Ending Maker Episode 430
Chapter 15 – The Maid and the Knight
A large mansion located near the capital of the Holy Nation of Eudellia.
It was a house that Uder had gifted to Maia, but since Maia spent most of the twelve months of the year at the palace, it was practically an empty house even though it had a caretaker.
But not now.
Because quite a few people have been staying there for the past few days.
“It will probably take quite some time for the palace to be restored, right?”
“That’s true… … But wouldn’t it be possible soon if His Holiness the Pope steps in?”
More than half of the maids working in the palace of the Holy Nation had returned to their respective homes on vacation, but there were also many who had not – or rather, who had no place to return to, and most of them were staying at Maia’s mansion.
“Well, that’s right. I have a feeling that if His Holiness the Pope steps in, things will be resolved quickly.”
At Sylvie’s words, Bianca nodded and laughed heartily.
“Yes, yes. Because it is His Holiness the Pope.”
His Holiness the Pope, who is wonderful, handsome, awesome, great, and just plain awesome.
An idol of the Holy Nation who only looks up to the Saint, but is all the more wonderful because of it.
“But Sylvie, did you buy that again?”
Silvie flinched for a moment at Bianca’s question, but soon nodded with a confident face.
Because it was official merchandise that I bought with my own money, there was nothing to be ashamed of.
But in the first place, Bianca wasn’t asking about the authenticity of the goods.
The angel’s holy book in Sylvie’s hand.
On the cover, the angel of beauty, Maia, was smiling slightly, and that smile – no, the atmosphere felt from the entire cover was truly mysterious.
It’s hard to describe, but what should I say, it feels like it would shatter if you touched it – but that makes it all the more beautiful, I guess?
The combination of danger, fragility, and beauty created a strange atmosphere, or to use a slightly exaggerated expression, a sensuality that would make even a woman’s heart race when she saw it.
It was natural for my face to turn red.
Anyway, this is the holy picture book of the angel of beauty, Maia.
It was only natural that Sylvie, who had admired the chief of the household to the point of imitating everything from his hairstyle to his behavior, would buy a sacred painting, but there was a reason why Bianca asked why she bought it ‘again’.
As far as Bianca knew, this was already the fifth time she had purchased the same photo album.
‘That one’s pretty expensive, too.’
The reason she knows the price is because Bianca herself bought one, but in any case, this was already Sylvie’s fifth purchase.
“… … This is for missionary work.”
“I have a rough idea of what you are talking about, but what are those mountains in front?”
“For collection, reserve collection, appreciation, reserve appreciation, display, and reserve display.”
“Wait, weren’t the four volumes you bought before? Is this the seventh volume?!”
To Bianca’s astonishment, Sylvie flinched again and nodded timidly but surely.
‘They’re just throwing away my salary.’
It seems like you’re also buying the ‘Guardian Angel Dahlia’ holy picture book to complete the set.
This is also a matter of taste, so should we respect it?
Bianca faced Sylvie, who was pretending to be confident for a moment and furtively looking in her direction, then smiled faintly and slumped her shoulders.
“Anyway, Sylvie, isn’t it amazing? The chamberlain and the knight commander have become angels.”
“I’m not surprised. The chief was an angel all along.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
If that’s you, then so be it.
Bianca, who was slightly sweating at the sight of Sylvie speaking with sparkling eyes, looked at the collection of Maia’s sacred flowers in Sylvie’s hand.
‘Just like Sylvie said, you’ve really been like an angel since before… … .’
But even before this Wangdo incident, he was clearly human.
Of course, this applies to the commander of the royal guard, as well as the commander of the royal guard division.
‘If I do well later, will I be able to become an angel?’
I couldn’t even imagine what I had to do well to become an angel.
If you work hard and become a chamberlain, you can take something like an angel test.
Bianca, who was laughing at her own imagination, smiled gently at the sight of Sylvie’s profile, who was looking at the cover of the Holy Flower Collection with an ecstatic expression again.
