19: sina (2)

"You, Sina, are the opposite of that useless girl. She only wants to cling to me and my family like a leech after her family fell, even daring to tell me what I should do. What does she think of herself?"

"...Yes, Mr. Young Master is wise and doesn't need advice from anyone." Sina continued to flatter him to keep him under her influence.

"Hmph, as expected from the maid I granted the honor of serving me, she knows well the capabilities of her young master."

"As for that leech, I've had enough of her. It takes just a little to get rid of her and sell her as a slave."

"Does the Young Master mean by getting rid of her and selling her as a slave... she...?!" Sina couldn't stop herself from raising her voice in shock at Fayte's unexpected revelation.

"Yes, it's the one you've been thinking about. she's that alleged fiancée named Stella. I'll get rid of her tomorrow, and I won't see her ugly face again."

Fayte laughed long, as if he had heard the most amusing joke, as he imagined his fiancée's face when she learned that she had been sold as a slave and discarded by her fiancé, and to whom? To his disreputable senior colleague at the Royal Academy, Durdrian.

And while the cheerful girl continued to express her thoughts, she was interrupted by the cold voice cutting through these repetitions of memories.

"You said luck finally smiled upon you?"

The mature maid said this without a clear expression, but if anyone looked closely enough, they would find that her expression was not devoid of feelings as it seemed at first glance. There were conflicting emotions leaking from her indifferent expression; There was a well-hidden sadness on her poker face.

"Yes, everyone has their lucky day, and it seems this is mine." The cheerful maid replied happily.

"Don't rely too much on luck. Luck is something unstable and uncontrollable. Who knows when it will come and at what time it will disappear? And even if it does come, who guarantees that it will come at the right time? If everyone waited for their lucky day to take action, they might miss the opportunity, and everyone would become lazy and complaining." The maid spoke with focus, and her eyes showed a kind of expertise as she said that.

She sighed. "A person must make their own opportunities and not wait for them. Luck has always been a changing thing, but diligence is the fruit of consistent effort."

'What the?... Mrs. Baya sighs and speaks in long sentences!" Sina couldn't help but be surprised when she saw the head maid talking so much.

"Isn't it supposed that this woman is the stingy one who thinks speaking requires money? She's always been one of those people who, if you speak to them for half a day, their response would be a sentence or two. What's gotten into her today? This is truly an unusual day."

Baya didn't notice that she was talking too much; Everything she said was supposed to stay within her mind only and not be voiced out loud. But those memories reminded her of reality, and then she finally noticed Sina's surprised look at her, which made her sigh and look back at her with an emotionless face.

"Don't slack off in your work anyway."

"...Understood, ma'am," the young woman replied, and the expression of surprise did not fade from her face.

'What's with this woman? Why has she suddenly started talking so much since I told her about my lucky day? There must be a story behind it... Anyway, who cares? It's my promised day, so I should focus on it and not on any other strange matters.'

After Baya left, Sina was left to her work, and she quickly finished it without any distractions. She was an excellent maid, so it was easy for her.

"Now that I've finished my work and lunchtime is approaching, my brother must be feeling very hungry. Even though I gave Roudel enough food for him and my brother, I'm sure he finished it all before my brother got his share." As she said this, Sina remembered that Roudel had come to the palace asking about its state if there were any problems.

"I wonder what made the Young Master leave the palace in such a state, and even ask me about the palace's exit... This is truly an unusual day."

"No, now is not the time to think about this, Sina. My brother is starving outside, so it's time to raid the pantry again." After saying this, Sina realized her mistake.

"Did I just say what was on my mind out loud again? Oh, I'm such a foolish girl. I meant to say I'll go visit the pantry in the kitchen... to prepare something for the kitchen affairs?"

.

..

...

As Sina spent her happy day to the fullest, there was another girl feeling distressed. A heavy aura of sadness surrounded her small, fragile body. It was Fyate's beautiful fiancée, Stella. She was going about her work without focus, preoccupied and visibly sad.

She sighed "even though I thought things would get better."

And it seemed that whatever was occupying her mind was something that never brought her any relief. As she carried the clean laundry to hang them outside, she was thinking about the thing that had saddened her.

