Maid’s Night - Chapter 45

North of the border, the war was in full swing, but the capital was peaceful.

He said it wouldn’t be long as he would be dealing with barbarians crossing the border, but it would never be an easy war just because the barbarians, famous for their brutality, had been bothering the emperor for quite some time.

The quiet in the capital meant that the odds of winning the war were tilted in Kater’s favor, but Evely couldn’t rest easy.

“Why isn’t he coming? I think it’s been a while.”

“It hasn’t been that long since he left.”

Brianna, who had been watching Evely repeat the same words all day, smiled at her.

“You and Master seem to be a bit alike, don’t you think?”

“What are you talking about? No way.”

Evely shrugged her shoulders, saying they were completely different. That was just as well, because Evely and Alec were different from head to toe. Evely had shorter hands and feet, and was smaller in stature. If she was the smaller and prettier of the two, there was nothing about Alec that was not big. He was taller and had a much better physique than most men his age, and while Evely was cheerful, he was indifferent. It was hard to know what he was thinking.

“When you were gone, Master would ask the same questions about you over and over again. He was always like that.”

Brianna shivered, as if she didn’t want to think about it.

“At first he searched for you in that calm, unsympathetic tone, and later he became like a parrot.”

“…. Was that so?”

“Yes. At that time, all the servants were very wary of him. We all waited for you to come back. Just like you’re waiting for him now. You’re better than Master, though.”

Evely smiled faintly as she remembered his conversation with Brianna.

After Alec left the castle, Evely felt his absence.The castle was empty without him. The many memories of him that dwelled in every place she stepped made her miss him more and more.

“…. When will he be here?”

She had never really thought about war.

She never thought it would bother her this much, even though it seemed so far away that she had never experienced it in person.

The battlefield was a messy tangle of clashing blades and blood.

If all the enemies were after him, no matter how strong he was, he was still in danger. War was war, no matter how less serious it was. Hundreds of lives and deaths a day…

When she thought about it, time seemed to flow much more slowly.

“Lady, the carriage is ready.”

Awakened from her thoughts, she heard the voice of a servant.

Today was the day she decided to go to her grandfather’s castle.

At first, the only thing they could talk about was her parents, but as time passed and they saw each other more often, they began to confide in each other the details of their daily lives. She would read books to William, whose eyes were blurry, and he would tell her funny stories in return.

“……I’ve often been told that I was handsome when I was young. When I went out with your father, people around would ask if I was your father’s brother.”

Evely looked at her grandfather with a smile. Her smile was the same as always, but there was something else.

It was also strangely somber. William was about to continue again, when he suddenly said to Evely.

“Evely, you don’t look good.”

Evely shook her head as if it was nothing, but before her grandfather’s warm look, she couldn’t help but to confide in him.

“I’m actually a little worried.”

“Worried about what? You can tell me.”

“The war. It seems that the Count has been gone for a long time…”

“You’re worried about the Count.”

Immediately William chuckled. His eyes became more wistful as he looked at his granddaughter.

“Evely, do you know how I made up my mind to meet you?”

“No.”

“When the Count came here, he told me about you. He said you were a kind and sweet person. The Count is a blunt man, but I could sense his true feelings. That’s when I wanted to know what kind of person you are.”

Evely bowed her head slightly in embarrassment. She couldn’t imagine what Alec had done for her.

“That’s the way your father looked when he talked about your mother.”

Instantly, Evely stopped and looked at William. His words were completely unexpected.

“That made me want to meet you.”

“….”

“And he said he didn’t want to force you to accept him under his authority. He just wants to respect your wishes as much as possible.”

Alec had never said anything like this to her before. She didn’t know why he didn’t, but she wished he did. Evely felt a little ashamed of herself for thinking vaguely about the process of recovering her identity.

“Your father also told me that he didn’t want to make your mother his mistress because of her low status, he wants to respect the will and feelings of the woman he loves.”

Her father was a kind man. Alec’s face overlapped with that of her father. If her father’s face was somewhat soft and somewhat cloudy, Alec’s face was sharp and cold. They didn’t look alike at all, but it was a little strange when she heard that they resembled each other.

“It’s not that it doesn’t happen, but it’s pretty hard to restore half-identity. I’m sure the Count had to pay the price.”

“A price….”

“For example, he’d have to go to war.”

“Huh? What?”

Evely’s voice grew louder, like a scream. She was so confused that she almost dropped the cup she was holding.

“Why in the world would he go to such lengths ……!”

“You know better than I why he would go that far, don’t you?”

Evely looked at her grandfather with confused eyes.

……… She couldn’t believe Alec went to war for her.

Her heart was heavy as if there was a stone sitting on top of it.

“I hope you will always choose to be happy. You can continue to stay in the Count’s castle, or you can come and live here whenever you want. I say that you may or may not choose the Count.”

The voice she heard was infinitely warmer.

“When I got older, I found that life was too short to live doing only what I wanted to do.”

William’s voice was far away as if he was tracing the past.

“Someone lives a shorter life…”

He reached out and patted Evely on the cheek. Then, looking at the golden eyes, he spoke warmly.

“So I hope you will always make a choice that you will not regret.”

***

Alec got her family back and even accepted the danger of war for her. Why in the world?

“I think you know best why he did it.”

Evely bit her lip quietly as she remembered William’s words, and a bright voice came to her ear. It was a merchant selling goods.

“If you wear earrings like this, people’s eyes will focus on you. If you go to a party, you can be the main character.”

Evely replied shortly, out of politeness. In fact, she could not hear any words in her ear right now. Brianna recommended that she should not just stay at home but look around the market for a change, but Evely had a separate purpose.

“By the way, do you know when the men from the village who have gone to war will be back?”

“Well, the war is getting longer than I thought.”

Evely spoke informally to the merchant about the war. Rumors of war were usually told across the street, but somehow they didn’t reach Evelyz. It was hard to know how the war was going on, and when it would end.

No one in the castle talked about the war easily. This was because Alec had forbidden the speaking of rumors about the war in the castle. Originally, he knew that rumors were meant to be inflated and it would make Evely feel uneasy, but Evely just felt frustrated from her point of view.

So Evely went out to the market and looked around, but she couldn’t hear any good news. There was only the occasional sad news that someone was injured and someone else had lost their life.

“How much longer will it be…?”

“I think you look good in this, young lady.”

The servant girl who followed Evely was stumbling around, eagerly picking out accessories that she thought would suit her master. Evely stared at the servant. Her name was Martina, and she was about sixteen years old. She still had a childish look on her face.

‘I was sixteen when I first came here….’

At 16, Evely first saw Alec in the slave market and became his maid with his help. He never imagined it would be like this at the time.

Evely chuckled as she recalled that moment.

“Have you heard anything else?”

Evely asked again, but the merchant just shook his head. She didn’t know any of the merchants who were well informed with rumors, so she thought she just had to wait again, and just as she turned away, she heard an urgent voice calling her.

“Lady!”

It did not take Evely long to realize that the voice did not belong to the servant she had brought with her. It seemed like the servant ran all the way to the market from the castle, but she poured out words before she could breathe.

“Master has returned!”