Huh, who would’ve thought that walking around doing nothing wasn’t that bad? The sight of the people around just living their lives, families walking ho after a fun day out—it was kind of soothing.
Clearly, not having to hear loan sharks conducting “business” in alleyways helped with the atmosphere a lot.
The sky was starting to turn orange. Noticing this, I turned to Leila, who was walking right beside silently this whole ti. She even kept her dress as impeccable as her maid uniform.
“I wish to see the sun set. Care to join , Leila?”
Leila gave a curt nod. “In that case, I know where we can have a great view.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
“As you wish, Lady Carine.”
Leila began leading the way, though she made sure to stay at arm’s length.
…
We reached a park on the wealthier part of town. Despite the beautiful atmosphere and great view of the horizon, it was practically empty.
The streets were lit by posts, and as I glanced inside the hazy glass, I could see the source was luminite. Naturally, luminite emits a bright green light, but here, the glow was barely tinted green at all. It was mostly a warm yellow.
I read in a book once that you could tell where a city focused its budget by how much green tint remained in its streetlights. Filtering out every trace of green wasn’t cheap. The fainter the green, the fancier the place.
Which ant this park was awfully high class. Too bad no one seed to hang around here much though. I assud the rich had better things to do than appreciate trees and grass.
I know it was kind of weird to guess a park’s value just by its lamp posts. I could’ve judged it from the furniture here, which was made with marbles, high quality wood, and steel—Or the fact this place was situated in a wealthy neighborhood.
Anyway, before I fell into another pointless tangent…
Leila led us to a lone bench overlooking the capital city and the horizon where the sun would soon set.
“Here we are, Lady Carine.”
I looked at the horizon again. The sun was beginning its descent.
“Let’s enjoy the view,” I said to Leila.
She responded with a nod and sat beside , silent as ever.
Despite having watched the sunset countless tis, whether it be during training or from the village roads, this one felt… special.
Admittedly, Leila and I didn’t do much for this outing. We ate, we walked, and we sat. It was hardly an outing co to think of it.
But sohow, I didn’t mind it. It was a rare chance for to truly relax. To not think about my schedule, to not think about any training. Of course, the ultimate goal of this outing was to help train better, but you get what I an.
The quiet atmosphere, the gentle breeze, the beautiful view—it surprised how much I enjoyed this mont.
However, the one thing that truly made it special… was Leila.
She sat beside , quiet as ever, and honestly? I preferred it that way. I still rembered how she looked this morning: clearly distraught. And I had a feeling it had to do with work. Or rather, the lack of it.
I rembered the tis I noticed her early in the morning, already working, lightening up the load for the other servants. Clearly, it was she who needed to lighten up. But what if she didn’t want to lighten up?
Back in my past life, I too was soone like that. Well, maybe not to this extre, but I was wholly dedicated to work. It took way too long to realize that lifestyle wasn’t for . I had no ti for friends, no ti for myself. Any free mont I had was spent helping out my coworkers.
And when I got a junior to ntor—Luke—I sohow got even worse. My entire life beca work, work, work.
I wasn’t sure if I regretted it or not… but I definitely wished I could do a bit more than that.
Was Leila in the sa boat as back then? Did I have the right to try and steer her away from that? Or was I just seeing myself in her?
I didn’t want Leila to be tied to work all the ti. I wanted her to be herself from ti to ti, and I believed I saw a glimpse of that side a couple of tis.
I was admittedly confused about my own thoughts on this matter. Clearly I want Leila to enjoy herself, and if that ant work, who am I to judge? But, I also didn’t want her to overwork herself, especially for my sake.
“Lady Carine?” Leila’s voice interrupted my chain of thought.
“Y-Yes?” I said, facing her.
Leila was still gazing into the distant setting sun, now halfway down.
“If I may, could I ask you sothing?”
I blinked, caught off guard. I didn’t lose composure though. “Of course, what’s on your mind, Leila?”
She… didn’t respond. She continued to stare into the horizon for a while, as if unsure if she should even ask what she wanted to ask. But, she finally decided to go through with it.
“Lady Carine. Am I… adequate?”
I tilted my head, slightly puzzled. “Adequate? Do you an, as my personal maid?”
Leila was motionless for a mont, before giving a slow nod. Sothing about her posture felt… tense. Her usually robotic deadpan face… it looked solemn.
I was unsure on how to answer her question. I didn’t know what she categorizes as “adequate”, since I believe she already went above and beyond with her tasks. But I also didn’t want to sound like I’m over-praising her.
“Of course,” I answered instinctively. “I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else.”
She didn’t react right away. Instead, she let out a barely audible breath, her gaze still locked on the horizon. Then, with a voice so quiet I almost didn’t catch it, she finally admitted.
“You’re lying… I have already failed you twice.”
“...Huh?”
Leila turned her gaze to the cobblestone floor, her brows furrowing slightly. “I failed to protect you, not once, but twice. I… I couldn’t possibly be by your side after that…”
Failed to protect twice? What did she an?
Was she talking about the cave incident and the castle incident?
Those weren’t her fault though… The first one, Father insisted he could take care of by himself. As for the castle incident, what could she possibly do? It was a fireball attack that shook the whole castle.
“These past few days… I kept being reminded by myself, about how I failed at my job. I… I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if I failed a third ti…” Leila’s hand held tight to her skirt, ruffling its smooth fabric.
This was my first ti seeing Leila this emotional…
That ant, this morning, she wasn’t distraught because of the sudden break, but because of her fear about failing her job?
“How could I possibly be adequate… after all that?”
Leila’s brows furrowed deep. For once, I saw emotion in her eyes.
Anger.
At what? The bandits who kidnapped ? The mage who attacked ?
No, it was most likely, it was anger directed at herself.
I leaned back slightly, watching her closely. I… didn’t expect her worries to reach that deep. I didn’t want to assu that she reacted this way because she feared she might lose her job.
This was sothing… personal.
I guess that, as much as she was special to , I was the sa to her as well.
Realizing this, I leaned towards her, resting my head on her shoulders.
“Lady… Carine?”
“You have never failed , Leila,” I said, staring into the setting sun.
Leila’s body tensed slightly, but she remained silent.
“I’ve never thought of you as just a maid. You’re soone… reliable. Not because of your work, not because of your skills, but because you’re you.”
“What… do you an?” Leila asked, her tone slightly softer.
I raised my head, glancing at Leila to face her. “You’re special to , Leila. The thought that you would always be by my side grants comfort. Even if we were away from each other, I still wanted you by my side. When I saw what happened to you that day… I was distraught.”
I rembered. When I saw the injured Leila lying there, I felt the urge to catch the man who did it. The anger that drove forward… it was sothing new to at that ti.
“I don’t desire anyone else to be my maid than you, Leila. Do not underestimate yourself. You’re more than adequate, you’re special.” I turned my attention to the horizon once more. The sun was almost fully set.
“After your break is over, I wish for nothing more than for you to be by my side once more. But, before that happens… I wish to enjoy my free ti with you, as friends.”
Leila let out a shaky breath, her grip on her skirt loosening ever so slightly. For the first ti today, I saw her shoulders relax.
Leila finally turned to face . She was expressing a warm smile… sothing I never thought I would see.
“...Understood, Lady Carine,” she whimpered. “I am grateful for your kindness.”
As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, I started to see the stars twinkling in the sky. The day had co to an end, but I decided to sit with Leila for a mont longer.
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