BXBX NOVEL Chapter 485 484: Breakfast
Monica fell quiet after that, though the woman was still looking me over as she picked at her food, despite her youngest sister giving her a pout for her line of questioning.
Personally, I could understand the reasons behind her wanting to ask those questions, since - from everything I\'ve seen so far - the entire family was a rather uniquely knit together one, with each sibling having a deep desire to protect one another.
Even if they don\'t show it, like Vienna; the Wolfkin woman hadn\'t hesitated to go take her \'revenge\' on the monster down in the arena after Roman had gotten injured.
Dante looked at the blonde haired woman and gave her a small smile, saying "Monica, it\'s their private life; let them live it how they want to. As long as they\'re happy."
Leone gave her eldest brother a grateful smile, before looking dryly at Vienna as the she-wolf muttered "It\'s still a bit odd, isn\'t it?"
She tore a large chunk out of the steak in front of her, looking at the table before glancing up at Leone, meeting the Vampire\'s gaze.
"What? From anyone\'s point of view, this is odd. Add on the report that the Elven traitor seemed to be targeting her specifically, and how you all treat her, it\'s weird. Weird, and obvious that she isn\'t \'just a maid\'. Not even Draka\'s personal maid is as strong as this one, and she was hand picked by the Duchess."
Her words made everyone in the room turn back towards me, their eyes curious and slightly accusatory as they observed me.
The Empress smiled softly, tilting her head as she too looked at me, almost like she was asking \'What now, little maid~?\'
Feeling Jahi\'s emotions rising beside me, I gently laid my hand on her forearm and squeezed, before taking a deep breath as I turned towards the cluster of siblings.
"I guess I\'m not \'just a maid\', but instead their lover."
Vienna frowned, leaning forwards as she stared me straight in the eyes and asked "Then why bother hiding it? Why try and keep your position and strength under wraps?"
I had to chuckle at how similar she was to Jahi, the two of them equally straightforward and unable to comprehend not showing off your abilities.
"It\'s - to me, anyways - a simple thing, and one that all three of them have heard many times over. Something that they all likely hate hearing by now, but something that I personally want. I don\'t want the attention, the renown, the acclaim... I have no desire to be placed under a light and observed by the masses, to be famous and all of the problems that come with it. For me, I would rather be known only by those that I care about, allowed to live a simpler life. One that is spent lifting the three of them up to greater heights. Each has desires to be known for something, to leave their marks on history...
Anput desires to be strong, and to let the world know that she is strong; she and Jahi share that desire. On top of that, she wants to be a great smith, to forge weapons that are on the same levels of any fabled weapons you can think of.
Leone wishes to push the limits of any and all arcane fields she is able to practice in, to create new fields of magic and expand the existing theories. She has access to a vast amount of knowledge already, but she wants to push those borders further...
Finally, Jahi wants to surpass the Marquess, to grow as strong as Durukti and surpass even her. She wants to scale the same mountain that the Empress, her wives, and the Sultana occupies, to reach such a level that everyone knows her name.
They all want to be known, to have lasting marks on this world... I don\'t. The only mark I want to be left are the children I bear and raise. What I want is to let them shine, to let them thrive and become renowned... I don\'t want that attention, that recognition. So if I can be \'just a maid\' to the masses, then that\'s fine with me."
Everyone was quiet for a few moments, before each gave their own reactions.
Dante, Monica, and the Empress were neutral, while Roman nodded, seemingly understanding where I was coming from.
As for the twins Misa and Lisa, they were frowning slightly, confusion in their eyes, while Vienna was frowning heavily, not understanding my desires at all.
"That\'s stupid. You want to willingly be viewed as some weakling? Someone undeserving of standing beside my sister?"
I chuckled again, smiling at the black skinned woman as I replied "The opinions of the masses don\'t bother me. Nor do the opinions of those few \'on my level\' or above me. They aren\'t a large part of my life. They don\'t have anything that I care about. So... yes, I want to be willingly viewed as just the maid to these three. To support them from behind and help them realize their own goals. Like I said, my only desires are to see them succeed, and eventually, when the world is at peace, start a family of my own... with them."
Vienna scoffed, while Monica asked "What now then? When all the Knights know that you aren\'t a maid, when all of us know that... I\'m sure your classmates at the Academy will see it when you return for any classes. Your professors will see it. How can you hide your strength from those that can sense it? Why go through the efforts to do so?"
Shrugging, I replied "Just because. As for them seeing my strength, well... Respectfully, you don\'t seem to realize just how much attention these three draw just by existing. A Princess of the Empire, a Begum from the Sultanate, and the Heir to House Asmodia; all three are incredibly well known just by their bloodlines, and now that they have begun to mature? Beauty, power, intellect... they have more of it than most of our peers. With three blindingly bright flames around me, who\'s going to take notice of the dimmer, yet still impressive flame near them?"
The blonde\'s azure eyes flickered in understanding as she nodded, muttering "Fair point..." before looking away, while Dante smiled softly.
"I think you undersell your own \'brightness\', Miss. Objectively, as a woman, you are... on par with Leone. A different aura around you compared to her, but on par nonetheless. Respectfully speaking, you are a wondrous mixture of a sinful body and a mature face, and when your respectful demeanor and gentle grace is added in, well..."
His siblings frowned at his words, only to glance at the Empress as she snickered, saying "You\'re not wrong, Dante... Her and her Mother never seemed to understand just how tantalizingly gorgeous they were~! Lorelei told me many times about how Julie drew attention wherever she went, and that they were both considered the belles of their year. The only reason Julie didn\'t get much attention was... well, her \'lower blood\' and her closeness to Chordeva and Ria; even then, people were afraid of the Demoness and Elf duo~!"
Grinning at me, the Empress sipped on her wine before adding "He\'s not wrong, Katherine Zara. You seem to not understand just how dazzling your own \'flame\' can be if given space. A flame that sparkles slightly with a rather \'Divine\' grace..."
I stiffened a little at that, confusing everyone as I stared at the Empress in shock.
"Surely you didn\'t think I\'d miss that now, Katherine? Especially not after it was strengthened by these weeks of training? You\'ve been blessed by a Goddess... Few would recognize that anymore, especially not with the scent of two separate Arch Fiends cloying around your soul, but... Well, I\'m... me."
Leaning forwards, the Empress smiled as she tapped her wine glass, adding "Now whether or not you know who it was that blessed you is a different story, but you certainly know that you\'ve been blessed... and those that have been blessed are always given arduous fates that can either lead to a hell of their own making or a paradise. Either way, I sincerely doubt that you aren\'t going to stand beside them as an equal in the future... and there will be no hiding that level of strength. Once you \'scale the mountain\' that I have, hiding becomes impossible."
She stood up, smiling at us all before silently exiting the kitchen and leaving us words to mull over.