Sitting in a large chair in Recardo Winchester’s office, I stretched out my feet, only my toes peeking out of the chair.
Maya was waiting outside the office, and now it was just me and Recardo in this awkward space.
I admired the decorations and medals on the walls, trying my best to ignore the way he stared at me from his seat across from me, some distance away.
Why can’t I ever feel comfortable these days?
“……Ughyagya.”
I swung my arm around as a dragonfly, flown in from out of nowhere, tried to perch on my nose.
The dragonfly couldn’t get a seat and flew away, but I sneezed.
“Achoo!”
I looked at Recardo after I sneezed, and his expression was even more stern than before.
‘Now, please send me back.’
Not knowing why he needed to see me, he brought me over. Technically, it was Maya who carried me, but…… she had no authority.
It’s just her job to carry me around whenever the situation calls for it.
After sitting and staring at me for a while, Recardo stood up. A couple of steps on his long legs and he was standing right in front of me.
“Maya.”
He parted his lips and Maya walked in from the doorway. Maya still looked nervous.
“Are you the only maid serving this child?”
Maya stared at Recardo for a moment at the unexpected question, then stammered.
“Yes, I am.”
Ever since I was born, I have been in the care of Maya, the maid Trisha had brought from her own family. No other Winchester personnel had ever been assigned as my maid.
Not like Jin and Othello, who each had their own personal servants, knights, and soldiers.
Due to the fact that I am illegitimate, a third child, and a girl, there was no reason for me to have such protection.
There’s no way they’d allocate a separate budget for a baby who’s just starting to walk.
The Winchesters’ budget is set by the Afinizu and confirmed by the Head of the Family.
“It would be better if there were even one knight among the maids.”
Maya looked surprised at Recardo’s words.
With the Afinizu dissolved, the budgetary control of House Winchester now rested with Recardo. And it looked like he was planning to attach a person to me.
“Aiya! Aiya!”
Of course, I didn’t want to put myself in a dangerous situation like I’d been in earlier, but somehow I felt like it would put a damper on my long-term plans.
I tried to express my dislike in gibberish, but it didn’t work, and Recardo continued to press his lips together.
“The knight should be…… Robin.”
Maya blinked in surprise at his comment.
Even I, the listener, couldn’t help but be surprised.
Robin is the younger brother of Rowen Hertos, Recardo’s aide and closest confidant.
Although he was only in his late teens and had just been knighted, Robin was a skillful fighter and a key prospect for the future of House Winchester.
In the original story, he is a villain who becomes the henchman of Jin Winchester, causes massive damage to the Taylors, and is killed by the male lead, Evan…….
“I see.”
Maya smiled sheepishly and bowed her head.
“Uyadi! Uyadi!”
I protested, but there was no way either Recardo or Maya could understand me.
“I think she’s pleased, Your Excellency.”
Maya was twisting around my violent reaction.
“…….”
Recardo stared at me with eyes I didn’t know whether to like or not, then turned to Maya.
“I didn’t kill you today because you didn’t have a choice.”
Maya’s lips twitched as a smile appeared on her face.
The nonchalance in his voice and face sent chills down my spine.
Such a handsome, innocent face, killing people.
“Yes, Your Excellency…….”
Maya rushed to kill the man who tried to kill me in the hunting competition, but today’s work in Afinizu was an internal affair of the family.
As a mere maid, Maya had no choice but to follow the orders of her superior.
Even if she realized that she should never have been there when Bashiron requested that he use his terrible power on me.
“If anything happens afterwards that puts her in danger…”
Recardo had waved the power of life and death over Maya before. It was when Maya left me around the 100th day and left the room for a while.
Her lips had turned blue and she could barely hide her trembling hands. Duke Recardo’s fearsome presence seemed to yank Maya’s leash at a moment’s notice.
Recardo’s gravelly voice rang out.
“You will die, without question.”
* * *
“Miss …… I am so sorry…….”
