her best to endure it. She can only hope that it doesn't go worse than that.
Well, it looks like her luck did not last that long.
One evening, during a casual conversation with Katarina, they happen to wonder about what does the warlock gain from helping them. From there, her lady mentioned that she owed the warlock two favors. When she asks what those favors are, her lady admits that she doesn't know the specifics, all she knows is that 'He will call on those favors someday when she grows a little bit more.
After hearing those words, she was frightened. Her lady has a knack for seducing people left and right albeit unknowingly. On which point does lady Katarina happen to attract an all-powerful warlock, perhaps will never know. But what she knows now is that she has to save her mistress.
She excused herself early that night.
After taking a long bath, which she also used to psych herself for the upcoming ordeal, she stood up in front of the mirror and inspected her body. Being a maid, especially for Katarina, is no easy task and involves a lot of work. Thankfully, it pays off in more ways than just being close to her lady but also in keeping her figure in proper shape as well. Her assets may not be as bodacious, she was confident that all of the fats on her body are in their proper places, so there's definitely no problem when it comes to her figure.
However, the same cannot be said when it comes to her skin. Blots of scars cover most of her left side from her legs up to her arms and shoulders. There are also some of them on her back and her upper chest. Because of these blemishes, she always has to wear her full maid regalia, with long sleeves and all no matter which season or weather.
With all of the needed cosmetics in preparation, she placed her hand to her chest and slowly traced the greyish skin, covering them with a cream to hide their actual color. It took her a while before she got them a satisfying shade. Afterward, she had donned her sleeping wear and made some final touches with her hair and makeup.
Never she thought that she would have to do something like this, she has heard stories of this from her previous co-workers before or even in some books, but she doesn't have an actual plan on how to proceed.
All she knows is that tonight, she must gain the warlock's favor and save her mistress. The warlock seems to be interested in her, it may be just a hunch but if there is a slight chance that she is correct, then perhaps she can offer herself for the favor owed by lady Katarina.
She tapped both of her cheeks twice and took a deep breath and then went out of her room.
She must do this now before her doubts weaken her resolve.
"... I believe there's a misunderstanding..." The warlock commented.
"... huh?" She lifted her head and looked at him in the eyes for the first time since she entered his room.
"Regarding my contract with Katarina, the thing is ..." He then explained the whole ordeal to the confused maid on his lap.
It turns out that there is an actual legitimate and noble reason why Neriya contracted her mistress. With all of the details revealed, Anne starts to feel the shame of her actions. Thrice she has suspected that that Neriya is planning something malicious to them, while she can't be sure on the first one and the second one is something she can ignore, she definitely made an undeniable mistake on the third one. She may have not said it vocally but the stunt she made is a definite accusation against the warlock's dignity. She won't be surprised if she ends up getting fired or even ends up in the dungeons.
"... W-well, since y-you're not moving from there..." Neriya once again called her and placed his hand to hold her chin as he closed his masked face to hers " Shall we continue? I prefer that we move to something more comfortable than an office chair, but hey! I'm not complaining about doing it here if you will..."
With that being said, Anne was interrupted from her trance and realized her current state, caused by the stunt that she tried to pull in. She is currently straddling on Neriya's lap with her body pushed to his own, pinning him down on the chair while the buttons of her clothes are mostly undone, revealing her upper body with only her underwear to cover her modesty. In an instant, her face which was pale due to anxiety just a while ago is now red as her lady's favorite pizza.
Along with a loud shriek, the now embarrassed maid reflexively slapped the warlock, jumped off of him, and ran out from the room.
"... I'm very sorry about my actions last night..." Anne bowed deeply.
After spending the whole night agonizing in embarrassment and shame and because she did not get swallowed by the ground no matter how much she wished for it, Anne decided to go back to the warlock's office early in the morning and properly apologize to her employer.
"I will un-" She was then interrupted by the sound of laughter coming from the warlock. At this point, she was very much expecting to be mocked and berated, what confuses her however is that the warlock's laughter is nothing like that. It is very much different from how she had heard him laugh before. Unlike his usual condescending chuckles back on the Ministry, his laughter right now sounds more legitimate and genuine. After a few more giggles, she then heard him speak.
"I'm very sorry. I don't mean to mock you or anything, it's just, after last night, I'm glad that you are back to your usual self, but I just find the difference between you last night and the formal you right now very amusing." He then coughs a couple of times. "Also, I'm going to stop you before you say anything close to 'I will accept any punishment yada-yada' so please raise your head. "
The maid, however, did not budge from her position. "I insist sir Naranoha." She persisted " What I did is not just insult your dignity but also your kindness to us. After all tha-"
"There goes the yada-yada thing. " He sighed "Fine, we'll discuss the consequences of your action, in fact, I believe that we have a lot to discuss. " With a snap of his fingers, the setup of the room was changed from being an office into a living room. Gone is the large desk that was between them and it was replaced by a normal table. There were also single couches conjured behind them. "I'll inform Katarina that we won't be having class this morning. I insist that you take a seat. Do you want tea or something? Perhaps a breakfast set?"
"I-Am good. Thank you..." She answered as she took the seat on the couch behind her while still keeping her head bowed.
"Well, if you don't want anything, then we can start already, lets see..." A piece of paper then materialized on his hand and he put it down on the table. Her hearth hitched as she recognized the contents of the paper "... We can talk about your contract first. I definitely saw you react badly on the contract but you still signed, you did not answer me back then but I'll ask you again. Are there any problems with it? "
"N-no sir, I didn't mea-" She answered, but he's not buying response.
"Did you perhaps think that I am going to cheat you of your payment?" Neriya interrupted "And then you thought that I will withdraw the offer when I if you voiced out your concern. Since you don't want to be parted with Katarina, you just ignored the fact that you are being taken advantage of and hope for the best."
The maid remained silent. The warlock leaned forward.
"Is that the case?"
"Yes," She admitted weakly. Neriya's explanation was on the spot.
She was then scolded, well, that is something that she already knows coming but what she did not expect is the reason why she is being scolded. Not because she offended her boss but because she did not voice her concern and just signed the contract mindlessly.
