Maris' POV
What's wrong with him? He's changed so much… Yes, he looks so different now, I thought he'd hate me if I had sex with him, but he seems happy. Yes, that's what I wanted… but I hope he loves me… Yet, I'm such a terrible person. How dare I take the virginity of someone so pure like him?! Damn it, the guilt is eating me alive… But it was necessary. I couldn't let a spoiled princess like Tiana take him from me… because I… because I love Laos so much.
"Is that Laos?" asked Ferly, my colleague at work, as she swept the floor with her broom.
"Yes," I replied while dusting the glasses and placing them back in the cupboard one by one.
"He seems nice," Ferly commented.
"Really? Well, I need to go clean up; the dust is all over me," I said, trying to change the topic.
"Bathing now? That's unusual for you, Maris," she muttered.
"Well, see you later, Ferly," I said as I left the hall.
I headed to the bath, which was empty as expected—no one else bathed at this time of day. Slowly, I removed my clothes and sat on one of the stools, then began drawing water from the well to fill the tub. Once it was full, I got in and let the water embrace me. And then… I started thinking about Laos again. Oh, God, he never leaves my mind… I really love him.
But what if that princess really does love him? No, I won't let her take him. Even if I have to run away from this palace with him, no one will take you, Laos. No one! After some time, I finished bathing, dressed, and left the bathhouse. I headed to my room to rest a bit, but I knew all I'd end up doing was thinking about Laos.
But wait… what if he doesn't love me? No, impossible. he looked so happy when he had sex with me, so it's clear he loves me. But we need to make it official; we need to confess our love to each other… Oh, God, but why did I choose to start with sex??!! Come on, Maris, it's the only way to attract men. And besides, I had sex dozens of times, so he's not a stranger to me.
I'm sure I must seem wild to him now. Oh, please, Laos, don't think of me like that. I wish he'd see me as an innocent angel… An innocent angel? You fool, you offered him sex last night with your tongue. Plus, you're a woman, and the last person who should take the lead… so there's no way he sees you as innocent anymore.
After that, I began tossing and turning on the bed, muttering, "No, no, no, no, no…" Oh, God, I really regret it… It's such an awful feeling. After lying there for a while, I got up, opened a drawer in the cabinet, and took out a sheet of paper. Yes, my favorite one… A drawing of my father and mother, with a little drawing of me as a child between them. