Chapter 1310: Special Extra: An’s Crisis

An first met Young Master Muen when she was eight years old.

That year, an elite demonfolk squad crossed through a spatial rift in the Abyss, slipped past the Empire's western defensive line, and invaded the borderlands.

Her hometown, an utterly ordinary little village, suffered total destruction amid the demonfolk's rampage and was almost completely razed to the ground.

She was the sole survivor, a pitiful child left in despair, yet at the same time she was extraordinarily fortunate. Lorne Campbell, the Imperial Grand Duke who had come to eliminate the demonfolk, adopted her, and from that point onward she became a trainee maid of the ducal estate.

After undergoing strict training and identity screening, because she was close to him in age, she naturally became the personal maid of the most cherished person in the entire ducal estate—the Duke's only son, Muen Campbell.

So many factors, so many coincidences, made that encounter seem almost predestined.

Even now, An could still clearly remember the moment she first met Young Master Muen.

It was a bright, sunny morning.

Young Master Muen, having learned that he was going to have a personal maid, stood high above her on the courtyard steps with an arrogant expression.

"So you're my personal maid?"

Sunlight poured down over his head, illuminating every strand of his hair until it seemed almost translucent. His features were handsome, and despite his young age, one could already see the outline of the handsome man he would become in the future. It could be said that he had perfectly inherited and blended the sharp majesty of his father, Lion King Lorne Campbell, with the gentle softness of his mother, Madam Noias.

Almost anyone who saw him for the first time would probably freeze for a moment because of his appearance and the unmistakably noble bearing he possessed despite his youth.

An had frozen too.

But it was not simply because of those reasons.

At that moment, she had felt a kind of throbbing she had never experienced before.

It came from the deepest part of her heart, from the depths of a heart that had long since sealed itself completely after the deaths of everyone she loved.

It was an emotion she could not understand at all.

She did not know where that feeling came from or why it had arisen. She was certain that before this moment, she had never even seen Young Master Muen once.

Yet this single meeting caused the chest of an eight-year-old girl to surge like a tide, impossible to calm.

Was this love at first sight?

Young as she was, she did not understand.

She knew only one thing.

Her instincts told her that she had to remain by Young Master Muen's side, serve him, care for him... and then possess him.

Yes.

Possess.

As though possessed by some strange impulse, a word like that surfaced in the mind of An, who at that moment did not even understand what love was.

A word that was hardly pleasant in meaning, yet clung to her like a curse she could not escape.

"Yes, Young Master. From now on, I will personally take care of you."

An folded her hands neatly over her lower abdomen.

It was the first time she bowed to him as a maid.

At that moment, for the first time since losing everything, An experienced the emotions of joy and happiness.

Even if the source of that joy and happiness was so strange.

At least she had finally found the road ahead of her.

She began studying diligently, taking on responsibilities that someone with such a young body and precocious age should never have had to bear.

She quickly became an excellent maid, shed the title of "trainee," and personally received permission from Grand Duke Campbell to remain permanently at Young Master Muen's side.

Everything was moving in the best possible direction.

She was filled with anticipation for the future she and her young master would share.

But...

Before long, she began to sense that something was wrong.

It was not that she was dissatisfied with her life. Although her status was merely that of a lowly maid, House Campbell was one of the Empire's foremost ducal houses. No one would dare bully even an ordinary maid of House Campbell, much less the personal maid of the Campbell family's sole heir.

Nor was she dissatisfied with her young master. At this time, although Young Master Muen possessed the usual faults of a pampered child, his personality was not particularly terrible. Aside from being mischievous and fond of playing around, he had few other shortcomings.

But... something simply felt wrong.

As if somewhere...

Something was missing.

She would often secretly stare at Young Master Muen's profile or at his back, trying to figure out the source of that strange feeling, but she could never find an answer.

Young Master was Young Master.

How could there possibly be anything wrong with him?

It was only through [N O V E L I G H T] an accidental realization that she suddenly understood why something felt wrong.

After spending some time with her young master, no matter what she did, she could no longer find that initial throbbing sensation.

It was as though she had discovered a treasure and was pursuing that treasure, but gradually, she found herself feeling more and more that the treasure was not quite as alluring as she had imagined.

Of course, that was not because there was anything wrong with the treasure itself.

She still wanted to have him.

To possess him.

But the person he was now seemed just slightly mismatched with the hollow place inside her soul.

Or perhaps...

He simply could not completely fill that hollow.

"Why?"

She did not understand.

And so, after thinking for a long time...

"Could it be... that it isn't because there's anything wrong with Young Master, but because the current me cannot completely possess him, and that's why I feel unsatisfied?"

One night, she secretly entered Young Master's room, gazed at that young yet handsome face, and came to this conclusion.

Yes.

As his personal maid, she undoubtedly possessed the advantage of being closest to him and could easily make him hers.

But that would not be absolute possession.

For example, there was the engagement she had only recently learned about.

Young Master Muen's fiancée was the Empire's universally admired Third Imperial Princess, a naturally gifted and extraordinarily intelligent girl who was even said to have received the favor of the Goddess of Ice and Snow and obtained the exceedingly rare blessing of Divine Favor.

If that engagement truly came to pass, then in the not-too-distant future, that woman would undoubtedly snatch Young Master away from her with ease.

An could not tolerate that.

Therefore...

After considering it again and again, she decided to make preparations in advance and guide Young Master ever so slightly, shaping him into the form she desired, and then...

Making him completely hers.

...

...

"Has it really been ten whole years?"

An looked at herself in the mirror and murmured softly.

Time had passed, yet those distant memories remained just as vivid to her.

Because at every moment, she continued engraving those predetermined goals into her heart, repeating them to herself again and again. She knew exactly how difficult it would be to achieve them, and so she never dared relax for even a moment.

Ten years.

She had become the finest maid, her every movement dignified and elegant to such perfection that even a royal etiquette instructor would have been unable to find the slightest flaw.

Ten years.

Young Master had been like a puppet controlled by strings, constantly growing within the web she had so carefully woven, until gradually he had come to trust her unconditionally.

Ten years.

One disgusting bug after another had been attracted by Young Master's power and appearance and tried to approach him, but she had secretly dealt with every last one of them. Now, with Young Master's reputation gradually worsening, those bugs no longer even approached him of their own accord.

Ten whole years.

Everything had proceeded according to the predetermined plan.

Although there was still a faint, inexplicable sense that something was not quite right, through her efforts all the preparations had already been completed.

All she needed was a single opportunity, and she would be able to completely accomplish her objective.

And that opportunity was right before her.

—Young Master's coming-of-age banquet.

As long as she handled things properly, the engagement, status, and shackles of worldly convention could all be cast aside by Young Master.

He could completely unite with her.

Be possessed by her.

That was how it was supposed to be...

But...

"Young Master has been acting a little strange lately."

An slammed a fist into the mirror.

The glass instantly shattered, one half reflecting her dignified, smiling face while the other looked hideous, like an evil spirit.

"Young Master... has changed."

That morning, she had seen Young Master get bumped into in the corridor by a careless little maid, spilling black tea all over his brand-new formal clothes.

In the past, Young Master would unquestionably have flown into a rage and inflicted some terrifying punishment upon the little maid.

But this time, he had not become angry in the slightest.

Not only had he refrained from blaming the little maid, he had even thoughtfully told the sick girl to go rest immediately.

The smile he wore at that moment had been so gentle it hurt to look at.

Then, in the afternoon, she saw Young Master voluntarily enter the estate's training room, where he experimented with various equipment, trained his body, and did not stop until he had completely exhausted himself.

The same was true that evening.

She had even seen Young Master enter the library, a place he had never willingly stepped into before, and begin carefully reading all kinds of books.

...This kind of diligence and hard work was nothing like him.

One had to remember that during an entire semester at Saint Maria Academy, he had barely managed to learn a single illumination spell.

Of course, those things alone were not enough to make the extraordinarily composed An lose control.

After all, they did not prove anything.

It was not as though Young Master had never suddenly become interested in something before, focused intensely on it for a short time, and then quickly abandoned it.

What truly made her heart grow heavy was what had happened just now...

...

"Young Master, are you going out?"

An was somewhat surprised to see Muen preparing to leave.

It was already late, and she had never heard of Young Master having any plans to go anywhere tonight.

"Mm. Yeah. I'm going out to buy something."

Muen answered.

The exhaustion left by the day's hard work still remained on his face, but this outing seemed to be very important to him, because despite being so tired, he was unwilling to give it up.

"I'll accompany you," An offered.

"No need. I'll be fine on my own."

"But aren't you going to buy something? Wouldn't it be better to have someone help you with advice or choosing? And you look so tired right now. I really won't feel at ease if you go alone."

"...Advice?"

Muen seemed not to hear the long string of words that followed.