"... just because someone is offering something you really want, you'll just agree for whatever they wanted in return..." He ranted "... Katarina acted similarly as well, are you sure you're not actually sisters? Perhaps ..." He continued and Anne can only stare at him dumbfounded at her employer "... You are both ladies for God's sake, have some decorum on caution, you'll easily be taken advantage of if you keep acting like this." He then leaned back on his chair "The other thing I want to point out is a bit more personal. You've been obviously avoiding me ever since your first day here. I've been in solitary for the last century but I still felt bad when my guest avoids me in my very home" He explained downhearted tone. "Lastly, well, you're stunt last night. I believe I don't have to say more."
The maid which is once again turned red out of embarrassment thus she lowered her head once more.
"To sum it all, the main issue here is that you refrain from speaking with me. We could have avoided all of it if you just stepped up and said something. Look, I see that formality is deeply ingrained in your personality and I'm not making you abandon your beliefs. I would not claim that I know how it is to live in servitude from where you came from and perhaps the way you act is important there, but please consider this as a favor. " He then stood up from his chair and looked the maid directly into the eyes.
And then he bowed
"Sir Naranoha ..." She gasped, eyes widening out of surprise by the warlock's sudden action.
"Could you treat me more casual? or at the very least, don't be afraid to speak your mind." He pleaded.
"Sir Narahoha, you don't have to do that!"
"I insist" she was now panicking as the lord of the mansion keep his head bowed to her.
"But sir, it will be very inappropriate, I may end up speaking out of turn and it will be disrespectful... "
"Then I will not move here until you agree"
"Sir Naranoha, please raise your head, you should not be bowing your head on mere maid..."
While still bowing, he slightly lifted his head and looked at the maid again. "... You did it! see? It ain't that hard."
Anne then quickly covers her mouth as she realized what she had just done. she just lectured her very employer on how to act properly. She then heard the warlock chuckling again and he was now sitting on the table in front of her. "Ms. Shelly, as you may notice, you, me, and Katarina, there are just three of us here. You don't have to walk in eggshells around us. You don't worry about offending me, I did not live for soooooooo long having a fragile ego, and Katarina, that girl looks up to you as an older sister, I'm sure that she'll like to talk with you more freely, but that is something you best discuss with her. "
She was about to make another retort to her employer's statement but she was immediately interrupted by the said employer who just flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!" she then raised her hand to cover her forehead.
"Lastly, keep in mind that it was I that brought you here, it just happened that you really like to be here as well. I should be the one worrying that you'll suddenly want to quit, so relax!" He reassured her.
She peeked from her hand and stare at the warlock. His masked face makes it impossible if not difficult to dicern his expression but his tilted head and mellow glow of his eyes may look very lackluster to her but also felt sincere at the same time. After a moment of staring at one another, Anne finally decided to take a risk and give in to her master's demand. She took a deep breath then answered.
"If you insist then, I'll try to be less...formal with you, master Naranoha." She then replied to him in a flat tone.
"You will? Cool!" He then stood up and went back to his seat across the table. "Alright then! let's start by not by calling me 'Master Naranoha', or wait, I feel like it's only I that keeps talking and demanding a lot from you. Since I said that this is a favor, let me hear what you want in return. I'm sure that you have something to say as well so let's hear it."
The maid then sits up straight and looks at her boss, she feels that the thing she wants to say is quite... rude. He may have insisted that she freely speaks her mind but she was still not sure how far his leniency is and thus she is doing her best now on mincing her words. After taking another deep breath, she proceeds on declaring her demands.
"In this case... I implore that you stop staring." She immediately bowed her head after saying those. What she did can be seen as another malicious accusation and when she thought of that, it is clearly not a good rock to test the waters.
It was then followed by a moment of silence.
"Ehhhhh?!" She then hears the warlock flinch from her request.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to..." She immediately tried to apologize.
"No, it's alright it's just..." The warlock scratches the back of his head "May I suggest that you ask for infinite riches or powerful magic instead?"
"Huh?" She was once again dumbfounded by his response, but she noticed that he is not denying her accusation "So you really are staring?"
"Well... yes... it's just... I'm just making sure that you're alright. Y-yes, that's right. Because you're the only human here and I want to make sure that you are doing fine." He then looked away from her and she looked at him unamused. " All right admit, you see, despite the... blunders of what you did last night..." her cheeks got tinted again as she reminded of the events last night "... you are actually correct at something. " He then leaned forward on the table and rested his head on the top of hand while looking directly at the maid. "I like you miss Anne Shelly".
Upon hearing his confession, Anne's eyes widened in shock and she suddenly forgot how to breathe. While she doubted the warlock's word, it was still the first time that someone confessed to her and it came out of nowhere!
"Y-you jest, master Naranoha" She responded.
"Oh no, I don't!" He then leaned forward on the table, smacking it with both of his hands. " I'm always fond of maids, with those black dresses and frilly white aprons, you girls are so elegant!" After that, he stood up, clasped both of his hands together on the side of his cheek, and literally wiggle left and right. "I've never got a chance to hire a maid before, but now there's one in my very home... " he fell back on his chair and leaned on the armrest "... and a gorgeous one at that! I already did a double check but say, are you sure you're not an angel or something? "
Her mind goes haywire as more blood gets pumped on her cheeks. How did this meeting turn from scolding to flirting all of a sudden?
"How about this?" He took off his hat and placed it on the table. In the brief moment that he was blocked by his hat, his outfit was changed from his usual long coat panoplies to a normal red tie and shirt. He loses his mask as well revealing medium-length gray/silver hair and a sharp but handsome face with thin lips and square eyeglasses. Despite all of that, Anne feels like the eyes behind those glasses are very odd. Unlike the usual eyes, his are lacking different layers as it was only a plain disc with colors matching his hair and what's more, is that his eyes are literally glowing.
Still, seeing his face makes the maid catch her breath. Being around her mistress gives her some sort of resistance when it comes to beautiful persons given that quite numerous of them revolve around her lady, but she would be lying to herself if she claims that her defense was formidable for this attack. She took a deep breath to calm herself up.
"Since you showed me quite a lot last night, it'll be just fair if I showed you something as well, none has seen my face for several millennia now." He then smiled at her.
"No, it's not!" She replied as she turned her flustered face away. Her emotions are definitely in turmoil now, his repeated mentions of her embarrassing blunder last night is starting to annoy her but his smile just now definitely went through her bastion.
"Oh?" He then stood up, loosen his tie and undo some buttons of his shirt "How about I strip my clothes as well?" He then said seductively.