‘Your Majesty will be back tomorrow, right?’
It seems like you’ve been very busy since becoming an angel, but still, this is the house of the chief chamberlain.
Are you coming back with Dahlia?
Bianca, who had a pretty good intuition among the palace maids, had guessed correctly, but unfortunately this time, it was completely wrong.
That would be the case, since Maia and Dahlia were already in the mansion, or rather in Maia’s room.
* * *
“……it’s hard.”
“……me too…….”
Maia’s room located on the top floor of the mansion.
Maia and Dahlia sat – no, they were lying down – on the long single chairs placed on the balcony, their whole bodies stretched out with exhausted faces.
From the moment the sun begins to rise until the night becomes full of stars.
No, they were just two people who had been so busy the past few days that they didn’t even realize how time had passed.
“I feel like I’ve signed ten thousand times… … .”
No kidding, I literally couldn’t feel my hands.
Dahlia nodded seriously at the sound of Maia’s crying.
It was natural for Myani, who had signed three times more autographs than me, to react like that.
Furthermore, even though she became an angel, wasn’t Maia originally a delicate and weak woman?
‘I wish I was a little more popular.’
Then, the autograph that was supposed to go to Maia would have come to me, and Maia would have had less trouble because she had to sign less.
It was a strange logic, but Dahlia was sincere, and she had her own excuse that her mind wasn’t functioning properly due to the forced march of the past few days.
Although the two people were lying there exhausted, at one point they smiled faintly as if they had made a promise.
For some reason, I just found myself smiling.
“Maya.”
“Yeah, Dahlia.”
“I just called.”
At those pointless words, Maia turned to Dahlia and smiled her characteristically small and gentle smile, and Dahlia blushed, feeling like she had become a child for some reason.
“Anyway, isn’t it amazing?”
“what?”
“Becoming an angel.”
Becoming the commander of the Knights of the Holy Nation was something I could never have imagined, and now I have gone from being a human to an angel.
Of course, it wasn’t just Cordelia, but Adelia and Count Chase – there were people around me who had become angels, but what should I say, it just felt like a story from another world?
Dahlia herself never imagined that she would become an angel.
‘For some reason, Maia seems natural.’
Because Maia was really pretty like an angel since long ago.
‘Come to think of it, I was surprised when we first met too.’
When I first saw Maya.
To be more precise, it was the day I first visited Count Bayer’s house following Count Chase.
Dahlia chuckled as she recalled Maia’s appearance in her mid-teens.
It was because I remembered the moment when I lost myself in it because it was so pretty.
“dahlia?”
“No, it’s just that I was thinking of old times.”
“when?”
“A long time ago? When I first went to Count Bayer’s house.”
Maia was already a maid for Count Bayer in her mid-teens, and Dahlia was an apprentice knight for Count Chase.
“Come to think of it… … I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it.”
“What kind?”
When Dahlia asked, Maia continued with a warm smile that few people except Jude and Dahlia had seen before.
“What did you do before? How did you live before you each entered the Bayer and Chase families?”
It was a given that neither of them had worked for their respective counts since birth.
How did each of them end up in the Count’s household?
How did you live before entering the Count’s household?
If you think about it, both of them had some strange corners.
Maia had been Yuder’s exclusive maid since she was very young – almost ten years old – and Dahlia had the unusual history of having served as an apprentice knight in the Chase Counts’ household, who were originally from a wizarding family and did not have apprentice knights, but only hired knights.
How did both of them end up like that?
At Maia’s story, Dahlia looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
Dahlia always seemed cheerful and cheerful, but Maia knew that she was actually deeper and had deeper thoughts than anyone else. Maia waited for a moment, and Dahlia soon looked up at the night sky and spoke lightly as if passing by.
“I was a pickpocket.”
“uh?”
When Maia opened her eyes wide in surprise, Dahlia smiled slightly as if she had seen something precious.
