The Maid With a Child

10. The Villains Were Us.

 

Her body didn’t move.

She couldn’t feel her legs nor could she move them.

Adelen twitched her body, trying to keep an eye on her master’s expression, fearing that he would lose his patience if she took her time.

Rakalt, who was holding into his dwindling patience while looking down at her, moved.

His large hand grabbed Adelen’s forearm.

“!”

Her body shot up as if it had been pulled out. Surprised, Adelen tightly shut her eyes.

“Good, I’d rather you close your eyes while walking.”

Rakalt nodded as if it was a good decision and started walking while holding Adelen’s arm, who had her eyes closed.

“Ugh, uhh.”

Adelen stumbled as she walked.

Her body swayed on its own because she walked with her eyes closed, relying only on Rakalt’s hand holding her forearm. Her legs being weak after being surprised was also a factor.

Adelen, who couldn’t keep her balance and was staggering, was also hindering Rakalt’s steps.

She was a troublesome maid in many ways.

“Tsk.”

Rakalt clicked his tongue and lifted Adelen and the baby onto his shoulder at the same time.

“Ah?!”

“Stay still.”

“…!”

She was shocked beyond surprise. However, Adelen hung on his shoulder without making a sound at her master’s stern order.

Even in the midst of all this, she thought that her master’s shoulders were as vast as they appeared to be.

They were that wide enough for Adelen and the baby to sit on at the same time without slipping off, and his steps were stable even with that weight on them.

It was an overwhelming body that made it impossible to even imagine struggling to escape or subduing him by hitting the back of his neck.

They had already moved far enough away to escape the scene, but Adelen couldn’t open her eyes. She was scared to see her reality, lying on her master’s shoulders like a hunted animal.

Where would she arrive next?

An execution ground, a slaughterhouse. Or a torture ground?

“Open your eyes now.”

At some point, her feet touched the floor.

When she instinctively followed the order and opened her eyes, she saw the master’s room.

It was not a suitable place for her bones and flesh to be separated.

Adelen shed tears of relief and hugged the baby, who was as frozen as she was.

“Aaah?”

“…..”

The baby was different though.

Unlike a coward like herself, he was quiet because he was excited to watch the situation unfolding before his eyes.

“Wait.”

Rakalt left Adelen and went into the closet.

Is this her chance to escape…?

He suddenly turned around and gave a warning.

“Don’t move.”

“…Yes.”

Adelen swallowed her tears and stood against the wall as close to the door as possible.

After changing clothes, Rakalt walked to the sofa and sat down.

“Whew….”

The hand that brushed back his slightly wet hair was rough. He didn’t show it, but he was filled with boiling anger.

Everything was turned upside down because of one child.

His life had been relatively simple up until then. He learned as he was taught, and did as he was told. There was nothing difficult.

Raising Sigelion, which his father had raised to the rank of county, to the rank of duchy himself was his goal.

If he could just finish this job perfectly, and completely end the war with Morn, then it wouldn’t be too far off.

Ending the war. That was an achievement that could make even the old nobles, who had been jealous of the emergence of the new nobles, keep quiet.

He had been relieved after kidnapping the crown prince thinking that it would be the hardest part, and that everything would be smooth sailing after that.

But how could things turn to be this difficult?

Adelen couldn’t even breathe deeply due to Rakalt’s fiery temper, and loitered near the door.

At that moment, the knights knocked on the door.

They then lined up in front of Adelen, bowed their heads and reported.

“We lost him.”

“What about the tracking?”

“We went after him right away, but…”

“Hah…”

“We’re sorry!”

The knights also fell to their knees in response to Rakalt’s sigh.

Adelen felt a sense of kinship and hid herself even further in the corner. If possible, she wished to remain out of sight of her master forever.

However, Adelen’s dream did not come true.

“You let that guy who crawled in on his own feet slip away in front of your eyes?”

“We are sorry!”

“If you catch him, this shit will be over. Don’t you know?”

“We know!”

“It’s not too late. Track him down.”

“Yes!”

“Go.”

The knights rushed out as they did when they came in.

Now, Adelen was the only one left.

Rakalt gestured to Adelen.

Adelen approached, her body stiff as a corpse that had died yesterday.

She couldn’t even think of sitting on the sofa like before.

Rakalt’s gaze was fierce as he looked at Adelen, who was standing with her feet together politely next to the sofa like a criminal and looking only at her toes.

“Yes, you made a good choice in the end. Thanks to that, you are still alive and standing before me now.”

As expected, he had heard everything and had no intention of just letting it go.

“I, I’m sorry…”

Adelen bowed, holding back her sobs.

But on the other hand, she felt wronged.

“B-but, there was a knife in front of my neck.”

“Yeah, if someone were to just put a knife on your neck, you would confess everything you knew, hand over the crown prince, and even go into exile.”

“…”

“Isn’t that true?”

“…”

That’s true.

Even when she thought about it herself, her loyalty was completely unreliable.

Adelen, who had nothing to say, bit her lips.

“There’s no one else who would take care of the child, so I can’t just kill you.”

“Please spare me!”

“I can’t kill you…But I can’t just trust you…”

Rakalt stared at Adelen for a long time, thinking.

After a long time, just when Adelen felt her face was about to be pierced, Rakalt finally made a decision.

“Stay in my room for the time being.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll feel at ease if I keep you in front of my eyes.”

“Uh…Ah…”

Just being together with the master made me suffocate from tension. And in this room where I clearly saw someone die.

I glanced at the place where the blood had dripped, it had been cleanly erased. However, my memory was not.

“If there’s another way, tell me. A way that I can trust you and is also safe in terms of security.”

“Uh…So…”

It would be nice if there was another way, but there wasn’t.

Just assign knights to guard or monitor her? It could be possible, but that wouldn’t be easy. The other maids would also be curious. It would be horrible to deal with that.

But in the master’s room…Just the two of us…Even if they were three, including the baby…If she said no, the other option was obvious.

Death.

However, being stuck in the master’s room like this for an indefinite period of time was also a life that was no different from death.

“T, then…!”

Adelen spoke with the determination to face life or death.

“U-until when?!”

“…”

Rakalt tried to gauge the size of the liver of the quasi-criminal maid who had dared to speak up. It didn’t look big, so did she just say it out of surprise? ¹Having a big liver is a very common way to say someone is reckless or courageous.

“Until I say it’s okay.”

“Ah…”

A deep despair appeared on Adelen’s face.

Rakalt couldn’t understand Adelen. Why did she sit there in such despair? He wasn’t telling her to be locked up with him for the rest of her life.

“…Hmm?”

Why did it feel that way?

“Not forever.”

“Uh, really?!”

Adelen’s face brightened in an instant.

That was really what she had thought. Rakalt let out a disbelieving sound, but realized that Adelen didn’t know about the operation regarding the crown prince.

“Could it be that you thought I brought the enemy’s crown prince to raise him well?”

“Yes…”

“The guy who was trying to pull you in earlier. I brought the baby as bait to get him.”

“That guy…Who is he?”

I heard his name. Kias.

I also know that he has a long-standing enemy relationship with the master.

“The crown prince’s uncle.”

“Ah…!”

The identity of the stranger was finally revealed.

The reason he had made such a leisurely offer to me. How he had invaded the middle of the enemy mansion. All my doubts were resolved.

‘Then she has just separated his family forever…?’

Just a moment ago, she had been proud of herself for not falling for the villain’s offer.

But with what she had found out, it was the complete opposite.

The villains were the master and herself.

The villains who had kidnapped a baby, who was living happily, and held him hostage.