—
“Young Master, regarding the ‘300 Questions for Going Dark’, there are still so parts Eir doesn’t quite understand.”
—One afternoon in their small capital cottage, Will had just gotten ho from school and was happily munching on Eir’s freshly baked potato cakes, dipped in the newest bottle of ketchup, when Eir asked this.
“Haven’t you been reading that thing for years? You practically have it morized backwards and forwards. Why ask about it now?”
Will was clearly enjoying the food, taking a huge bite. He seed to burn his tongue slightly, sticking it out and blowing cool air.
To Eir, he looked incredibly cute in that mont. She instinctively reached out with a handkerchief to wipe away the smudge of ketchup at the corner of his mouth.
“It’s precisely because I’m starting to understand parts of it now... thinking it over carefully... I feel like there are many places encouraging Eir to take the initiative.”
“Oh?”
“Like question two hundred, question one hundred sixty-six, question ninety-seven... and many others. They all encourage Eir to step forward, to act on her thoughts, not keep them bottled up—isn’t that a bit repetitive?”
Eir wondered if her understanding of the ‘300 Questions’ was still too shallow, causing her to interpret different questions as having the sa aning.
She half-expected Will to waggle his finger like he used to, saying, “Not quite, you need to understand it better,” maybe even tapping her head lightly with his pen.
But unexpectedly...
Will crossed his arms and nodded.
“Very good. Compared to just absorbing what the text explicitly tells you, you’re now able to naturally integrate your own understanding. That’s worthy of encouragent.”
“R-Really? Then... then Eir’s understanding is...”
“Mhm. It’s correct,” Will confird.
“Huh?”
“You probably haven’t noticed, but my teaching thod is basically ‘fill in what’s missing’.”
“?” Eir’s wolf ears perked up, clearly puzzled by the phrase.
“So people instinctively want to deny others, deny their own feelings; others can’t clearly see their own emotions, can’t understand their own hearts.” Will cut his potato cake, speared a small piece with his fork, then blew on it gently to cool it down.
“But you’re not like that... You don’t deny yourself, nor do you deny others. Your thoughts are very simple.”
Then, Will held out the fork with the piece of potato cake towards Eir.
“Try one. Today’s batch is excellent, just a bit hot.”
Eir obediently leaned forward and took the piece into her mouth.
“What you’ve always lacked, at least when expressing affection, is taking the initiative, lacking the courage to take that step...”
She always rembered—
That day, the potato cakes she made were very, very sweet. Dipped in ketchup, they were sweet with a hint of tang.
Incredibly delicious.
And the young master had fed it to her himself.
So... it tasted even better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, Eir was taking “step after courageous step” forward.
“Today feels... off sohow, but I can’t quite put my finger on it,” Eir muttered to herself as she walked the path towards the royal palace’s main gate. She carefully lifted the hem of her maid dress, trying to keep the edges from brushing against the overgrown weeds.
It was the custom-made Hysterm maid uniform, the outfit she had worn the longest, the one she felt best presented herself to the young master in.
Therefore, she didn’t want to get it dirty before seeing him.
The weather today was beautiful, sunny and breezy. It was unseasonably “warm” for late autumn; finding such a warm day before winter truly set in would be rare.
However, after Carver’s visit last night delivering such ‘news’, Eir couldn’t feel the warmth.
Even hugging her own tail tightly didn’t bring the usual comfort.
Eir’s thoughts were simple.
She never actually cared if the young master truly had a marriage contract with the royal family.
She never actually cared if the young master’s heart truly belonged to soone else.
She didn’t care at all if the young master really eloped with soone.
All she cared about was...
That she was the young master’s only one, the one who had been constantly by his side for over a decade, the one he willingly dedicated ti to training, his proudest little maid.
The little maid he would always trust, no matter what, to bring him a “sense of security,” a “sense of peace,” the one who would “never betray” him.
An existence ant to cherish him for a lifeti.
The one person who would cherish him always, even if everyone else died.
So, facing this Eir, would he... truly abandon her?
`Carver must be lying.`
She would prove it to Carver herself, personally. Prove to him that Will needed her, needed her desperately.
`Find him find him find him find him.`
`Tell him tell him tell him tell him.`
`That I am...`
“CAW—!”
A single crow’s cry echoed from the woods, followed by a whole flock erupting with eerie, grating “caw caw caw” sounds. They burst from the trees, a dense black cloud surging towards the sun on the horizon.
Eir looked up. Even though it was morning, the dimly lit sky paired with the black crows filled her with a strange sense of desolation.
`Just now, I felt like I was thinking about so many things, like sothing inside was screaming, wanting to roar...`
Was it because...
Her heart was too agitated at the thought of seeing the young master?
Or was it...
Looking up again, she realized she had walked quite far. The palace gate was only three steps away.
`Would the young master really abandon ?`
`’300 Questions for Going Dark’, Question 2: Ask yourself repeatedly, do you understand him, understand all of him?`
“I...”
`I understand the young master best, right?` `I understand him the most.` `Absolutely the most!`
So, regarding his affairs, his thoughts, his desires, she should know the most.
Would he be happy? Trapped in the palace after getting married, would he truly be happy?
`No.`
She knew the young master best, best, best, best.
She even rembered the books he wrote so clearly.
This connection, she wouldn’t allow anyone to question it.
So, she would definitely ask him clearly—
Like this...
Boldly stepping forward.
Just as he hoped: confident and proactive.
“Hello. Sir, we et again.” She addressed the guard at the palace gate calmly.
Except...
This guard seed a little different from usual.
Every other ti, the guards here looked tired—because Eir was an early riser, she usually arrived when the night shift guards were still on duty, not yet relieved.
But...
Today, this guard...
Seed unusually alert, as if he’d just had a good night’s sleep and had only recently co on duty.
“Oh? Miss, you’re here again. Are you here today to... to see the young master?” the guard began, but hesitated mid-sentence...
He froze.
Because he also felt sothing was off about the person opposite him.
The beastkin maid who usually seed cute, even a little timid, claiming to be Will’s servant... today, she seed...
Unusually “intimidating.”
Her grey eyes were wide, fixed intently on him, as if demanding an answer.
The usually friendly smile on her face now seed tinged with a playful, almost mischievous edge.
“Yes,” Eir replied firmly.
“May I ask, today...” the guard started hesitantly.
“Can I see Will?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)