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POV:Azalea
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Ugh... well, I'm almost there...haah~ I really don't understand why I have to do this, when I'm a viscountess, the lady of this house and the highest authority.
There was Azalea, who, with great care and after much effort, had managed to sneak into her own house.
At that moment, she was walking cautiously through the dark corridors, trying not to make any noise.
Her goal was her room, and although she had these thoughts, she continued to move forward carefully.
It was more than clear that something was causing her to panic. Luckily, she knew the guards' rounds, and if no problems arose, she would arrive without being noticed.
Okay, just a little further and...
"~My lady, I see you have finally arrived."
"!!!"
At that moment, a whisper came from behind her, causing her to let out a muffled scream of terror. Fortunately, it was silent, or all the guards in the mansion would have come to check on her.
"~I see you're fine. You don't know how worried I was. You left in the morning and are only arriving now. If you hadn't shown up before midnight, I was going to start a search."
"Oh! Silvia, how did you find me? And more importantly, why are you sneaking up on me? You almost gave me a heart attack."
"Lady, you know better than anyone the level of security in our house and I noticed you were unusually cautious, so I thought you didn't want to alert your husband, and I made sure to be careful too."
"..." No, it was you I didn't want to alert.
Yes, Azalea was cautiously entering her own home because she didn't want to alert this green -haired, golden-eyed maid with curiously pointed ears.
But now she realised that it was useless from the start, and that she had only been able to get this far because she had long since been discovered by the security measures she herself had put in place.
But there was a valid reason why she, being the lady of the city and the territory, with the position of viscountess, felt serious panic when she encountered that neat and severe maid.
"Since your security seems to be fine, I must inform you that there is a lot of work that was already on a tight schedule and you left it half done. Now there is a day's delay, not to mention the matters with the margrave that cannot be postponed any longer. Tomorrow will be a hectic day."
"Ugh! Yes, I know, ugh... I really knew it would be like this. I can't even have a day off."
In addition to being his personal maid, she was also his assistant, with whom he shared the workload. And today he had left her alone.
That's why he didn't want to face her, he wanted to at least end this day with that sweet feeling he had and not be soured by the reality of the accumulated work. But he failed.
"And that's why you're allowed these escapades from time to time, lady. But today you went too far, to the point of being unacceptable. I would like to ask you where you were and what you were doing until now. I hope you have a good reason."
"Hey, you know what? Sometimes I wonder if you're the authority here or if I am. Why do I have to listen to your complaints and questions about what I do, when you're just a maid?"
"(≖_≖) Is that so? Then, if you'll allow me, I'll resign and..."
"Oh, wait, Silvia! I didn't mean it, it's my fault. I'm sorry. You're more like my little sister than my maid. Ahem... I could even give you my position and..."
"I politely decline, I don't want it. More importantly, aren't you going to tell me where you were and why you kept me waiting for so long?"
"...No."
Azalea was willing to keep her secret about what happened and what she did under any circumstances, especially from the woman in front of her, who, in addition to being her maid, had been her friend for as long as she could remember.
If she told her what she had done with an innocent young entrepreneur who looked only a little older than her daughter, she felt that she would look at her judgmentally for a long time, a look she couldn't bear for long, and in fact, she was already receiving it.
"눈_눈"
"Wait, don't look at me like that. Some things really did happen that I can't tell you about, but it was something... hmm, important."
"Well, if you say so, it's not like I have the right to question you, being just your maid, 눈_눈."
But you're doing it now, please stop, I already feel a little guilty for manipulating that cute boy, your gaze isn't helping me at all.
Azalea really felt the pressure and wanted to change the subject or she felt she would confess all her misdeeds.
"Ahem!, look, I actually feel a little bad for leaving you with all the burden, and now that I have energy, I'm going to do everything I couldn't do today."
"At this hour, are you sure? Even though it's accumulated, it's not so urgent that you need to lose hours of sleep... Is it because of the earthquake? Did you hear something? Are the rumors true? How serious is the situation?"
"Huh? Earthquake? rumors? Why do you suddenly seem so upset and scared? It's strange to see you like this."
"How can you not know? At noon today there was an earthquake. It wasn't strong, but it was too long, lasting more than two hours. They say it was felt throughout the kingdom and even further. How could you not feel it? Seriously, where were you?"
"I already told you I won't say... Hmm, but it is certainly strange for it to shake for so long, but if it wasn't strong then it shouldn't... Oh! Is it because of the prophecy?"
"Yes, rumors began to surface and it is the topic of conversation among the inhabitants of the entire territory."
"Ah! That's why you're pale. That was one of the signs, wasn't it? But there were still at least 50 years to go, or am I wrong?"
"Yes... even so, they say it's like the prophecy and fear is spreading everywhere and..."
"Good! That will do!"
"Eh?, what do you mean?"
"That takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Look, I can use that as an excuse, to deal with the margrave issue. , and it will also help me with the rest now that I have manpower available. Well, that will greatly reduce the work I have to do. I'm going to my office."
"Ah, I see... but what if the rumors are true, my lady? What if this era ends sooner than expected?"
"That would be really bad, since humanity isn't ready. But I don't think that's the case, or there would have been a national announcement to the nobles. Nothing has come, right?"
"No... you're right. I panicked over nothing. I guess being exposed to those rumors all afternoon affected me."
"It's normal if you don't know anything, and that's why we'll use it as an excuse, since the citizens are really panicking and we have to calm them down."