He muttered that one word under his breath, then suddenly nodded.

"That's true. I really do need someone to help me decide."

"Then..."

"Then I'll have the head maid come with me."

Muen smiled. "Doesn't she happen to need to purchase some supplies anyway?"

"Huh? But the head maid..."

"Indeed, I do."

At that moment, the ducal estate's head maid, Fei, appeared from who knew where. "If Young Master doesn't mind, then you really could travel together with this old woman."

"How could I mind?"

Muen shook his head with a smile. "The head maid's experience will be very useful to me. I'll be relying on you this time."

Muen did not say exactly what he was relying on her for, but Fei seemed to understand immediately.

"Understood. I'll give you a satisfactory answer."

"Then it's settled."

Only then did Muen turn toward An, who was standing there in complete bewilderment.

"An, you should go rest first. We'll be back soon."

"But Young Master, I also want to..." An tried to make one final effort.

"Be good. Listen to me."

Muen suddenly put on a stern expression.

"Are you not even going to listen to your young master?"

An: "..."

She had nothing to say.

As his maid, how could she truly defy her young master?

She could only watch as Young Master and the head maid boarded the carriage and quickly disappeared from her sight.

And then...

Came the present.

"The first time."

Her palm pressed against the sharp edges of the shattered mirror.

Several drops of blood slid down An's fair arm, yet she did not seem to notice at all.

"This is the first time Young Master has hidden something from me. And when going out, he'd rather bring that old hag Fei than bring me. There must be something suspicious going on."

After ten years of meticulous training and guidance, she should unquestionably have been the person Young Master trusted and felt closest to.

So why had he not chosen her this time?

That one matter alone might have meant nothing.

But combined with all the sudden changes from earlier, she immediately realized that something she did not know about seemed to have happened to the current Young Master.

A feeling that everything was slipping out of her control naturally arose within her.

"Could it be..."

An suddenly shuddered as a terrifying possibility surfaced in her mind.

"Young Master... has already noticed my plan?"

Had he already discovered her plan to use this coming-of-age ceremony to stir up trouble and completely possess him?

No...

Impossible.

She had acted so subtly.

She had not even left behind any concrete traces.

Most of what she had done had simply involved manipulating Young Master himself and guiding him down the wrong path.

How could he possibly discover it?

But no matter how unwilling she was to admit it, every sign now seemed to point toward that conclusion.

An gritted her teeth, turned, left the room, and walked to a window in the corridor.

The night was growing deeper.

Yet throughout the enormous ducal estate, there was not a single maid in sight.

Young Master's coming-of-age ceremony was almost upon them.

Even at night, how could this place possibly be so quiet?

The current situation looked exactly like someone had deliberately sent all the unnecessary people away in advance so they could more easily...

"L-Lady An..."

"Who's there?"

An whirled around, her entire body tensing like a wild beast released from its cage.

"I-It's me."

A small head cautiously peeked out from around the corner of the corridor.

The young maid, Noa.

She had received Young Master's special permission and should have been resting, yet she had appeared here.

"Is something wrong?" An asked.

"N-No, nothing..."

Noa spoke hesitantly, looking somewhat nervous. "Young Master just asked me to pass along a message. He wants you to go find him in his room."

"Young Master? He's already back?"

An lowered her eyes.

Young Master had returned.

And she had known absolutely nothing about it.

No matter how much she wanted to deny it, everything was now painfully clear.

"Yes, Young Master is already back." Seeing An remain silent, Noa reminded her nervously, "He told you to hurry over."

"I understand. I'll go right away."

An suddenly raised her head.

Countless thoughts churned inside her mind.

Yet outwardly, she remained as dignified and calm as ever.

After all, she was Young Master's personal maid.

Article Seven of the House Campbell Maid Handbook: An excellent maid must remain composed and calm at all times.

And she had always been the finest maid of them all.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

Her high heels struck the marble floor in an extremely steady rhythm.

An's steps remained as stable as ever.

The distance of every step was identical, as though measured with a ruler.

She soon arrived in front of Muen's room.

Without the slightest hesitation, she pushed open the door.

—What greeted her was nothing but darkness.

Just as expected.

Loneliness.

Darkness.

The unknown.

There was nothing better than these things for tormenting a person's heart.

Young Master was probably planning to crush her psychologically first, force her to confess everything truthfully, and spare himself the need for an interrogation.

At some point, Young Master had even become this clever.

This was never the direction she had intended to guide him toward.