That would be the case, because Maia with that kind of expression was truly precious.
“Stop laughing and tell me the rest of the story.”
Since Maia’s slightly urging attitude was also rare, Dahlia continued speaking with a happy expression.
“It’s just a normal story. There’s not much a girl orphan who ends up on the streets can do, right? And in a town like Aachen.”
When the mention of one of the northern cities with particularly poor security caused Maia to flinch for a moment, it only lasted a moment.
Maia looked at Dahlia, half-lying on her side as if listening to the story again, and Dahlia continued her story while facing the night sky.
“I beg and pickpocket under gangsters… … I was just living like I was wallowing in the gutter, but the time came for me to… … have some adventures.”
“adventure?”
“Yeah, an adventure. The kind where you have to risk your life.”
Dahlia smiled bitterly as if she was breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about it, then turned around to face Maia and said.
“I robbed Count Chase of his wallet.”
“uh?”
“Count Chase’s.”
Maia briefly recalled the grandeur of Count Chase’s appearance, and immediately understood why Dahlia had spoken of risking her life on this adventure.
“At that time, I was a bit… crazy, should I say?”
“… … So, did you succeed?”
“No, of course I failed. I managed to grab the pocket, but then the Count grabbed my wrist.”
It’s an old memory that I can talk about with a smile now, but at the time, I really didn’t know that Dahlia would die.
“The Count suddenly looked down at me and really… … It’s too late to say this now, but honestly, I peed my pants a little then.”
“on the sly?”
“Actually, a lot.”
When Maia chuckled at the embarrassing confession, Dahlia laughed along with her and then turned back to the night sky and said.
“But… … I think it was luck. The Count’s gaze on me changed a bit. At that time, I thought he was going to burn me to death for urinating so dirty… … But he wasn’t. The Count took me to Count Chase’s house.”
It was Dahlia who still didn’t know why she was like that.
Was it just a whim, or was there another reason?
“So you grew up in the Chase family since then?”
“Yeah, roughly… … Since ten years old? I don’t know the exact age, but I think it’s around that age.”
“Something… I can’t imagine.”
“what?”
A picture of young Dahlia working as a pickpocket.
No, it wasn’t just a pickpocketing story.
The back alleys of Aachen, especially when Dahlia was ten, were a really dangerous place.
Maia still couldn’t forget the sight of the children there, full of venom.
“People are bound to change.”
Dahlia smiled brightly as she shrugged her shoulders as if nothing had happened and continued her story.
“At that time, I was an apprentice knight under the Master who was employed by the Count’s family. That was also the first time I saw Lady Cordelia.”
“So you were close friends with the young lady from then on?”
“No, not at first. I really hated you.”
“uh?”
This time, Maia’s eyes widened as she heard the unexpected story, and Dahlia smiled again before quickly adjusting her expression and speaking.
“It’s just… …a childish story. I used to get really jealous when I saw Miss Cordelia.”
“Jealousy?”
“Yes, I suffered all kinds of hardships, living and dying in the back alleys of Aachen, but you, young lady, have been living happily ever after, receiving all kinds of love since you were born.”
Rather than feeling unfair, it was more of a feeling closer to jealousy.
“Miss Adelia and Master Edward were both busy studying magic, so I rarely had the chance to see them… … but I did see Miss Cordelia a lot.”
Actually, if you think about it, she was a truly ungrateful child who dared to be jealous of Count Chase’s kindness, whose life had changed. However, for Dahlia, who was wandering the back alleys of Aachen at the time, there was nothing she could do about it.
“But… … I wasn’t a pretty kid, but there was something so good about me that the lady really liked me.”
Because every day when I saw her in the garden that the Countess cherished, she would run to me and hug me, saying “Daria, Daria” in a curt manner.
“Actually, at first, I found it annoying and irritating.”
But it didn’t take long for his mind to change.
“Because Miss Cordelia is so lovely?”
