The Maid With a Child - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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21. The King
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Adren breathed uneasily, her shoulders tense.
The carriage belonged to her master—spacious, comfortable, a world apart from the public conveyances or supply wagons she’d known.
The wheels rolled so smoothly she couldn’t tell if they were moving or gliding; the suspension was flawless. The cushioned seat was so plush she felt like she was sitting on a cloud of down.
Yet the unfamiliar dress and the coil of nervousness in her chest made every position feel wrong.
And then there were those occasional glances from her master.
‘Pretty, pretty—what does that even mean?’
Of course, when her master said pretty, he meant it literally.
Pretty, ugly, bright, dark, red, blue—
mere descriptors, no deeper meaning intended. But the one hearing them couldn’t help but feel otherwise.
‘Am I really pretty?’
Before long she found herself stealing glances at her reflection in the carriage window, reaching up tentatively to touch her own face.
She’d never realized that a single word—pretty—could carry such weight.
But as the carriage drew nearer to the Royal Palace, the glow of that word faded from her mind, replaced by an avalanche of worries.
She was about to meet the King.
The King—the ruler of Tepran, the highest authority in this land.
Before him, even the tiniest slip could be fatal. One wrong move and she could be charged with Lèse-Majesty, her head on the block.
“There’s no need to be so nervous. All you have to do is stand beside me holding the baby.”
Rakalt had come to understand that Adren was perhaps the most fearful person in all the world.
From the look in her eyes alone, he could read exactly what spiral of dread was consuming her thoughts.
“But, but—it’s the King we’re seeing. W-what if I make a mistake…?”
Rakalt’s guess had been correct.
Adren began unloading her entire bundle of anxieties as if she’d been waiting for permission.
“What if I sneeze?”
“Go ahead.”
“And if s-spittle flies onto the King’s face—”
“He’ll wipe it off.”
“But what if he’s offended, what if he—”
“He won’t be angry over something like that.”
Most of Adren’s worries were utterly baseless.
They were so absurd they were almost endearing.
“But still…but still…”
Rakalt’s reassurances weren’t particularly comforting.
Adren had become so frightened that if she could, she would have thrown herself from the carriage and run.
It felt less like she was approaching the Royal Palace and more like she was being driven toward an executioner’s block.
“To be precise, you’re not meeting the King as a person—you’re being transported like a piece of furniture. A stand for holding the baby, nothing more.”
“…”
Adren blinked.
Was that meant to be reassuring? Was he saying she was even less significant than an ant?
Should she be grateful? Or should she be sad that she wasn’t even being treated as human?
But her master likely meant it as thoughtlessly as when he’d called her pretty.
“Besides, servants do sometimes enter the palace with their masters, so there’s nothing to worry about. No one’s going to demand that you perform aristocratic etiquette.”
Hearing these follow-up words, Adren finally grasped her master’s intent.
In his own way, he had been trying to comfort her.
But her shoulders, already hunched and shrunken with dejection, refused to relax.
Rakalt’s brow furrowed as well.
When he’d seen her crumpling in her room, it was easy enough to ignore and move on.
But now that she’d been dressed like a lady’s attendant and would be following at his side, that anxious slouch somehow began to bother him.
“The King is a generous and gracious man. He won’t reproach a servant for not knowing proper conduct, nor will he inflict punishment on a whim.”
“I… I see. But does he treat even servants kindly?”
“…”
Rakalt found himself at a loss for words.
The King had certainly been good to him, but he’d never actually verified whether His Majesty treated others the same way.
If the King’s standard differed depending on the person, then Adren’s worry would be justified.
“He’s certainly been good to me, so… I have to believe he’d be good to those who belong to me as well.”
Those who belong to me.
Adren’s eyes widened slightly.
She’d worked in various places, but never once had she felt she truly belonged anywhere.
Not even in House Sigelion.
Whenever his colleagues would cry out “We are House Sigelion!” he’d struggled to feel the same sense of belonging.
But in this moment, for the first time, he understood what it truly meant.
It wasn’t merely the name of the house where he worked.
It meant belonging to those within it—being the master’s own. It was a fence that surrounded him.
“If anything troubles you, it’s right that I bear the responsibility. Don’t worry yourself.”
Rakalt spoke with conviction. He guided his knights under his command such that they could not even choose their own deaths.
It was the same for his servants. They were his people, and it was his duty to protect and answer for them. That was the role of a Head of House.
“…Yes, sir.”
No other house protected or took responsibility for their servants.
Yet his master had said he would do exactly that—as if all those who belonged to the house were his own kin.
The master was a peculiar man.
Adren had been bewildered by that peculiarity. But the effect of his words was extraordinary. The maddening tremor that had gripped her had finally subsided.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Royal Palace and descending from the carriage, an attendant who had been waiting greeted Rakalt.
“Welcome, Count Sigelion. His Majesty awaits. This way, if you please.”
Just as Rakalt had said, the attendant offered no greeting to Adren as she followed behind from the carriage. He didn’t so much as glance at her. She was treated as pure furniture.
Adren let her heart settle and followed in Rakalt’s wake.
They passed through long corridors and colonnades, moving past countless doors and guards. The attendant who led Rakalt pressed forward without pause until they stood directly before the King’s Chamber.
The people they encountered along the way spared Adren not a single look either. The master’s words had been true.
And so, by the time they neared the moment of meeting the King, Adren had grown so relaxed that her nervousness had nearly melted away entirely.
“You may enter.”
Even at the final door, they did not wait long.
The moment the attendant announced Rakalt’s arrival to the King, permission was immediately granted.
Adren gazed at her master with admiration.
Certainly, there were many others waiting outside other doors. Yet the master had direct access to His Majesty’s chamber.
She was struck anew by the realization of just how extraordinary a man she served.
At the attendant’s leave, a massive door—gate-like in its proportions—swung open in the hands of four guards, and the King’s Chamber lay before them.
The tension she had released came rushing back. Now came the true moment of seeing His Majesty.
“Coo! Eee-eee!”
The Baby in Adren’s arms babbled as she walked forward, stiff with anxiety.
“Oh, little one. Uh, yes… Is it fascinating? Oh, this won’t do… Hush, now.”
The Baby, knowing nothing of tension, reached out toward the ornate decorations of the splendid chamber.
The attendant ahead glanced back toward Adren.
Adren froze and pulled the Baby tightly into her arms.
“Goo! Aaah!”
The Baby, thinking it a game, grew more animated and raised its voice further.
Now that she thought about it, though she herself was treated as an object, the master had never referred to the Baby as such.
If that were the case, it might not matter if attention fell upon the Baby instead.
‘Well, then…’
The Baby could serve as her shield. Any glances directed her way could simply be thought of as meant for the little one.
With that thought, her heart grew lighter. She even found herself with the leisure to look around.
She had come all the way to the Royal Palace—she ought to see something she could boast about when she left.
The King’s Chamber was truly magnificent.
The master’s own quarters were the size of a small house, yet the King’s Chamber felt like another world entirely.
It was so resplendent that one might imagine it was paradise itself, the reward awaiting heroes who died saving this world.
Adren looked about in wonder while staying close behind Rakalt. The chamber was so vast she feared losing her way despite being indoors.
“You’ve come?”
The King appeared only after they had walked some distance beyond the threshold.
Adren turned her head toward the voice, and finally caught sight of the King.
He was reclining halfway on a sofa positioned before a wide window that overlooked forest and lake, his head turned only to regard them.
‘That’s… the King?’
Adren was so startled by his unexpected appearance that she forgot herself entirely and simply stared.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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