## Chapter 755 – Paladin Kim Kat

The blonde maid with a composed demeanor greeted Winia familiarly. That alone was enough to tell what kind of woman she was.

“…”

Probably a maid from Winia’s house.

Her clothes were not just neat, but luxurious. While the image of a typical maid or servant might be someone who cleans or pours tea, in reality, their duties varied depending on their classification.

In any case, judging by her refined attitude and appearance, she was an outwardly active… kind of maid? She even had a badge on her chest. The fact that she spoke to Winia directly meant they knew each other well.

“It’s been a while.”

Even her voice was incredibly calm.

So, this is how we meet.

Honestly, after coming to the capital, we’d been wandering around so much that it was inevitable we’d be spotted. It was only a matter of time. It’s not like short, busty women with pink hair are common, so a sighting report probably made its way to Winia’s family.

I’d always thought this would happen eventually.

This maid probably confirmed our identities and then waited for us to come out after seeing us enter the library. There were so many maids and errand runners walking around in this area that it wouldn’t be noticeable.

But for some reason, I didn’t feel anything special.

So what if we met?

Nothing changes.

“…”

Winia simply narrowed her eyes and stared at the maid.

The maid remained perfectly composed under that gaze. Blonde hair, green eyes, and a chest that certainly seemed to prove she was a maid from Winia’s family.

I had a feeling I knew why she was approaching us, but it was best if Winia took the lead here. I just silently took her wrist.

“…”

Seeing that, Winia spoke first.

“…Yes, it’s been a while. How have you been?”
“After you left a few years ago, Miss, my duties changed, which was a little inconvenient. But it wasn’t difficult to adjust, so yes, I can say I’ve been well.”
“Erica is resourceful, so I thought you’d be fine. Glad to hear it?”
“I wouldn’t say I was particularly glad.”

The two of them started talking naturally.

Erica?
That must be her name.

Judging by their conversation, they didn’t seem to have a strained relationship. More like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while… well, not quite. Acquaintances? Something like that.

They were comfortable with each other.

I could guess they had a good relationship, but I couldn’t make a judgment yet since I didn’t know the details.

“It would have been better if you hadn’t left.”
“Then I wouldn’t be happy.”

Of course, you wouldn’t be, you bitch. How dare she say something like that to Winia, who ran away because she didn’t want to go through with a backward arranged marriage.

It didn’t make sense.

“Is that so? I thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing for you to get married, Miss.”
“What do you know? Anyway.”

But there was quite a height difference between them.

Winia was a bit on the shorter side.

“How did you find me? Were you tailing me? Even if you were my personal maid, suddenly tailing me is a bit much.”

Personal maid?

Ah. So that was their relationship.

If she was her personal maid, that meant she was the woman who had been by Winia’s side since she was young, taking care of her. Hearing that, this attitude made sense. They might have had a very close relationship.

And that she had been working as a maid in the Bellatude family for almost twenty years.

That was a significant position.

“I don’t think I was tailing you. I simply heard that a female mage with similar characteristics to you was frequenting this library, so I was waiting here just in case.”

So that’s what it was.

A powerful noble family.

It was only natural that they would receive sighting reports like that. We’d been in the capital for quite a while. It was just a matter of time before something like this happened.

“When did you return? If you were going to return, you should have come to the family to say hello first.”
“Why would I go there?”

Why would Winia go there?

“Are you still angry with the head of the family?”
“Wouldn’t it be weird if I wasn’t? Erica, would you want to marry someone someone else chose for you and live like that your whole life?”
“If the person was a noble man, I’m confident I could live happily.”
“I hate that so much, seriously.”
“…”
“And it’s not just about being mad at Mom. I don’t like that woman. Do you like all your family members, Erica? I don’t even want to see her face, and I don’t want to live according to her wishes. That’s why I told her I was leaving.”
“…That’s right.”

They seemed close enough to talk about this, but… the maid’s attitude was so calm that I couldn’t tell her exact emotional state.

She must have had some regrets.

“So… how did it feel to gain your freedom?”
“There were a few shitty things, but everything else was great. I’m happy. I always think I made the right decision to leave.”
“…I’m glad to hear that. When I saw you return to the capital, I was worried you might have come back after being hurt somewhere.”
“I appreciate that, Erica.”

A moment of silence.

“…”

They looked at each other’s faces without a word.

“By the way, who is this gentleman beside you?”

Erica’s gaze suddenly turned to me. Her green eyes were decent enough to look at. I quietly made eye contact with her.

“My man. My husband.”

Winia said, linking her arm with mine.

“…”

Silence again.

“…I am Erica, a maid of the Bellatude family and Miss Winia’s former personal maid.”

She stared at me intently before introducing herself politely. There didn’t seem to be any particular emotion in her voice. I was wearing casual clothes, but I appreciated her not caring that my hair was black.

“I’m Kim Kat.”

I greeted her as well.

That was it.

“…So you married the man you wanted to marry.”

She shifted her gaze back to Winia and said.

“I have to choose for myself. I don’t want to live the way someone else tells me to.”
“Indeed. That is only natural.”

Arranged marriages are anachronistic.

