Chapter Nineteen: Someone is Swearing
Late at night.
After a busy day, Deyora came to the laundry room, usually in a secluded area of the academy.
The walls of the building were covered in star vines and Duna flowers, large patches of dark green interspersed with white spots, resembling stars dotting the night sky.
Deyora quietly admired the scene for a while, waiting in line.
After a long time, she finally got to an empty wash basin, so she picked up the basket of dirty clothes and slowly walked inside.
The laundry room was bustling with people; maids were busy washing clothes while sneaking in some idle chatter, and pleasant laughter occasionally echoed through the room.
At a glance, they were all dressed in the same style of exquisite maid outfits, and most of them were young and beautiful.
Basically, every young noble would have one or two such life maids by their side, and besides serving daily needs, some were also responsible for bedside companionship at night.
This was something Deyora had heard from their usual conversations; it was not a secret and was quite common in the academy.
In addition, they often talked behind the scenes about various rumors and gossip among the nobles, such as which countess was having an affair with her knight, which viscount was actually kind-hearted, or which seemingly serious cardinal secretly liked little boys, etc.
While it sounded interesting, for Deyora, who was always surrounding the young master, it felt quite distant, so she just listened silently, had no friends to talk to, and rarely spoke up.
However, recently, inexplicable troubles had come her way.
At first, it was merely felt in the form of exclusion; for instance, during meals, the maids would deliberately avoid her and occasionally cast her strange looks.
After a while, this exclusion gradually turned into physical friction and conflict, with senior maids often coming up to criticize her while working, and sometimes even pushing her around.
Until three days ago, the conflict escalated when a maid named Nina splashed a bucket of dirty water on her while she was volunteering to clean the corridor.
So after Shaya came home and saw Deyora taking a bath in the middle of the day, she did not choose to bring it up.
The young master was already training hard and attending classes, so Deyora would pretend nothing serious was happening for trivial matters.
Thinking this way, Deyora, who was crouched by the wash basin cleaning clothes, softened her expression considerably.
To her, Shaya was both a master and a younger brother.
While washing underwear, she unintentionally discovered a hard spot and recalled how Shaya had awkwardly hesitated that morning. Deyora smiled gently.
The young master was at that age.
Especially since there was only one bedroom in the house, they shared a bed, and sometimes she would wake up to find herself tightly embracing him.
She couldn’t help but wonder when she would fulfill the same duties as the other maids.
At this thought, her hand unconsciously brushed against her flushed cheek.
Just then, a very discordant voice suddenly came from behind.
“Clearly, the master was scared and left the academy overnight, yet a lowly maid still has the courage to stay here.”
Deyora turned around and saw a tall maid standing behind her with her arms crossed, flanked by a few lackeys.
The short-haired maid was quite striking in appearance, but her expression was somewhat mean, with narrow eyes filled with disdain and contempt.
It was that girl named Nina, serving a well-known senior from the fourth year, and she always liked to bully others because of it.
Deyora huffed lightly and continued washing.
She thought to herself, is this what the young master meant when he said to laugh at someone who stands fifty meters ahead of you while you only run a hundred?
Feeling pretty good about herself.
Seeing that Deyora did not react, Nina felt slighted and was slightly angrier inside.
She stepped forward, looking down at the beautiful maid, who was much better looking and shaped than herself, and asked mockingly, “I heard that Master Adelaide is about to lose his title, and in a while, he’ll be reduced to commoner status. When that happens, there might not be much difference between you and a lowly servant like yourself.”
“But for you, it’s good news, right? After all, the once untouchable noble lord, even if he flaunted his body, could only barely be a toy, but now, you’ll have a chance to become his wife under legitimate terms?”
Upon hearing this, Deyora’s hand, which was scrubbing, paused slightly. She tightened her grip on the fabric but remained silent.
Seeing that, Nina’s anger flared up even more.
Even about to be kicked out of the academy, why act calm here?
She stepped forward, kicked over Deyora’s wash basin, and said sharply, “Are you deaf? Can’t you hear I’m talking to you?”
The wash basin was overturned, and the foamy water spilled all over, along with Shaya’s clothes, which fell out and got dirtied on the floor.
Deyora lowered her head in silence for a while, then shook off the water on her hands and slowly stood up.
The young master had also said that when your anger exceeds the limit of tolerance, then there’s no need to endure it anymore; the Goddess of Light will forgive you!
“That damned bitch, I’ll count to three, and you better get your filthy paws to pick up and wash the master’s clothes!” Deyora raised her head and said coldly, then, as if realizing something, covered her slightly opened mouth and suddenly looked shy, “Ah, sorry, someone is swearing.”
……
Clearly, after just killing someone and casually disposing of the body, Shaya felt remarkably calm inside.
He didn’t rush into the city, thinking that this timing was a bit suspicious. If that dead assassin had a sensitive identity, it could attract the attention of the constable, leading the guards to inspect everyone who entered the city at night, which could easily lead back to him.
At that time, he would have no excuse for why a student from Norton Academy was present in such a dirty and chaotic place in the west district at such a late hour.
Bathed in the night, Shaya stood on top of a higher building, looking over the chaotic buildings extending to the edge of his sight, and then at the towering gray city walls in the distance, which divided the poor from the rich, reminiscent of a scene straight out of a surreal magical realism.
Very ironic magical realism.
Shaya sighed, waved his hand to raise a curtain of shadow, and silently moved into a dim alley.
The alley was somewhat crowded, and some people from the lower city who couldn’t afford to buy or rent a place built very simple shacks here, unable to provide even the most basic wind and rain protection. Many families of three squeezed on grass piles and ragged cloth to find a place to sleep.
At this time, most of the oil lamps in the shacks had already gone out.
Shaya stood quietly at the entrance of the alley, looking at the place he came to last time.
That lonely shack was still standing there.
Peering through the cracks in the shack, he could vaguely see a small, thin figure hugging her knees and sitting on a pile of grass, staring down, lost in thought.
Shaya thought for a moment, took a few steps forward, and gently knocked on the almost non-existent, old wooden railing.
Upon hearing the sound, the small figure looked up cautiously, and when she recognized who it was, she immediately froze.
“Do you remember me?”
Shaya waved gently, wearing a warm smile.
“B-Big brother?”
The little girl stuttered nervously, then buried her small face in her knees.
But Shaya could clearly sense that her eyes were slightly shining, cautiously observing him.
Aside from those bright, gem-like eyes, the little girl’s skin was a bit dark, her hair was dry and yellowed, and her body was thin and small. She didn’t look very pretty overall, resembling a little beggar growing up in a slum.
He smiled and said, “It’s so late. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