Entering the room, Maya placed me on the bed and apologized, sobbing.
“I should have taken you and run, and if the Duke hadn’t shown up, we could have been in real trouble…….”
I shook my head.
Outside the Afinizu conference room, Bashiron’s men were already everywhere.
Even if we’d managed to get away, they would have dragged us back somehow.
“Aiya. Aiya.”
I patted Maya’s sobbing head as she buried her forehead at my feet.
Maya lifted her head slightly, looked up at me, and started sobbing harder.
“Ugh, my angelic little miss……, you’re comforting me? You almost got into trouble the other day because of me, and I can’t even protect you…….”
“Uu! Uyuyu!”
“His Excellency, the merciful Duke, I should repay that favor with my life. If it had been any other Winchester, I would have had my wrists slit and my throat dangled on the spot…….”
“Upyaupya! Upyapya!”
I babbled eagerly, trying to drown out Maya’s lamentations.
Apparently there was no language filter for babies in the Winchesters, not even in the children’s books.
“Did she just say, brother?”
“Hiiiiig!!!”
And with that, a head of light blue hair appeared in front of my eyes which caused me to fall backwards.
Swear words welled up inside me, but I couldn’t bring myself to spit them out.
“Ah…… young master Jin!”
Maya, who had spotted Jin late, hurriedly wiped her tears away and bowed her head to him.
“Miss, are you all right?”
Maya then grabbed my shoulders as I fell backwards and pulled me back upright.
I felt the stars spinning before my eyes.
When the hell did he get here?
Despite thinking I had slipped out of the spotlight, the Winchesters were coming back in like a tidal wave.
“Sasha looks very surprised.”
The way Jin’s lips curled, it was like he was mocking me.
“Eue.”
I turned my head, signaling for Jin to leave, but Maya seemed pleased to see him.
“Gosh, look at how shy you are, covering your face.”
“Sasha’s not shy.”
Jin said, and then looked me in the eye. My heart always sped up nervously whenever I met those knowing eyes.
“She’s never covered up, and she’s not going to suddenly start.”
Yeah, I thought, I’ll cry and pretend to be unfamiliar with him, but Jin put an end to my thoughts.
“Haha, I guess so.”
It was Maya, smiling her best smile through her reddened eyes.
Jin was silent for a moment, then spoke up.
“I was just visiting my father and he told me about Robin. He said he’s going to be Sasha’s personal knight.”
Maya looked at Jin for a moment.
“Ah…… yes, young master.”
I also can’t help but be conscious of it, even though I haven’t outwardly seen him yet.
Because in the original story, Robin was Jin’s personal knight.
He was taken in by Jin as his knight, given a lot of privileges, and owned by Jin….. used as his limbs.
Given his personality, Jin may have had Robin planned as one of his subjects from a young age.
But it was Duke Recardo who made Robin my personal knight.
“Perhaps because of the recent events that have occurred, many of them threatening the young lady,…… It seems that His Excellency the Duke paid special attention to it.”
Maya continued, studying Jin’s mood.
Throughout history, squabbles over the heir to Winchester had been violent enough to claim dozens of lives and shed hundreds of liters of blood.
However, the reason why people have almost no worries about this generation is because, although still young, the twin Othello recognizes Jin as the successor, and I, the youngest, is actually a young girl who is Korean by birth.
However, my powers…… became a topic of conversation some time ago, and with even Robin becoming a knight under my wing, Jin was understandably displeased.
“Maybe once things become peaceful in the family again, the Duke will take away this knight…….”
“That’s good, because Robin is a very capable knight.”
Maya paused at Jin’s words.
Jin’s blue eyes locked on mine.
“He’ll take good care of Sasha.”
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I felt an odd sense of foreboding.
“…….”
I looked at Jin, unsure if Maya felt the same way.
After a moment, he whispered, in a voice only I could understand.
“…… But I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? Sasha.”
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