“That’s true, but… … one day, while you were sleeping in my arms, you started talking in your sleep.”
mom.
mom.
A small voice mixed with sobs.
Countess Chase died shortly after giving birth to Cordelia.
That’s why Cordelia didn’t really know that she was in her mother’s arms.
Like Adelia and Edward, he didn’t even have time to build memories with his mother.
“I think it was just… … from that time.”
Although I never said it out loud, I came to think of Cordelia as my own younger sister.
I started to think of myself as another person.
“So that’s why.”
Dahlia was not just a simple escort knight.
She was truly like an older sister to Cordelia, always with her through everything.
“Anyway, that’s what I did. What about you, Maia?”
“I’m actually a noble.”
“uh?!”
As Dahlia jumped up from her seat in surprise, Maia spoke again with her signature calm smile.
“Count Keller. Tantalot is my mother’s surname. I think I’m the only one who still uses that surname.”
Dahlia’s heart calmed down, startled by Maya’s calm tone, but she still couldn’t easily sit down and regain her composure.
That’s because it was such an amazing story-
“Isn’t it?”
Maia is actually a noble.
When I think about it, it’s a pretty fitting story.
No, should I say that I understand?
“Wait a minute, you’re the Viscount Keller?”
“Yes, the family that used to be in Aachen. It’s gone now.”
The main reason why Aachen’s security was in such a mess was because the Keller family, who ruled the city, was suddenly overthrown on charges of following the devil.
“I don’t know the exact reason either. Was it political strife, or was my father really a follower of the devil?”
In any case, the important thing was that the Keller family was literally wiped out.
“My parents were executed… … and my family members were scattered. Many people became slaves.”
Even though he was speaking calmly, Dahlia could tell.
I mean, Maya’s hands were shaking slightly.
“I was lucky. Someone related to my mother’s family intervened to help me get to a good place. If not… …I would have probably been sold into slavery somewhere.”
The place Maia went to was Count Bayer’s house.
I don’t know if Count Bayer knows Maia’s origins or circumstances.
“It was really hard at first. I had a hard time adjusting.”
It would have been even stranger if she had adapted well to go from being the daughter of the wealthy Keller family to a maid who did odd jobs overnight.
Moreover, at that time, Maia was a little girl of about ten who suddenly became an orphan.
I remember hiding somewhere and crying every day for the first couple of months.
The person who had sent him to the Count of Bayer had strongly warned him not to tell anyone that he was a nobleman, so he had no other way to relieve his anger and pain than to cry.
“It must have been… difficult.”
Maia slumped her shoulders slightly as she listened to Dahlia’s words, which seemed a bit forced.
“Still… … I think it was pretty good. I also met Master Yuder.”
As Maia smiled slightly, as if she was happy just by saying Uther’s name, Dahlia asked as she lay back down.
“How did you end up becoming a full-time maid?”
“Similar to you.”
“With me?”
“Oh, you and me. Master Yuder really, really liked me.”
Dahlia smiled bitterly at Maia’s slightly show-off tone and expression, which was not typical of Maia, and Maia continued speaking.
“Because you always followed me around saying ‘Mia, Maia,’ the Count made me his exclusive maid. I liked you very much, too.”
Should we call it a case of mutual sympathy?
Maia was attracted to Yuder, who was weak and had no mother.
“Moreover, the young master has been very cute since long ago.”
“Are you still cute now?”
His Holiness the Pope?
At Dahlia’s question, Maia laughed like a cat, and Dahlia ended up laughing again at the rare sight of Maia that she was seeing today.
“But… … As we talk about old times like this, I suddenly remember something.”
“What kind?”
“When the young master and the young lady first ran away during the week.”
“ah.”
That incident at that time.
The incident where he suddenly jumped off a cliff, saying he wanted to have some time alone.
At the same time, the two people who recalled that day in the past made dizzy expressions as if they had made a promise, and soon began to tell each other’s stories, the events that had occurred in their respective families at the time.
