Hayasaka Ai’s Winning Route

This might be written in a fairy tale.

A princess trapped by her stepmother is rescued by a prince, a princess imprisoned in a tower is rescued by a prince, a princess betrayed is rescued by a prince...

The prince is like the standard match for the princess. When the princess is in danger, he will bravely appear, rescue her from danger, and live happily ever after with her at the end of the story.

—That's right, this is the treatment reserved only for princesses, not maids.

Does anyone know what happened to the maid who cared for the princess?

Does anyone know what happened to the maid who worked hard climbing the tower stairs?

Does anyone know what happened to the female guard who helped the princess escape?

Like a pebble on the beach carried away by the waves. While everyone focuses on the beauty of the waves, the pebble sinks to the bottom of the sea.

Fairy tales are lovely for princesses.

For the unknown maids, it's just a dull drama with an inexplicable ending.

△

In a large yet simple room.

The blonde girl closes the tattered fairy tale book and places it into the same old iron box.

It's a box that could be called a "time treasure box." containing mementos she's collected since she was a child.

Her fingers caress the childish handwriting in the storybook. Expressionless, Hayasaka Ai closes the box and puts it back into the drawer.

[Hayasaka, come to my room.]

A message comes from Kaguya on her phone. She lifts her head to check the time.

It's time to bathe... But if Kaguya doesn't resolve her issue, she won't be able to bathe safely.

The same thing happens over and over until Hayasaka becomes accustomed and slightly annoyed.

It's frustrating, but there's no room for refusal.

After all, she is a maids trained by the Shinomiya family since childhood. She must be Shinomiya Kaguya's shadow, taking care of her, protecting her, assisting her, and obeying her.

This is her mission... Though it could also be said it's her desire. Acknowledging this would make her uncomfortable, so she ignores it.

If the Shinomiya family is a large birdcage, Shinomiya Kaguya is a trapped canary unable to fly freely.

Hayasaka is the bird feeder standing outside the birdcage, responsible for feeding the canary to prevent starvation.

Perhaps it seems like she's more free than herself?

She can dress up as she pleases, shop as she pleases, without the family's pressure, and she doesn't have to face inhumane old men.

But who can see the chain on her leg connected to the canary?

She never gets what's called freedom, perhaps until the end of her life.

"...Alright, let's start working."

Her black and white maid uniform swirls halfway, and her neatly tied blonde ponytail sways slightly. Hayasaka walks out of the room.

△

"Hayasaka, please read this letter."

Contrary to Hayasaka's expectations, Kaguya didn't summon her here for trivial and boring matters.

She hands a sheet of white letter paper with a serious face, and when Hayasaka opens it, she furrows her brow.

"I was halfway through reading when I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the window. When I looked closer, I saw this letter inserted into the window frame, but there was no one outside... What's going on?"

Hayasaka glances briefly at the contents of the letter. The large black characters look enchanting against the white background.

"Tonight, I will take my most precious item from the Shinomiya family! — Regards, Kaitou A."

"..."

Hayasaka thinks expressionlessly for a few seconds before pulling out her phone.

"Call the police."

"Wait a minute, are you so decisive!?"

Kaguya's face is full of disbelief, and she quickly grabs her phone. As she looks at it, she indeed dials the emergency number.

"True, calling the police for a prank is a bit excessive." Hayasaka shrugs, but her eyes are filled with seriousness, "But when a foolish joke like this delays my bath time, then whatever means used to deal with the boring scoundrel, I think it's within reason..."

"Ah, don't worry, I'm not criticizing you, Kaguya-sama."

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known. Are you complaining about me so much... Well, forget it." Kaguya sighs weakly and places the phone on the table, "I've said it before, Hayasaka, I can't do it right now. Should we start wondering who Kaito A is and what his most precious item is?

"Detective Conan."

"...That's an anime."

Hayasaka closes her mouth expressionlessly and says in surprise, "Is that so? Clearly there's an inconsistency between Ojou-sama and the maids."

"Enough, stop complaining about undeniable things like that." Kaguya covered her forehead, feeling dizzy.

(This person is usually as sharp as they come, and their mind is very sensitive, yet they start to get confused when encountering things related to themselves?)

(If it were me, I might understand what happened when I saw that letter...)

"In short! We must find the 'most precious object' immediately and protect it!"

Kaguya became enthusiastic again; since Hayasaka refused to cooperate, she would force her to follow the script.

She pointed to the door with a determined expression.

"The flowers and plants from the Shinomiya family are not something Kaito A can obtain! Hayasaka, there is a box of jewelry worth hundreds of millions buried in the long-abandoned back door. It is a treasure passed down from generation to generation of the Shinomiya family. Go there first and see, it might be the opponent's target!"