"Sir Nara..." She was about to complain but she was immediately cut off by a slamming sound on the left side of her head which made her slightly jump from her seat. As she looked to check it, she found an arm, the arm of his employer which is now closely in front of him. She tried to look down to avoid his gaze but now she can fully see his body and it just hits her differently. His body looks lean due to his height but now that she is seeing it closer without any hindrance, there was an actual wideness to it, it was muscular and firm but bulky with several scars here and there. She wants to touch it. It was within her very reach and she was very curious about how it would feel on her touch.
Thankfully, she was able to snap out of her daze just in time as she was about to raise her hands to touch it. She withdrew her hand immediately and grasped the armrest of her chair hard to regain focus.
However, the warlock's offensive did not end there. She then felt him hold her chin and lifted her head with his face now less than 3 inches away from hers. She was not ignorant to not know what will happen next but the rapid beating of her heart prevented her mind from thinking what to do, and also that there was a part of her that was not against the idea of what's gonna happen next. Now, with his inching closer to her, she ran out of time to think and just decided to give in to her desires as she closed her eyes and waited for the sweet inevitable event.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Then seconds later and nothing happened.
When she opened her eyes, she found the warlock once again sitting on his chair on the opposite side of the table. He was now wearing a tight black turtleneck shirt and a high collared white lab coat. He was now staring at her with a wide smirk on his face. "Now we're even." He said to her.
Seeing that face makes her very frustrated. No, she was already frustrated since last night but his expression right now is definitely the straw that breaks the camel's back which is her patience. She was already having turmoil ever since she came to this room with his emotion from scared, to shame, to confusion, to embarrassment, and now frustration. There were those... feelings that she also felt just a while ago but she will not go with that and decided to focus on the wrath that is surely taking control of her mind now.
The warlock said that she wants her to speak of him without restraints. She was hesitant just a while ago but she'll definitely be going to have a word with him now. She looked back at the warlock across the table, directly on the eyes, and speak without trying to hide her anger "I hate you!" The maid muttered at her master.
What she did not know is that, instead of being scary, her face right now is actually looked like a flustered cute tomato with a teary eyes glaring at him. In reaction to this, he clasped his forehead and then tilted his head in a dramatic pose. "Even with that frustrated look, you are still so gorgeous!"
"I really, REALLY hate you, sir Naranoha" The maid just repeated. He then answered her with a laugh. Just like the one before, it was genuine laughter, not the one that sounds condescending or filled with mockery. For a moment, she was just watching her laugh with the same frustration still expressed on her face, and before she knows it, she was now giggling as well.
They were both laughing for a while until the warlock stopped and smiled at the maid again. This time, a rectangular box appeared in his hand and he put it on the table and pushed it towards the maid. "That box contains eyeglasses. When you signed the contract, I noticed that you had a hard time reading it so I deduce that you may have a slight issue with your eyesight, that should help you with it." After that, he put his right hand on his chest and slightly bows " Miss Shelley, as you may notice, you are the sole maid on this mansion, while the contract states that you to be Katarina's chambermaid, you are also technically the head maid as well. It may become rough but we will be in your care."
"Thank you for having me, sir Naranoha. I'll be in your care as well" She then replied to him while bowing as well and they both raised their heads afterward.
"Oh, and before you leave, you may want to have this" His hands glow on a silver light and from it comes what looks like a golden jewel encased with a silver metal that is shaped like an open wing. There was a tint of silver on the middle of the jewel which makes looks the golden eye with a silver iris and eyelashes.
Seeing the jewelry offered to her, she was in awe of its beauty but of course, she can't just accept such an elite item " Na-Naranoha, sir, you don't have to..."
"Before you reject it, you must know that this is not just simple jewelry, but a magic item that I made, and its quite powerful if I say myself" He declared proudly.
"That only makes me refuse it more." She replied
"That's mean!" He retorted " From where I came from, people would kill just to have an item I made!"
"Then why not give it to those people who wanted it so much"
"I'm going to regret making you talk to me like that am I?"
The maid just answered him with a smirk.
"Anyway, I'm sure that you have enough of the confusing hallways, with this, you'll only need to think of where you want to go and the next door you'll touch will open to that place. "
"I-I see," she accepted the brooch and inspect it on her hand.
"I believe it will look good on your ribbon tie." He pointed his neck "You may consider it as part of your uniform."
"If you insist" she replied and she attached the pin in the center of her ribbon necktie.
"Would you mind wearing these headbands as well?" He then showed her a headband with white cat ears on it.
"No" she refused instantly. The brooch looks nice for her taste so she agreed to take it but she definitely feel something very odd about the cat ear headband.
"C'mon, I'm sure Katarina will be ecstatic" He tried to reason with her but he only earned a glare from the maid. "Worth a try. Well, if you have any questions, feel free to come directly to me. For now, it would be best for you to return to your mistress"
With that being said, she gave her employer one last bow before leaving the room, and just like what's been told to her about her new accessory, the door opens directly in Katarina's room.
"Neat" she commented while giving the pin gentle touch before going further inside her mistress's room.
Since that fateful morning, the tension that Anne feels about working in this mansion was greatly lightened. Just reduced, not perfectly gone as she still caught her boss staring at her from time to time. Well, it is not like she wasn't getting used to it. Since she no longer gets tense when looking back at him, she discovered that the warlock is weak on the very game that he was playing with her.
At one time, she was sitting on a bench beside the garden (or more like a farm) with Katarina. She was reading some instructions manual on how to use the different objects in the mansion while also listening to her mistress tale on how her training day went while also tending to her garden (farm). All of a sudden, she felt a bit of goosebump thus making her look behind and from there she found Neriya walking towards them. As usual, he was looking directly at her. She cant remember what came up to her that time as she decided to look directly at him as well. Then lo and behold, with the help of her eyeglasses, she spotted some tint of redness on his face just before he dramatically take a step back, bent his body backward, a hand covering his eyes and blood trailing from his nose.
She rushed towards her teacher to check on him but he immediately teleported away before she got to ask anything.
As for how she can see his face? Neriya also no longer wears his mask, or at least when they are alone. Her lady spaced out for quite a while when she saw his face and was unable to keep her focus when he was talking to her. Because of that, whenever Katarina is present, he got to wear at least half of his mask which covers the lower half of his face. Anne feels sorry for inconveniencing the warlock for this as he has to wear a mask in his own home but it's not like she can blame her mistress. She herself finds it hard to focus whenever his face crosses her line of sight.
"I can heal them if you want..."
Once every couple of days, the warlock would invite her in the evenings for a couple of drinks. He claims that it was to 'keep in touch with the residents of his mansion, and lady Katarina would join them from time to time. They tend to come on the porch of the mansion which has an overview with lady Katarina's garden/farm and since because they are so high up in the sky, a sea of clouds could be found beyond walls, and above it comes the endless glittering stars and gentle light of the moon. She would always find it wonderful no matter how many times she see it.
During these meetings, they will normally talk about how lady Katarina does during her training or during not in training from each other's perspective. She doesn't know what the master of the house does for a living but she will only find him present when he's either training his apprentice or when he is stalking her. As for her, she would only be able to be with her mistress whenever they are not in training. She could stay and watch if she wanted to, and she did that for a while but aside from worrying for her lady due to the intensity of her training, (Which both master Neriya and lady Katarina insisted that it's alright since the latter was practically not a human anymore) there's literally nothing for her to do there, thus she to familiarize herself with the foreign objects on the mansion.
Anyway, right now, she was currently pouring a tea for master Neriya casually offered to heal her scars. Out of habit, she immediately withdrew her arms to herself and slightly tug her sleeves. "My apologies if my skin brings you discomfort, I'll make sure to properly cover them next time."
"It's not like that!" He immediately corrected the maid "I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, it's just a morbid curiosity. Please pardon me if it's a sensitive subject." he apologized to the maid.
"I-its alright..." she then retreated back to her seat "Can you really heal them?" she asked before taking a sip from her cup.
"Milady, for someone who can drag the dead back to the living, healing old scars are not even an inconvenience." A bright green orb then appeared on his palm as he extend his hand towards the maid.
She received the orb with her left hand stared at it for a few moments, then took another sip on her team, and looked at him "Back when I was a little, I have wished nothing but to have these scars healed." she puts the cup down and set it aside from the table. Afterward, she laid the hand that is holding the orb on the table and pulled the sleeve up, revealing the large scar that continues further on the rest of her arm "I was eight when our house got burned, the fire got me trapped on my room so my mother braced through the fire to rescue me. She managed to bring me out of the house but she did not make it and died out of suffocation. As for me, most of my body is badly burned and I cannot even move from my bed. I haven't been able to attend her funeral. For two weeks, I've been left isolated in my quarters as none of my half-siblings bothered to visit me. As for my father, he only came three weeks later but only to express his disappointment about my state. Now that I remember it, the only time he intentionally went to see me is that time and when he came to marry me in some other noble for a political connection. " She then let a pitiful chuckle. "Anyway, back then, I would have traded anything to have these scars healed, I thought that with that, perhaps, I would regain my father's recognition, not that he ever recognized me as anything aside from being a wasted pawn. " She made a short pause before extending her hand to her master, returning the magical orb that could clean the blemishes on her skin " But now, I see these scars as a reminder of my mother's love, that she sacrificed her life for me." and with that, she smiled, a solemn one but genuine still.
Neriya leaned forward on the table with both of his hands under his chin. He did not bother to get the orb from the maiden's hand as it simply turns into a green faint ember and vanishes into nothingness. "I... did not expect such a heart quenching answer. Honestly, though you'll just give me a flat yes or no, I feel honored about hearing your tale."
"You're welcome, I guess... besides it's not like you don't know it yet."
"Of course, I just knew it now because you told me."
The maid just raises her eyebrow. "Are you serious? From what lady Katarina has always told me, I thought you were supposed to be an all-knowing being or something."
"I have ways of knowing things, but just because I can peak on a maiden's past, doesn't mean I will. I personally prefer listening to stories like this rather than directly checking on them." He paused for a moment to stare at the maid's eye and then presented her with something else. " Anyway, if you are not interested in healing your scars, how about we do something so you never get them in the first place?"
Anne gives Neriya a confused look. She did not understand what he meant by never getting them in the first place. However, before she can even ask for clarification, a door suddenly materialized not for from their side and burst open and a brown-haired lady with a familiar face rushed through the door. She was wearing a brown shirt and a yellow long skirt, damaged and dirtied by fire. A large part of the skirt was torn off as she was using it to cover her face in order not to inhale the toxic fumes of smoke. Behind the door from where she came from, fiery flames are all over the place and the crackling sound of it is repeating non-stop along with the continuous trail of smoke. As soon as the lady was through the doorway, the door shut on its own and vanished.
The lady removed the cloth from her face and looked around. Her eyes instantly widen in shock as she cannot recognize the place. She immediately turns around to go back, only to find that the door behind her is now gone and replaced with a garden. She then turns towards the other two persons she sees with her.
"Where am I?" She asked in a frantic voice " W-what is this place?"
"Welcome, madam Shelly," Neriya answered " Please don't be alarmed, we mean no troubles or harm. My name is Neriya, I am a mage and you are currently in my mansion. My apologies for suddenly bringing you here all of a sudden."
"Milord," the newcomer prostrated herself in front of him, clutching the hem of his coat. "I do not know why you have brought me here, but I begged you. Please bring me back. My house is burning and my daughter is trapped inside her room. I have to save her! " She desperately pleaded " Whatever you need of me, I promise to give it some other time but now. Please let me save my daughter."
"Yes, about that..." He answered while directing his hand towards the maid on the side. She just stood there, frozen and trying to understand what is happening. When the door burst open, her reaction is to rush towards the lady who came from it and try to help her in any way. However, when the lady removed the cover on her face, Anne recognized the lady and she was frozen in shock. The lady was wearing the face of her mother, the exact image of the very last memory of her.
But how? Her mother died 15 years ago. She glared at the warlock and who If this was this one of his ways to on whatever, she swears that he definitely cross the line. However, the said man is currently speaking with 'her mother', trying to calm her down as the new lady begs to have her brought back so she can save her daughter that is trapped in the fire. He then looked at her, and the lady followed the suit. At that moment, time seems to stop as her's and lady's eyes met each other.
At first, the lady's eye narrowed as she try to recognize the person in front of her. She looks closely similar to hers, with a sharper face and shorter hair. Then she remembered someone who has the same features.
Her own daughter.
Her eyes slowly widen as she starts to recognize the maid in front of her.
"A-Anne?" She called her.
"Mom?" The maid replied, with hesitation. it was so long since the last time she ever said those words.
Upon hearing her daughter's voice, the lady ran towards the maid and embraced her tightly, pressing the maid's head to her chest. "Anne!, are you alright? The fire, are you hurt somewhere?" She asked as she frantically inspect Anne's body for any injury.
"I'm okay, mo-"
"How did you grow up suddenly? Why are you wearing a maid uniform? Also, why are we in a stranger's Mansion? is this that mage's doing? Did he do anything -"
"Mother! Please calm down!" She yelled as she grasped both of her mother's shoulders.
"Calm down? I just charge into a burning building to save my daughter only to find you in an unknown place, suddenly grown up and playing a maid. I don't understand what's happening and you expect me to calm down? " She yelled back at her daughter.
"I'm not playing maid, I'm a real maid!"
"How come you became a maid? You cant even clean your own bed!"
"Mom! it was 15 years ago!" She leaned her head back to her mother's chest and embrace her again. This time, she can't stop the tears from flowing. "I can take care of myself now."
"What do you mean by 15 years? It is just this morning" The older Shelley asked.
"That is something I can explain." The warlock interrupted "Please take a seat, this will surely take a while."
Just like her daughter, Francesca Shelly is having a hard time understanding her current situation. Her daughter explains that she was currently in 15 years on future which she was already dead, She died from the actual fire incident from where she was just a while ago after successfully saving her daughter. Her daughter, however, was disowned by her father (she can't stomach to call him husband after hearing what he did) because of her scars. Thus she has to become a maid in the house Claes to support herself. Despite this, what surprises her more is that her daughter, despite that she lived a hard life, told her tale of how her life went on, not with agony or sadness but glimmering smile and satisfaction. This was most obvious especially on the part when she was telling about her young mistress, how her mistress was very special, and that she was very thankful that she was serving her. She looks very dedicated to her work as a maid.
They then reached the point on how she was brought on she was brought in here in the first place. She learned that the man with them is not just a regular mage but a very powerful one. Lady Katarina is currently studying under his tutelage thus is why Anne is here instead of on the house Claes. Sir Neriya claims he owes her daughter a favor and offered to heal her scars but her daughter refused because saying that she grew fond of those scars as they are reminders of her mother's love for her. Francesca can't help but cry and hug her daughter again upon hearing this.
Since Anne refused to have her scars healed, Sir Neriya instead offered to 'prevent her from having those scars in the first place' which he explains would go back in time to personally save her daughter and herself.
She sees that her daughter was very enthusiastic about the idea, as for herself, not so much. She did not what her daughter did in other to convince this great mage to do this but she was sure that it is not something trivial. She is not knowledgeable when it comes to magic but it doesn't take to be a mage to understand that the magic sir Neriya did to simply bring her here is a simple feat. The whole thing seems too good to be true but it doesn't sit well with her.
"Sir Neriya, if I may" she called the attention of the great mage. "Before we proceed on this, I would like to have a word with my daughter first."
"Umu, sure" he then looked towards her daughter "Miss Anne, let me know once you are done." He then turns around stepping a few steps away before fading into nothingness.
Once again her eyes widen in shock, is she talking with a ghost this whole time? Perhaps she did die already and this is just one messed up afterlife. She then felt a hand touch her should and she saw her daughter shaking her head.
"I would suggest ignoring what Master Neriya just did, Mom."
"But he just...gone, are you sure he is not a ghost?"
"All I'm sure is that he is not a human at all. It would be best to just not think about it."
"I see...well now that we are alone. Anne, there is something I want to ask you. If what you said is true, that would mean that you have been a maid for more than 10 years by now." She sat on one of the chairs and signaled her to do the same.
"That is correct, mom" Anne confirmed, she followed her mother's suit and take a sit on the chair in front of her.
"I'm very sorry that you have to experience such hardship" tears started to well up from her eyes again. She wanted to lower her head but she mustered all of her strength to keep looking at her daughter's eyes. "And that I am not there with you during those times. Even so, I want you to be honest with me." She took a deep breath "Tell me, do you regret having to live this life? "
As she has asked that question, Anne gave her a confident smile "It was difficult, mom, I have to wake up early and sleep very late, I have to stand up most of the time and be attentive to my lady's needs. I admit that I hated this at first, I cursed the day and that I got these scars, that I lost my father's favor and my pride as a noble that I hated each day of my life. But one day, it all changed. Lady Katarina loves and appreciates me, she made me remember how it feels to be family again." She starts wiping the tears that are also flowing from the side of her eyes "7 years ago, father came to the Claes manor to get me married to an unknown nobleman. When milady heard that I had to leave, she cried and begged for me to stay. She gave me a letter that tells me how important I am to her. That day, I swore that I would always be at her side. For the first time in my life, I talk to father and told him that I refuse to come with him. As expected, he got so angry and berated me for declining the only way for me to become a noble again, still, with lady Katarina on my side, I held into my decision, and that decision turns out to be the best one I ever made. I worked so hard just to be where I am now. It may be funny to hear that from a maid but I have no regrets. " She then held her mother's hand "So please don't be sorry mom, in fact, I am very grateful that you saved me back then. If not for you, I can't even imagine how my life would have become."
Francesca pulled her daughter into another tight embrace. "Thank you, Anne" She then kissed her forehead. No longer bothering to stop the tears from flowing. "I'm so happy right now, knowing that my daughter grows up to be a strong woman who can make her own decision and strongly stands with it. I promise that I won't be having regrets as well." She then let go of her daughter and they both went back to their seat. "Anne, I want to tell you a story..." She said while fiddling with her thumbs and bowed her head "Long ago, there was a young lady who was working as a hostess in a well-known inn in the countryside. Despite being a commoner, she was famous among her peers and adored by the people of her town, well even those travelers who happens to stay in the inn were awed by her charms. Needless to say that she does not have a short supply of suitors. However, she refused each and every one of them, all because of a single silly reason.
It's because none of them are nobles.
Day by day, she was being wooed by ranchers, adventurers, even merchants but she flatly declined each and every one of them.
She wanted to become a noble.
She believes that she does not deserve to be a commoner, that she is supposed to live in a big mansion. She... wants to be the one being served instead of the one serving. It was a foolish dream, but since nobody knows of it so nobody ever corrected her. It also doesn't help that she was always being looked up to by everyone." She snickered.
Anne just continued listening to her mother's story.
"Then one day, her prayers were answered. A man, a noble from the capital happens to come into their town for some business and stayed on the inn she was working in. As usual, he was easily snared by her charms and since he was a noble, the lady wholeheartedly entertained the noble. Not just that, she does her very best to assist the noble on anything, always being on his side to make sure that she will capture the heart of the noble.
Unfortunately, she succeeds on the last night before the noble leaves, she was invited to the noble's room, which she happily accepted. She has donned her best garments, wore the most expensive perfume and makeup she can afford, and went to his quarters.
That night went on as she planned, and the foolish girl cannot be more than happy with what she did.
A couple of months later, it was confirmed that she was carrying a child and it is not so secret among the town who is the child's father is. In order to save their face and name, the noble married the lady and brought her with him to live in the capital. The noble girl was joyful, she is finally reaching her dream, living an easy and joyful life among the elites where she belonged.
Or so she thought.
The moment she stepped into the mansion, she was greeted by rebuke and admonition from his family instead of a warm welcome that she was expecting. She looked to her husband for help but she got nothing from him, instead, she was brought to one of the rooms in the most hidden spot on the mansion and locked inside, and that's it. Twice a day, a maid will come to give her some necessities but even the maids treat her with disgust.
At that moment, the girl finally realized her foolishness.
For months, she was locked there in that room, along with the very thoughts that haunt her every minute of her life. The only time that someone talked to her is when some of her husband's other mistresses came to chastise her. She learned that her husband already has several children, it just happened that only she was known publicly thus why she was married.
Every day passes the same way as the other. Same wall, same window, same curtains, same bed, and the same locked room. She was now a prisoner, brought by her own delusions and stupidity. She misses the old days, despite not that long ago but it feels like ages. She misses the adoration of people, who talk to her in high regard, she even misses her work on that inn.
She misses her freedom.
If there were something that she learned from this, it was the very definition of regret. It was repeated to her day by day, every moment of her stay in this forsaken room. She was trapped there for so long that she almost went insane, there were multiple times when she almost gave up, that she almost took her own life.
Thankfully, she did not succeed in that regard.
After a few more months of agony, she finally gave birth to a girl. She first thought that the child will just be another reminder of her mistake, but no...
She was wrong with that as well, and for once she was thankful for it.
The cries of the infant girl wake something inside her. For the first time in a long while, the sound of regrets ceases from her mind, all of them were taken over by her daughter's cries. The baby was then brought to her. She looks like a very young reflection of herself. She accepted the girl to embrace her, and for the first time in a very long while, she felt warm.
The girl that she thought to be a cursed child become the shining light that ended the dark tunnel. Once again, she finally found something to dedicate her life to. She was still trapped in the room but instead of drowning herself in remorse, she spent every moment of it watching over her precious daughter.
Her life may already be forfeit but she promises that she'll never let the same happen to her daughter.
Years pass without her noticing, somehow, her husband decided to finally set them free from that room. They were brought into one house in the middle of nowhere, it's probably still somewhere inside their husband's land but she cannot care less. Before she starts working on the inn, she grew up in a similar environment so she knows how to tidy the place up. On her own, she created an environment where her daughter can play free and safely.
She also takes care of her education. Reading, writing, and arithmetic. She knows that she is not the sharpest tool in the shed but if she wants her daughter to avoid the same mistake as she did, she must be at least sharp enough to not trip with the same vines that brought them to this state. Thankfully, her daughter grew fond of books and spent most of her time reading in her room. It was difficult to get a hand of those books but it's nothing as long as it's for the benefit of her precious child..." Francesca stopped and looked at her daughter. From the look of her face, she sure that Anne already figured out who is the lady in the story.
"Then one evening, while she was foraging in the nearby woods for dinner, she saw a trail of smoke coming from the direction. She rushed back home only to find that it was fully engulfed by flames... I cannot find you outside so I figured that you are still inside, there was a burning pillar that blocks the door on your room. It took me a while to destroy the pillar and when opened the door, I was here..."
Needless to say, Anne was very melancholic. There were times when curiosity about her mother's past crosses her mind but she never got far when she tried to look for it. Not just because she lacks time and resources to search, she also does not get an answer from anyone she asked for.
"I cannot tell you this before, as you were still so young. But here, I thought that it would be best if you hear this directly from me... I'm really sorry that we have to, that you have to leave that kind of life. It was all my fault. "
"Mom, it will be alright," Anne comforted her mother, " Master Neriya said that he will save both of us. He is a very powerful magician, he can even bring the dead back to life. I'm sure that there won't be a problem anymore. "
"Anne, you know that what you're saying is absurd it can..."
"But it's true! He even brought you here... "
"It is not that I don't believe you. There is something that I want to as from you, and it's not about whether your master can do it or not. It is about letting him do it."
"Mom... W-what do you mean?"
"Anne, your master said that the reason why he is did this because he owes you a favor, right?"
"Yes, but I believe that this was just one of his whims. To be honest, I don't recall anything that makes him owe me a favor."
"Nevertheless, please don't claim the favor without thinking it through. Take it from me, don't be careless about making life decisions. "
"I want to save my own mother and he offered it on his own. What is even there to think about!" Anne's voice is starting to rise.
"And as your mother, I'm afraid that I can't accept it." She shook her head then suddenly grab her daughter in a tight embrace. "You have said it yourself, you worked hard just to be where you are now, you have become a wonderful maid who somehow owes a favor from a great magician. There is no way I can let you use the pride of your hardship on me. I-I just can't accept it. It's not right. "
"What are you saying mom, why don't you want to be saved?! Don't you want us to be together?"
"Anne please, think about it. I know it sounds promising but thinks about it. I realized it just now. If what is supposed to happen doesn't happen, if we both survived, if you did not get burned. Then there's no way that you'll be disowned and become what you are now. "
Upon hearing it, Anne opened her mouth to retort but she somehow couldn't. She realized what her mother means and she realized that she will not become a maid.
That she will not be with Lady Katarina.
She was now getting turned between two choices. Her life beside lady Katarina now, or her childhood with her mother.
Seeing her child's dilemma, Francesca answered the question for her daughter.
"I beg you, Anne, listen to me. Ever since I had you, you have saved me from insanity because I learned that I have to move forward. I have a daughter that relies on me and I cannot stomach it, I do not want to imagine what would have happened if I have left you on my own. But even so, I did it as I left you after the fire. You must know that I will sacrifice all of me to correct that but is no longer about me. It is now about you. About your life. My daughter, my timid and shy daughter that used to be a crybaby and an addict on books and stories, is now a full pledge maid working for a wonderful master and backed by a powerful mage. You now have a very good life. I will not let my daughter sacrifice everything she had worked for just so we can correct the past.