"I understand. Then I'll help you and..."
"No need, go to sleep. I'm fine on my own. I'm really full of energy and I think I slept a lot during the day."
"My Lady, don't tell me you stayed somewhere to sleep and that's why you were absent. I'm sure I'm taking good care of your sleep cycle."
"Well... I really don't know where all that time went, and I don't think it was that many hours... no, it's not important. Since that happened, did any messages come from my Bia?"
"Yes."
"Really!?"
"Yes, it was a reply to the letter I sent to confirm her safety. Since I thought that's what you would do."
"/_\, yes, well done, I don't know why I thought she had finally taken the initiative and asked about me."
"She did. At the end of her letter, she asked about your safety and to make sure to send a carriage to pick her up in two weeks, when her academy vacation begins."
"That sounds like she did it out of politeness... haah~. And did that man notice my absence?"
"No. He didn't leave his room and spent the whole day with his lovers."
"Yes, I thought so. That pig does nothing productive, but he can't be underestimated, it's better to leave him alone. Well, that's all, you may leave now."
"All right. I hope you don't overdo it."
"Yes... ah! By the way, Silvia, before you leave, when you have time tomorrow, have someone investigate a person."
"Huh? Who?"
"About... hmm, is it necessary?... hmm, wait, let me think for a moment."
"?"
She was thinking of investigating Astar, the young masseur. Not because she suspected him or anything, but rather out of habit.
She usually thoroughly investigated anyone who approached her or her daughter, for safety's sake, since as a noblewoman she had many things to consider.
But honestly, she felt she shouldn't do it.
Yes, I don't think there's anything suspicious about him. If he wanted to, he could have done something to me with all the opportunities he had, and the device never activated, so he had no hostile intentions towards me.
She reasoned with herself that investigating him further, when she herself had gone to his place and started all the events, would be too much and unnecessary.
Not to mention that the emergency protection measures she had in place were never activated. He never did anything that showed dangerous intentions toward her.
"No, don't investigate anything, it's not necessary."
"You're acting strange today, my lady."
"It's nothing. More importantly, if you can, first thing tomorrow morning bring me some... oh, better not... it wouldn't be so bad if... no, yes, bring me some contraceptives tomorrow, the most effective ones. And don't ask me why or what it's for."
"(≖_≖) You know, my Lady, the fact that you're asking me this, plus the fact that you disappeared today, makes an obvious thought form in my head."
"You can get rid of that thought because it's not what you're thinking."
"Really? But you know, it's not convincing when you're wearing a strong masculine scent."
"Ah! Really?"
That was bad. She hadn't taken that into account, and it was true that it would be a problem. So, reflexively, she tried to smell that scent, but no matter how hard she tried, there was only a rich perfume; she didn't know where she had gotten it, but it was definitely not a masculine scent.
"No, but I just confirmed my thinking. Besides, tomorrow would be too risky. I'll have a maid on duty bring you contraception shortlyThanks to the Lord, we have plenty in the warehouse.
"Huh, you tricked me. And you're wrong, it's not what you think. Hey, where are you going? Let me clear things up."
Azalae tried to correct the misunderstanding, which in fact was not a misunderstanding, but Silvia was quicker, bowed, and turned away, leaving the scene at a brisk pace.
"Wait! The birth control is for my daughter. She's an adult now, and I'm going to give her sex education. Don't get any ideas!"
Until the very end, Azalea wanted to defend herself, but it was in vain, as Silvia had disappeared into the dark corridors.
"I should have gone to get them myself, but I don't have time... haah~. Well, whatever, I have to finish this quickly..."
With resignation, Azalea went to her office. She no longer had to hide from anyone, so she walked carefree.
She felt very relaxed and in excellent shape, she could easily pull an all-nighter and even more; she had never felt so good physically and mentally.
I wonder if, unlike me, he'll be tired.
Thinking about how good she felt inevitably led her thoughts to Astar, and that thought made her distracted.
It had been a really busy day even for her: she had done many things she wouldn't normally do, but if asked if she regretted her decisions and what she was doing, she would say no.
For her, it felt like something truly revealing, with many things that made her feel good. She felt that this would now be her happy space between her hectic and routine days.
Probably yes, being just a rank 1 masseur, he must be very married and exhausted, he was really very intense.
Remembering the intense moments they had spent together, she felt her legs wobble a little, especially when he said, 'I'm going to fill you up so much that you'll be impregnated with me.'
Even though he doesn't seem like it, he's a beast when he's at it. That contrast is also cute, fufufu.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she unintentionally expressed them out loud.
"We did a lot of things there, hmm... although it's not right that it happened that way."
If she thought about it, there was something she didn't like, and that was that she had been too passive. She felt that, remembering it, he was the one who always had control.
That wasn't right. She thought that next time she had to show him her experience better, so she would definitely have him in the palm of her hand.
"Well, he must be so tired, he probably doesn't feel like doing it with his wife, hehe~. And even if he can, it doesn't matter, soon he'll be mine alone and he and I can."
She continued to voice her thoughts aloud. Luckily, there was no one around to hear her.
"My Lady..."
"!!!"
But that wasn't the reality.
Another silent scream escaped Azalea, whose heart almost stopped when she was caught red-handed.
"I thought it was a bad idea for another maid to bring it, so I did it myself. But what does what you just said mean?"
"..."
Azalea thought she would use her right to remain silent under any circumstances.
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