"In the end... I failed."

An laughed self-mockingly.

She walked into the room, her expression so solemn that it was as though she were heading toward an execution ground.

Yet several flashes of silver light were continuously dancing between her fingertips.

Even if she had failed, she would not give up.

Even if ten years of effort vanished overnight, she would not submit without resistance.

Because...

The hollow within her heart was still yearning to be filled.

Tap!

Her heel struck the floor hard, and An straightened her back.

Come, Young Master.

Let An experience your overwhelming strength and dominance...

Click.

The lights suddenly came on.

At the same time, with a "bang," countless colorful streamers burst into the air and fluttered down over An.

She immediately froze in place.

A huge group of people... Young Master, together with the maids of the ducal estate, suddenly emerged from who knew what corners of the room, clapping their hands while excitedly shouting:

"Happy birthday, An!"

"...Huh?"

An was completely dumbfounded.

Birth...

Birthday?

What was going on?

"Happy birthday, An."

Amid her confusion, the person who filled her every waking thought...

Her Young Master Muen...

Was already walking toward her while holding a large cake.

"Sorry. I never paid much attention to things like this before. By the time I remembered, there wasn't much time left, so everything was put together in a hurry. I didn't know what style you liked, and from what I remember, you never seemed particularly fond of cake either, so I dragged the head maid along to help me choose this one. I hope you like it."

"C-Cake?"

An lowered her head.

He called it rushed, but the lettering decorating the cake in cream and chocolate was delicate and beautiful.

Clearly, a great deal of thought had gone into it.

"Oh my, this old woman merely offered a few suggestions. Young Master was the one who actually made the final decisions. And he was quite demanding too. He dragged me around in the middle of the night knocking on cake-shop doors. We got quite a few dirty looks," Head Maid Fei teased from the side.

"Cough."

Muen smiled awkwardly. "After all, if I'd used the estate's pastry chef, An definitely would've noticed."

"..."

Listening to those words and looking at the cake...

An's heart suddenly began pounding violently.

Just moments ago, when facing what she had believed to be a hopeless situation, she had been able to maintain absolute calm.

Yet now she somehow felt...

Flustered?

"Huh? Why are you holding a knife?"

Muen's gaze inadvertently fell upon the delicate little knife in An's hand. "Don't tell me... someone leaked the secret, so you even prepared a knife and fork ahead of time to divide the cake? Seriously, that ruins the surprise completely."

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" Little Maid Noa shook her head frantically. "I definitely didn't give anything away!"

"You guys..."

Muen helplessly shook his head, then gave An an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. Everything was prepared in such a rush that the whole thing feels kind of thrown together. I couldn't give you much of a surprise... but I can promise you that from now on, every year I'll make sure to celebrate your birthday properly."

"Every year?"

An still looked somewhat dazed.

The Young Master of the past had never cared about things like this.

Or perhaps he would remember them, but he would never have gone to such lengths or made such an elaborate effort.

"Of course. You're my personal maid. Isn't giving you a proper birthday celebration only natural?"

"..."

An suddenly raised her head and stared at that familiar face.

Handsome features.

Golden hair like sunlight pouring down.

Everything was so familiar.

Yet the gentleness he showed her now was somehow different from before.

So wonderful...

So utterly...

Captivating.

"Come on. Make a wish, blow out the candles, and cut the cake."

Muen gently urged her.

An said nothing.

Like an empty puppet, she went through all the motions.

She did not even know what wish she had made.

By the time she came back to her senses, she was already staring blankly at the small piece of cake on the little plate before her.

Even this slice had clearly been divided with care.

The four characters spelling out "Happy Birthday" across it were so beautifully formed they almost hurt to look at.

...

The small birthday party soon ended.

After that brief period of happiness, everyone returned to their duties, hurrying around in preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony.

Only An remained standing where she was, inside this room filled with that familiar scent, staring at the figure gradually disappearing into the distance.

Thump, thump, thump...

Her heart was still beating just as quickly.

Her cheeks had flushed red from it, and her eyes seemed almost filled with honey, sticky threads of sweetness drawing between them.

At this moment, a familiar throbbing suddenly echoed through her chest, making her feel as though she had returned to that morning ten years ago.

"Ah... Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master Young Master..."

She murmured, whispered, squirmed, hugging herself tightly with both arms...

As though the hollow place inside her heart that had remained empty for so long had finally found the treasure that fit it perfectly.

"I can't endure it anymore. I want to... completely possess you."