Do not sacrifice the present just so you can fix the past. All you must do is to learn from it and move on."
She let go of Anne who is now crying her eye out. Whimper after whimper as she was wiping her eyes with her knuckles, just like what she did when she was young.
" It'll be alright, promise me that there will be no regrets."
"I-... I ca-cant..." followed by sniffles.
"I'm sure you can. . I'm already blessed that I got a chance to see your grown-up. There is no greater joy for a mother to see her child live a good life. My life was once filled with agony and sorrow, but seeing you right now, I'm glad that I have nothing to regret. So please promise me, that you'll live your life happy and without regrets."
Anne just kept crying, and she did for quite a while that she can barely speak out from her whimpers. "I *sniffles* Po-pro-promise."
"Thank you, Anne! Always know that I love you so much and that I will always be proud of you." She gave her one last hug before asking her to call Neriya and send her back. Anne barely nodded to her and in a moment, the warlock came from one of the doors near them.
"So, shall we go?" he asked the older Shelley.
"Yes, sir Neriya, but I will have to decline your offer on saving me and my daughter."
From the looks of the two Shelley's it's obvious that their decision came from a very emotional discussion, and it's not like she didn't know their reason why so he did not bother asking for the reason. However, he still called for the maid's confirmation. "I understand your intentions, madam Shelly, but I owe the favor to your daughter, thus she gets to decide whether we proceed with the plan or not. So..." he then turns towards the maid. Her head was bowed to hide her face and she was still sniffling "Miss Anne, what's your decision? "
The maid took a glance towards her mother, and then towards the master of the house "I ag-g-gree-e with *Sniffles* mother's decision." She then lowers her head once more and continues crying but trying to desperately stop it.
With that being said, Neriya gave Anne a firm nod and then turns towards the older Shelly once more. With a snap, the familiar door once again appeared from nothingness at the same place before.
"This door now connects to your intended destination. It is very nice knowing you, madam Francesca Shelly."
"Likewise, Sir Neriya Naranoha. I cannot thank you enough for giving me the chance to see my daughter grown up. "
"You are very much welcome madam. "
Francesca turns towards the door and was about to turn the knob and open it, but she realized that there are one last thing she wants to do to her daughter. One last privilege as a mother and something she has never done with the young Anne Shelly of her time. She turns back towards the great mage and asked...
"Say, Sir Naranoha, I would like to ask something if I may."
"Go ahead madam"
"I would like to know what my daughter has done for you to owe her this favor?"
Anne suddenly stopped crying and looked at the Neriya.
"She granted me, or better say it that, she allowed to a privilege to stare at her most Gorgeous appearance and that she bless my house with her wonderful presence. It's more than enough for me to grant her anything and I will grant it within my power. " He gave a straight answer.
Anne's eyes got widened. Her face was already red from crying so it is hard to see that her master's word got to her. Still, her mother noticed her slight reaction.
"From the sound of it, do you mean that you have an interest in my princess, sir Neriya?"
"Mother! what are you say-" Anne tried to cut in but she was stopped by Neriya's answer.
"I admit my guilt from such accusation. I have had my eyes on her since the very first time I have seen her gorgeous form, and I can't help but get more attracted to her charm on every passing moment."
"I see, on that case... " She turns to her daughter "Anne, this man admits his interest in you. Make him work for it. You deserve nothing but the best." She then turns back towards the great mage and gave him the most threatening glare she could muster "And you If you ever do anything bad to my daughter, I don't care even if you are a powerful mage or whatnot, I'll claw my way back to the living and drag you back in the afterlife. Keep her safe and make sure you that she will be happy."
"That I swore to my very name. As long as she is with me, the world will shatter first before harm gets into her way." He bowed to her as he said his promise.
Francesca smiled, knowing that her daughter will be alright, there is only one thing left for her to do. She turned back towards the magical door, kicked it with all her might, and braved the fiery flames. She heard her yell her name one last time before the connection between the two-place finally disappeared.
The door finally vanished, leaving the maid and the master alone once again. Anne collapsed on her knees and starts crying once again and Neriya moves to her front and kneels as well. He was about to say something to comfort the maid but the maid beats him to it.
"Don't say anything."
Neriya was taken aback but obeyed the maid's request.
"I don't know if I curse you or thank you for what you did." She then looked him in the eyes and slapped him hard in the face. The sound of the slap echoed on the whole place. "Why did you do that? All of that? Are my feelings just playing for you? Do you find it entertaining when my emotions rapidly change from being embarrassed to angry to awe then irritated, mad than glad? WAS IT FUNNY FOR YOU TO SEE ME LIKE THIS?!" She hits the warlock on the chest, she keeps doing that for quite a while and he just let her. "I hate this, I cant understand what I should feel. I hate you for making me feel like this..." She then hit her chest with both of her fists, but not long after that, she leaned her head on his chest as well. " But at the same time, I am very grateful. Because of you, I got to meet my mother, even though she was long gone. I got to know more about her, and that it was mother herself that tell me her tale, and that I got to embrace her once again. I don't know, I just really don't know!" She then kept crying and they remained like that until the maid passed out from exhaustion.
"I'm very sorry for how I acted last night"
Once again, Anne was in Neriya's office early in the morning. She woke up just before sunrise and she realized that she is still wearing her maid uniform on her bed. She then tries to remember everything that happened last night to the point that she just cried to her master's chest until she passed out. Her face instantly turned red as she remembers her emotional display and that she also hit him multiple times, as in a lot of times. She rushed towards her personal bathroom in her room, cleans herself donned a new set of uniforms, and went directly to the warlock's office and apologize.
"No no, it's alright, I should be the one apologizing to you, things just happened to get out of hand. I know that it's very personal to you and I may have overstepped there. My apologies."
Anne knows very well that they will not be finished apologizing on this case. After all, it is not the first time they got into this kind of scenario, so instead of continuing apologizing, she decided to thank him instead.
"It's fine master Neriya, things had become emotional but I'm so glad that I got to meet my late mother again. Thank you so much."
"You are very much welcome. It's also good for me as well. I believe your mother just permitted me to officially court you."
"Ha? What?"
"Oh, I'm sure you remember it. I told your mom that I have an interest for you and she told you to make me work it and that you only deserve what is best. She didn't say that I can't be with you princess." He explained to the maid who is now slowly turning red once again.
"Hey! I thought you are only going along with mom's teasing before she left! You can't be serious about that."
"But I am, I swear that no lies were spoken last night."
Everything in the room suddenly vanishes and it is just him and her alone in the middle of the nothingness. The warlock steps towards her, kneeled on her front, and asked for her hand which somehow move on its own and held his, did it? She was not sure. "I believe that I already told you that I liked you, miss Shelly. "
"Yes, but you said that it's because you have this... that you maids to be fancy..."
"Well, I cant decline that it may have indeed started from that but I also meant what I said last night that I can't help but keep falling for you."
Anne turned her head away, she is starting to feel dizzy. Neriya is on the full offensive today and the fact that he doesn't wear a mask when it's just two of them is definitely bypassing her defense. She cant be having this early in the morning.
"You may think that I'm joking right now but I'm not. Please, I will understand if you cannot give me an answer right now, after all, your mother told you to make me work for it which I'm willing to. All I asked for now is that you give me a chance."
Okay, she's getting too much, she will end up forfeiting right away if this continues. Still, before she finally raised the white flag, she remembered her mother's story about how her mother was taken easily by his father which caused the misery of her life. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and regain her composure.
"Master Neriya, I am but a humble maid. I have nothing in me other than my dedication to lady Katarina. I am also not smart or have any remarkable talent and I'm in no delusion that you are simply attracted because of my appearance. I want to know why... why me?" She said as stern and calm and possible as she can muster them,
"I feel that whatever I will say will not be enough to fully explain my feelings for you but perhaps I can say 3 things." he then raised one of his fingers upon his other hand "First, you're beautiful, please believe me that you are and it is no small thing why I can't stop looking at you. " He then raised another finger "Your dedication. I know that it is not pointed at me but I really find it wonderful how you fully commit yourself to Katarina to point that you did not hesitate to put yourself on fire just so she would not get burned. It is a very great trait not just for a maid, but also as a person." Another finger was raised from his hand "Third is your lack of greed. I see that you are very much content of your life now, of being a maid, how you want nothing but the wellness of your mistress. I always told you that I owed you a favor and that you can ask me of anything. It is no secret to you how powerful I am, that I could grant whatever wish you may have come in mind, but you did not ask for anything. You are satisfied with what you have. Just last night, you agreed with your mother's request to keep the present even though you are presented with a chance to change the past. I feel that your mom has noticed that I am..." He hesitated for a bit but continued regardless "... testing your virtue, and helped you to select the correct decision but you passed..."
"Wait, do you mean that last night, that whole thing. its... it's just a test?" Anne glared at her, anger starting to rise once again.
"I'm sorry for getting it out of hand, at first it was just about your scars, you gave me a satisfying answer but you also exposed another unsated desire on your heart. With that, I pushed you through and you know what happened."
Anne retrieves her hand from his and slapped him hard once more as she looks at him with full-blown anger. "Why?... Just WHY?" she yelled at him,
The warlock kept his hands to himself and bowed. "Once again, I'm very sorry. But you must understand, I have the power beyond anyone's comprehension, magic that allows me to alter even the reality itself." He then stood up and turns her back on the maid " I must not fell for someone tainted with malicious greed."
"I think that I already know your answer. Rest assured that this will not affect my duties to your mistress." The room then turns back into an office and the warlock starts walking away towards the door and left the room.
As he left, Anne realized what and why the warlock did all of it. It still pisses her off but she understands the whole point. She snarled on herself, slapped both of her cheeks, and rushed towards the door itself.
In the hallways, she immediately found the lord of the house and confronts him once more.
"Master Neriya!" She called, the voice was a bit raised.
"Is there something I can help you with, miss Shelly?"
"Don't pretend that you don't why am here!" She said while walking towards him, each footstep reverberating on the long hallways. "The fact that I found you means that you are expecting me to come. You could have made yourself gone if you really want to. " When she got close to him, she pulled him on his tie to bring his head down close to hers. "If you tested me, then I have to test you too. Don't think that just because you have this all-powerful magic of yours, you'll get me easily. We will do as mom says. You will have to work for it. Hard!"
His face immediately brightens and smiled at her " So you are giving me a chance, does this mean that you are interested in me as well?"
"NO!" she yelled right away but immediately take it back "Wait, it's not like that. Its..., I don't know it yet. But it's not that I am not interested, but also... aaaagghhhh" red tint is starting to creep on her face but she keeps her face to express a stern image. " All I know is that I'm going to make you work it for it, and I'll definitely not going to be easy"
"Thank you, Miss Anne, I promise to prove myself worth it" She then took her right hand as he kiss the back of it.
Just in time, the door just beside them suddenly opened, revealing Katarina, who had just woken up, and still scratching the lid of her eyes. She found that her Onee- chan was currently holding her master on the tie and whose masked face is touching the back of her Onee-chan's other hand.
"What is happening, Onee? Master?" She inquired
"Oh Good morning Kitten, you see, Miss Anne finally allowed me to cou-" He was about the explain but she was interrupted when suddenly pushed back by the same hand that he was kissing just a while ago.
"Nothing, milady, master Neriya just asked me to fix his tie for him" She turns back to the warlock on the side "Now master Neriya, It is time for me to assist milady on her morning preparation. "
"Su-Sure, see yah both on the dining room." He bid to them and entered towards the opposite door.
"Lady Katarina, I told you not to get out of your room while steam wearing your sleepwear... " She turns back to her mistress
"I'm sorry, I thought I was late for breakfast!" The young mage defended, still she was dragged back to her room to change her clothing.
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Starting then, Neriya was always with Anne every time possible. Even during Katarina's training session, he will somehow split into two and attended both her and Katarina. At first, they spend their time in different areas of the mansion where Neriya gives her the details about different tools and stuff inside the mansion and how to use them. Before, she does this on her own by just reading the manuals. She cant deny that understanding and getting the hang of them is a lot easier when someone, actually teaching her even though they spent almost half of the time teasing each other.
At some point, Katarina revealed her true past. After that, Neriya would bring her to different places in Katarina's previous world. Those trips are later recognized by her as something called 'dates' according to some animes that lady Katarina watches. She still can't deny that she enjoyed them.
She knows that she had to make him work for it and that what is there are doing. Still, deep inside her heart, she knows that she had already had an answer for him since the very beginning.