Maid’s Night - Chapter 36

The longer the princess was absent, the quieter the castle became. People were whispering, but no one had the temerity to talk about the princess in Alec’s presence.

If it was a kidnapping, there would be demands, if it was a crime, a body should be found, but since none of these were forthcoming, the idea that the princess might have escaped began to be more certain.

In addition, one of the servants brought up the story that he had seen someone slipping out of the garden that night. At first he thought it was a ghost, but then he suspected that it might have been the master’s wife, so the people agreed that he had a point.

When Astina was informed of the princess’ news, her father sent a letter expressing his regret, but mainly saying that any promises between the two countries must be publicly announced.

People clucked their tongues as they said, “He’s really a heartless father when he doesn’t even know where his daughter has disappeared to.” He said he would look around for another couple of months and eventually be recorded as dead or missing.

Some people felt sorry for Alec whose wife had run away, but Alec didn’t mind such a reaction one bit.

He just went about his business as usual, training and going to the Imperial Palace. The soldiers who went to look for the princess would still be searching everywhere, but at least the castle was flowing quietly as if nothing had happened.

Sitting at his desk in the office, Alec brought his cup to his mouth. Then he called out her name.

“Evely.”

As he called Evely’s name again, another maid opened the door and walked in.

“Evely’s not here at the moment, she’s on vacation.”

‘Oh, that’s right.’

“When will Evely come back?”

“I’m not sure exactly. …. She’s just gone, so probably a few more days.”

Alec asked the exact same thing yesterday. It was dated the day after Evely’s departure.

Alec added in a slightly annoyed tone.

“It’s been a while since she left. Am I wrong?”

“It’s not that long…….”

The maid sneered and slurred her words.

“All right. Get out.”

Alec was rubbing his temples tiredly when he spotted a bookmark in his book. And in that moment, the bright voice of the person he had been calling came to mind.

A girl who was so diligent that he thought she was very noisy.

 “…Are you sure?”

When she was told to leave the bookmark and go, he could see her smiling brightly and rejoicing at the words.

What’s the big deal about that? Even if it wasn’t that day, Evely chatted about many things by his side. At first, she seemed a little self-conscious, but after that she became more talkative.

“Master!”

That was what Evely used to call him and smiled. May those sad eyes become a crescent moon….

“…It’s so quiet without you.”

The air seemed to get heavier somehow since Evely, who had been so noisy, was not there.

“Let’s stop here.”

Alec raised his body as he put away what he was looking at. As soon as he left the room, the servant began to follow him. Perhaps Evely was shorter and smaller than the other maids, which made her to walk around easier than the others. The little sound of her shoes used to ring the floor.

Alec suddenly turned and looked at the servant girl. The servant girl bowed her head as soon as her gaze met his. The sight reminded him of Evely again. When Evely made eye contact, she stared blankly at him, and then she was surprised a beat later and bowed her head. But later, she didn’t avoid his eyes.

He didn’t hate it.

He didn’t hate the moment when those eyes were staring at him.

When Alec arrived in front of the bathroom, another maid was there to attend to his bath.

“You don’t need to wait.”

Originally, he didn’t often ask his servants to assist him. Even when he did, he never let them see his body. He didn’t think it was necessary for him to show his scars to his servants. He wasn’t ashamed of his scars, but he wasn’t proud of them either. They were just marks of survival.

When he got into the tub, the temperature of the water seemed to take away his fatigue. He leaned back lazily. As he slowly closed his eyes, a bright voice flashed through his head again.

“Oh, this, this isn’t a fall, I’m going to get closer!”

Recalling Evely’s ridiculous excuse, Alec burst into laughter without realizing it. Anyway, Evely was good at mumbling and spitting out strange words when she was in a tight spot.

The hand that carefully washed his body. The eyes that were in a panic. And then she tripped and fell into his arms…

“Time is slow.”

Alec recited lowly in an inaudible voice as he thought of Evely.

* * * *

It was a dense forest path. The wind ruffled her hair as she took off the cloak. The feeling of her hair being gently wrapped around her face was very nice.

But eventually, she put the cloak over her head again. She had to be vigilant in case someone was following her.

Her footsteps were not easy, but they were still diligent. She didn’t know exactly how much time she had.

A short distance past the forest road, Evely saw a quiet village. It was a place where everyone knew each other.

Evely scattered her mother’s remains in the deep forest of this village.

Evely stood in front of the door of a house and knocked on it. After a while, she heard a gentle voice.

“Who are you?”

Evely, seeing a familiar face, gently pulled down her cloak.

“Aunt Julia! It’s me. Evely.”

“Evely? Your hair….”

When her aunt was startled, Evely felt embarrassed and fiddled with the back of her neck. Julia, who was watching Evely with a curious look on her face, came to her senses and let Evely in.

As soon as they were inside the house, a warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped Evely’s body. The warmth that wasn’t easily felt in a big, glamorous castle.

“Did you get another vacation? Why is your hair like that? Why did you wear your cloak like that?”

The unordered questions popped up in a random fashion.

“No, no, no. Let’s eat first.”

Julia forced Evely to sit in a chair at the table, but Evely smiled and shook her head.

“No need for food. I stopped by to see you face to face. Maybe we won’t be able to see each other for a long time.”

“Why don’t we go get something to eat and talk later?”

In an instant, a delicious-looking course of meals began to form. In addition to a soft stew with peas and bread, along with homemade meats.

It was a fragrant, warm scent that stimulated the sense of smell. Something about its warmth made Evely emotional.

When she scooped up the stew, and as she put the warm soup into her mouth, she felt like crying.

Evely couldn’t eat it and just held the spoon.

“What’s wrong?”

Evely hesitated and responded to Julia’s soothing, gentle voice .

“Umm…I ran away from my workplace.”

“Why? Did they bully you? Did they do something terrible to you?”

“No. They didn’t do anything bad to me, but I can’t stay there anymore. I don’t know when it’ll be, but they’ll probably start looking for me. I’m going to run away before then.”

Evely didn’t know when she would be able to come back here again.

Julia looked at Evely for a moment, and said gently.

“Let’s eat first and stay the night.”

Evely wanted to get out of here quickly because she thought she’d be a nuisance if she stayed too long.

“No, they might find me here soon. I have to get far away. If I stay long, they might do some damage.”

“No, stay.”

Julia’s warm eyes looked at Evely. Evely smiled silently. She felt for a moment that she wanted to settle down with this warmth and when her heart was still soft.

Julia asked in a gentle voice.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to cross the ocean and go somewhere new. If I go far from here, they won’t be able to find me. When it gets a little quieter, I’ll come back to the village and settle down if I like.”

“I see. It would be better if you came to the village later. I’m here, and this is where you used to live.”

Evely nodded and added in a cheerful voice.

“I don’t want to be caught. Fugitive slaves will be decapitated if caught.”

“Ah, Evely.”

Julia pulled Evely into her arms. Evely buried her face in her broad arms like a baby.

“I’m fine. I have my little stars to protect me.”

Evely glanced up at the stars shining outside the window.