“Anyway, congratulations. But I don’t know if the head of the family will think the same way…”
“What does Mom have to do with it? I don’t care.”
“The problem doesn’t disappear just because you don’t care, Miss.”
“That’s true, but I’m not worried. It’s not a problem.”

I was really curious about what Winia’s mom was like.

Maybe she looked like Winia, just a bit older? She was said to be a very skilled mage, so if you stood them next to each other, they might just look like sisters. Well, moms, older sisters, and younger sisters all have a similar vibe.

Anyway, thinking back to Winia’s personality when I first met her…

She didn’t seem like a very nice person. Trying to force her daughters into marriage wasn’t a good thing either. Ah, but maybe that’s normal in this world, so it’s not that bad?

Still.

Now that we’d been spotted by the maid, word would naturally spread, and if she found out her daughter had returned, she would try to contact her somehow.

That was only natural.

“Right, Blackie?”

As I was thinking that, Winia looked up at my face and said.

“Yeah, that’s right. What’s the problem? It’s weird for a grown-up to live according to their mother’s wishes. People have freedom.”

Winia said she hated her home, and she was already my woman. Nothing would ever change that. What could they do even if they said something? Winia was an adult who could decide her own life with her own will.

She wasn’t a child who would always act the way her parents told her to.

“So what if Mom is a rich mage? That doesn’t mean I have to live the way she wants me to.”
“That’s right.”

Winia seemed happy with what I said.

“So, Erica. Are you going to tell Mom you found me?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
“If I told you not to, would you not?”
“As a maid loyal to the Bellatude family, I cannot do that.”

That meant she had no choice but to tell them.

Judging by what she said, it seemed like Winia’s mom didn’t know yet. Was that because she hadn’t reported it yet? Anyway, she would find out after today.

“Then do as you please. What can I do? You’re not my personal maid anymore. I’d prefer you didn’t, but I won’t blame you if you do. Do what you want.”
“If I could do what I wanted, I wouldn’t say anything.”

Ah.

Was that what she was thinking?
That wouldn’t be bad.

“But I’m not in a position to do what I want. I’m sorry, Miss. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, and this is all I can do.”
“…I know, so don’t worry about it.”

I should ask her what their exact relationship was when we got back.

“I was glad to see you, though. I’m doing well, so just know that.”
“…”

Erica paused for a moment before saying.

“Perhaps.”

Her voice seemed a little shaky.

“We will meet again soon.”
“I guess so.”

If Winia’s family found out, we would definitely meet again.

“Goodbye, Erica.”
“Yes.”

With those words, Erica bowed politely and turned around, walking away with a composed demeanor. We watched her back as she walked away.

“Winia.”

Erica, the maid of the Bellatude family, was Winia’s personal maid before she left home. They seemed quite close.

“Are you close to Erica?”
“We’ve been together since I was little, so if you call that close, then yes.”

So they were close.
I asked a little more.

“What exactly is your relationship?”
“It’s nothing special. She was just my personal maid. She’s older than me. She was more like an older sister than my real sisters. You know?”
“I guess so.”

The family seemed quite strict, so a personal maid like that would have been more like an older sister than Winia’s two real sisters.

That’s how nobles were.
It wasn’t hard to understand.

“It was nice to see her after so long, but… well, it can’t be helped. And she tried to convince me that I had to get married because it was an arranged marriage. I guess she was just following Mom’s orders… so I didn’t like her much back then.”

Winia said in a rather regretful tone.

“That can’t be helped either.”
“I guess so now. But I was younger than I am now when I left.”
“Why, what did she say back then?”
“I just got a little angry.”
“Do you regret it?”
“I didn’t at first, but I did later… I want to apologize for that too.”
“Then you can do it later. Just think about that now.”
“…Okay. I will.”

Everyone has regrets.

“Well… I guess we’ll meet again soon. Of course, I trust Blackie. He told me he’d take care of everything no matter what.”
“Those words will last a lifetime, so don’t worry about anything.”

I’ll take care of everything.

“Hehe. You’re funny, really.”
“What?”

I talked with Winia like that and went home. It looked like we’d be going to Winia’s house soon. I wasn’t particularly worried, but I needed to find out about Winia’s mom in advance.

“But Winia. What’s Mom like?”
“Hmm… just a head of the family with a bad personality? She’s good at magic, and she’s good at business. She’s a bad woman who only thinks of her four daughters as tools.”
“She’s a fucking bitch. Is it okay to say that?”
“Yeah.”

Fortunately, she didn’t take it as a personal attack on her mother.

“I think she originally wanted to have a son to inherit the family, but she was unlucky. Who knew she’d only have four daughters? Maybe that’s why our dad left too.”

Why couldn’t he make a son and got abandoned by the big-boobed lady?

“Do you have any good memories of Dad?”
“Almost none? I don’t think he was a very good person.”

What a crazy noble family.

It felt like there wasn’t even a spoonful of normalcy. It was only natural that they would have bad personalities in a house like that.

“But Winia. Is breast size genetic?”
“What?”

Winia paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes at me.

“Blackie, don’t tell me… you’re interested in my mom?”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”

That could never happen!