"Did Sina's words to me some time ago really ring true? Could it possibly be that Fyate will truly abandon me?"

The idea that the last person she considered family would sever ties with her terrified her, and not only that, but that he would even sell her as a slave!! It didn't let her stop to think how much he hated being by his side and having her around. Every time she tried to get closer to him, she faced strong rejection. Whenever she attempted to take care of his affairs as his personal maid, like waking him up or bringing him food, and responded to his calls, he always got angry at her and started shouting.

Even at one point, when he refused to see her at all, she decided to write him an apology letter regardless of not knowing what she was apologizing for. She just wanted to mend her relationship with her future husband. When she finished writing it, she tried to find the best place to put the letter to make sure Fate would receive it.

"What's the place that would catch Fayte's attention more than anywhere else?" Stella asked herself this question as a necessary step to execute her plan to mend her relationship with her fiancé.

"In front of the swords in the training yard? Of course not. In front of the dining table in his room? Yes, that might work. But I know a place better than all of them."

And when Fate read that letter, he called for her to speak with her, which made the girl happy as she saw that he finally wanted to talk to her. As she entered the room, looking forward to meeting him, he ordered her not to speak and just listen. But the irony was that he, too, didn't say a word. He just raised her letter in front of her eyes, then tore it into shreds, and finally spoke, telling her to leave his room. This incident left her with great sadness and despair, but she still clung to the hope that one day her fiancé would cherish her.

She wanted to know why he was angry with her, hoping she could reconcile with him. She didn't know until when he had grown to hate her to this extent.

"No, this can't be true," she thought. "He finally started to appreciate me, otherwise why would he stand by me against Mrs. Baya? He even declared his desire to get to know me properly. If he truly intended to abandon me, why bother being kind to me?"

The maid grew more optimistic as she pondered over what happened with her and her fiancé today.

"Yes, that's right. Fait won't abandon me. He promised he'd talk to me after finishing his chores. So, it seems the news Sinna brought me was wrong."

The maid smiled, but if anyone who knew her well were there, they would know this smile wasn't from the heart. It was a smile she forced upon herself, hoping it would become genuine if she tried hard enough.

"I'm feeling very hopeful now."

She had always heard that a person makes their own happiness, but she also believed this saying was wrong. Ultimately, humans are social beings, and most of that happiness comes from others, not oneself. Therefore, pleasing people seemed almost obligatory for her to remain happy in the environment she lived in, to be accepted as a part of her society.

If one were to observe the people around them closely, they would find that most of those who were unhappy were those who were not sociable. However, Stella tried to bring that happiness in any way she could.

"I feel a great deal of energy within me."

It had reached the point where she tried to create a glimmer of hope, and if she couldn't, she would pretend to herself.

As Stella carried the basket of clean clothes, she didn't see someone standing in her way, as her view was obstructed by the pile of clothes. Neither of them moved aside, so what was about to happen was evident.

"Aaah! What is blocking my way? ... No, not the clothes!!!"

Stella didn't see the person in her path, so she didn't change her course. On the other hand, the other party didn't change theirs either.

"No, Mrs. Baya will kill me if she finds out about this. What should I do now!?"

Stella was terrified by this incident, and she began to think of a way out of this dilemma, or at least how to conceal it without the head maid finding out, and then a familiar feminine voice interrupted her thoughts and plans.

"... Ha ih.. ha ih... Forget about the clothes... Ha ih... and come with me quickly."

"... Sinna? what are you doing here?"

Sinna was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath, her mouth wide open as she tried to get as much air as possible. She couldn't even finish a sentence without stopping in the middle to regain her breath, and her words were barely understandable in this state.

"Ha ih... Ha ih... There's no time... Ha ih... for explanations. Just leave what's in your hands and come with me quickly."

"But..."

Before Stella could finish her sentence, Sinna gestured with her hand, stopping Stella from speaking, while she caught her breath, kneeling down, resting her hands on her knees.

"Ha ih... Ha ih... Give me a moment to catch my breath." Once she regained her composure, Sinna adjusted her position, stood upright, then took Stella's hand and began to pull her along.