"Jewelry worth hundreds of millions? Why don't I know..." As a maids who has been familiar with every corner of the Shinomiya family since she was a child, Hayasaka was confused, but Kaguya didn't give her time to react, pushing her out of the room.

"The mechanism is written in the Shinomiya family code on that statue. Once it's confirmed to still be there, bring it for protection... Let's go!"

"Ojou-sama?"

With a loud sound, the door closed in front of Hayasaka's eyes.

"If something happens, I'll take care of it for you, so just do it."

Vaguely, she seemed to hear a voice like that.

Hayasaka glanced at the letter in her hand, a trace of displeasure passing through her eyes.

"Is Ojou-sama coming up with strange ideas again... Whether I like it or not, just play along."

Because she had been deceived by Kaguya many times, when faced with this inexplicable situation, she thought that her young lady had made a mistake and was thinking of ways to defeat Shirogane Miyuki and wanted to drag her into it again.

She had no room to refuse. It's better to say that refusing would just be a waste of time.

Feeling like she had seen a tragic ending but couldn't avoid it was truly annoying.

"By the way, it's time to..."

A smile suddenly appeared on Hayasaka's face.

As she walked towards the back door, she took out her phone, opened the communication software, and sent a message to someone.

[Are you there?]

One minute passed, no reply.

In the dark corridor, Hayasaka snorted in anger.

"You're not here right now... I want you to look good at school tomorrow!"

When she thought she might be taking a shower now, but she had to obey Kaguya's unreasonable command, Hayasaka became angry and reluctantly put a little more effort into her steps on the floor.

Suddenly, a sound came from the darkness.

"Hayasaka-san, what can I do for you?"

He was the secret guard of the Shinomiya family.

Hayasaka immediately calmed down, her steps landing lightly on the floor.

"I'm carrying out Kaguya-sama's orders and going to the back door to check it."

"Need cooperation?"

"No need, this is my personal mission." She said casually, walking past the darkness without looking at anything.

In this gloomy house, there were only her own room, Kaguya's room, and the bathroom, which was the least favorite place for anyone.

Hayasaka didn't even want to set foot anywhere else. Fortunately, she was just Kaguya's personal maids, and she didn't have to clean this meaningless big house after she turned 12.

After walking through the dark and gloomy corridor, she finally reached the back door. When she looked up, she saw that the sky was bright. Although it was hard to see stars in the city, the moonlight scattered and made this long-awaited space clean.

Hayasaka took the letter and read it, observing the surroundings of the back door.

"A statue... What is that?"

On both sides of the large iron gate, there were two fierce-looking dog statues.

Stepping through the grass, the rustling sound was clear in her ears in the silent night.

Hayasaka was used to it and walked to the back door expressionlessly, ready to investigate the statue. Regardless of whether she was deceived or not, she had just completed Kaguya's order and was ready to leave.

At this moment—

*Boom booming!*

The sound of a wild engine could be heard in the distance.

Bright light came closer from afar.

In her eyes, a golden motorcycle emitted a gust of wind, and with a loud screech of brakes piercing the night, the motorcycle stopped in front of her through the iron gate.

Hayasaka was very familiar with this car.

During the summer vacation of her last year of high school, bored with assembling computers, she relied on the Shinomiya family connection and spent one million yen to buy a used heavy engine and various motorcycle parts.

Then, along with that man, she spent two months slowly modifying the motorcycle in an abandoned factory.

After the modification, they went for a driver's license test together, and agreed to switch vehicles once a week. No one else besides themselves was allowed to sit on the motorcycle.

Especially women.

If Hayasaka found any trace of a woman other than herself there, she would wait for someone to leave for school and blow up the motorcycle right in front of their house.

And this week, the motorcycle was supposed to be left there... Could it be?

Hayasaka quickly took the letter and read the words inside clearly under the dazzling headlights.

Kaitou A... Kaitou Asada? !

Hayasaka realized, and a strange feeling surged in her heart.

"Not only did you not read my message, but you also hindered my most beautiful bath time today. You're asking for death, you bastard!"

Her expression became colder, and she said in a very cold tone.

"Kaitou A, I'll give you three seconds to explain why you're here."

He answered in a calm, familiar voice.

"To take the most important person to me from the Shinomiya family."

"...Ha?"

Hayasaka froze in place, her mind blank.

With her heart beating faster, she slowly bowed her head and looked at the largest row of words in the letter.

"Tonight, I will take my most precious possession from the Shinomiya family."

Her eyes widened, her breath unconsciously condensed, the letter crumpled in her hand, she opened her mouth, and could only hold onto one word for a long time.

"You..."

"Tonight, I am just a ruthless thief." Shinichi awkwardly played the drama, "Now, I want to take you away from the Shinomiya house."

Hayasaka's heart beat faster. Despite wanting to be angry with him just now, she took the letter and covered her face, which turned completely red to her ears.

"Wait, wait a minute, is this too sudden? When did you plan this-"

Then, she remembered Kaguya's strange expression at that time.

"Wait a minute, are you really conspiring with Ojou-sama to plot against me!?"

"Kaitou's problem can't be solved by calculation." Shinichi shrugged, pulling a wire from his pocket and preparing to unlock the ancient lock on the iron gate.

At that moment, a flashlight flickered in the distance inside the mansion.

"Who's there?!"

"Stand there and don't move!"

"If you try to invade the Shinomiya family's house without permission, you're dead!"

They were the guards of the Shinomiya family! Their response was lightning-fast!

Shinichi remained calm, but Hayasaka was confused and urgent.

"How long do you need to untie a wire? Don't you have any other lock-picking tools? A shovel? A stick? You didn't even bring the master key?"

Seeing the flashlight slowly approaching, Hayasaka didn't wait for Shinichi's answer. After taking a deep breath, her expression calmed.

"Stop, go back to the motorcycle!"

Shinichi glanced at her, suddenly smiled, without hesitation, he released his wire, returned to the motorcycle, clicked the throttle pedal, and shifted gears.

The roaring sound of the engine echoed like a wild beast throughout the night. Seeing the man outside the door seemingly driving away, the Shinomiya family guards quickened their pace and approached the back door.

Hayasaka twisted her ankle and did some unnecessary warm-up exercises, then tied her long maid's skirt into a knot around her thigh and stepped back a few steps.

"I'm completely defeated by you."

In a chuckle.

Hayasaka ran for a moment, jumped, and supported one hand on the cement wall. Her graceful figure crossed the night sky, a perfect arc that caught everyone's attention, and then fell outside the wall.

With her leather shoes firmly planted on the ground, Hayasaka reached out to grab her horse's reins, her expression unchanged.

The Shinomiya family guards arrived at the back door just in time, but could only see the graceful figure.

Shinichi clapped his hands.

"Score a hundred full marks. I'll give you two hundred so you won't be proud."

He put on his safety helmet in one swift motion on the back seat.

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up."

Shinichi pressed the gas pedal twice and smiled.

"This is the first time I've seen a hostage so cooperative in a kidnapping."

"Anyway..." Hayasaka hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his back, and whispered, "I've been wanting to do this for a long time."

Her life was not a fairy tale.

There was no prince riding a white horse to rescue the princess, and there was no princess waiting in a tower until the prince rescued her.

There was no determination to sacrifice life for the lover, nor was there a desire to wait for the elixir of life on the moon.

She was not in anyone's story; she was just an unknown maids.

Therefore, someone created a story just for her that was hers alone...

There was no prince, but a young thief playing an awkward show.

There was no princess; there was a rebellious maid bound by chains.

If there was a story that depicted the end of the little person next to the princess.

Hayasaka believed that this would surely be the end, although not too complete, it could make her smile happily no matter how they looked at her.

Under the astonished gaze of other house guards, she waved and disappeared into the night with the most important person to her.

△

In the room.

Kaguya looked at the silhouette outside the window and finally showed a smile.

"Hayasaka, thank you for your hard work... Be happy."

They were friends like sisters, childhood friends who grew up together, understanding and supporting each other.

Tonight, she left her like this, and she felt a little lonely...

But as long as she could find her own happiness, as long as she could escape from that lonely and locked heart... Then for Kaguya, this loneliness was nothing.

"Asada-kun, I will leave her side to you... As for this side, leave it to me to repay her for taking care of her for years."

Putting a resume with the name "Asada Shinichi" in her hand into the drawer, Kaguya turned around and smiled at the maid who suddenly opened the door.

She just said it calmly.

"Help me report to my family. I asked Hayasaka Ai to elope with her boyfriend. She won't be back for a few days... If she has nothing to do with me, don't bother her."

Housekeeper: "???"

△

On the night street, a golden motorcycle couldn't be hidden even in the darkness was speeding.

Moreover, since no one saw it, Hayasaka showed her smile without any precautions, rubbing her nose against Shinichi's back, biting it with her teeth through the leather jacket, and breathing deeply.

When she was satisfied, she sat up straight.

Eyes closed and open, and the icy blue eyes dewed again.

Her expressionless face, her chin resting on Shinichi's shoulder, and she spoke near his ear.

"Hey, have you not thought about the consequences of doing this?"

Shinichi's voice was unwavering in the midst of the strong wind.

"I've thought about it, you can't leave the Shinomiya family forever, can you?"

Hayasaka lowered her face and spoke calmly.

"Yes, not to mention that most of my assets are in the name of the Shinomiya family, including some stocks and real estate, as well as my mother and Kaguya... I can't just leave them and run away to places like Hokkaido and Okinawa to live in exile."

(You even thought about a place to elope...) Shinichi complained silently in his heart.

Hayasaka continued in a low voice.

"This chain is what binds Lady Kaguya and me forever... The Hayasaka family has been the personal guards of the Shinomiya family for several generations, and the children born also have to bear this responsibility. It's passed down from generation to generation, like a curse carved in blood."

"Even if you take me out of that birdcage, as long as this chain exists, I can never escape from the curse of the Shinomiya family and the Hayasaka family..."

She hugged him tighter.

"Unless you destroy the Shinomiya family."

Shinichi was silent for a moment.

"...That can't be done. They're the top three chaebols in Japan."

Hayasaka chuckled softly and didn't blame him, but just agreed with him: "Then after walking out for a while, come back with me to apologize. They won't make it difficult for you."

"After all, I'm just a maids."

Shinichi replied calmly.

"Still, the girlfriend and fiancée of Asada Shinichi."

Hayasaka's face blushed again, and even though the strong wind blew, she couldn't calm down quickly.

But shortly after, she put on her "mask" and sneered.

"Oh, you haven't confessed your love to me yet. Are you too arrogant to talk about having a girlfriend?"

Shinichi immediately said loudly and very seriously.

"Hayasaka Ai, I like you, be my girlfriend!"

Hayasaka pursed her lips: "It doesn't feel romantic at all. At least find a Western restaurant and have a candlelit dinner..."

"You can make it up later. Just tell me if you agree or not?"

"... " Hayasaka couldn't speak, biting her lip. After a long time, she hummed softly, then lay on him and hugged him tightly.

"So that I won't be kicked out of the motorcycle, I agree with you... And because I'm not someone who likes to go back on my words, once I agree, the effect is..."

Forever.

She asked softly.

"... You'll always be with me, right?"

"You'll always be by my side."

"... You'll always love me, right?"

"If love and like are the same."

"... If one day I can break free from my chains and run to the end of the world without anything pulling me back, would you come with me?"

At this moment, Shinichi was silent for a moment.

Hayasaka closed her eyes and hugged him calmly.

"Look ahead." Suddenly, Shinichi said.

Hayasaka lifted her head, her eyes widened, and she stared blankly at the "scene" shining in front of her.

Shinichi's voice sounded clear in her ears under the night sky and amidst the strong wind that had never been there before.

"This is my answer!"

Hayasaka's lips trembled, her face red, and her arms supporting his waist stiffened.

"You, you, you..."

Seeing the "5-Star Hotel" sign shining above her head, Hayasaka realized that she was so nervous, embarrassed, scared, and anticipatory that she couldn't say a word.

Shinichi drove to the hotel parking lot.

"Now, I plan to work at the Shinomiya house after graduation. Whether it's as a secretary, gardener, or housekeeper, I'll do whatever position is available. Anyway, the best thing I do is learn."

"If I'm with someone I like, I can live in a birdcage or a castle."

"So, don't worry."

What Kaitou A wanted to rob wasn't just Hayasaka.

Including her heart, her future, her identity, her chain, her curse... Shinichi would take them and become the only protagonist in Hayasaka's story.

Prince?

How could a man riding a horse and only living in a castle without WIFI or hot water and no atmosphere at all compare to him who had a motorcycle and was aiming for a five-star hotel?

His maid was beyond the prince's reach!

Thinking about this, Shinichi smiled proudly.

"Smile... You're so silly!" Hayasaka clenched her fists, her whole body feeling hot, and she gritted her teeth.

"That's not why you rushed to the hotel right after confessing to me! You're really stupid!"

△

Ten years later.

"Can Mom tell a fairy tale?"

"Okay, Saori-chan, what do you want to hear?"

"That's the story of [The Masked Maid and the Ghost Rider Thief]!"

"That's not a fairy tale..." The young woman named Hayasaka Ai, now Asada Ai, sighed, but her cold face slowly turned into a warm spring smile.

"Um~ Then we should start talking about it ten years ago."

"In the library of a certain high school, there was a young man who loved to read. As a maids of a large family, a girl was ordered to connect with him and find out something about him, then..."

The story had the happiest ending this way.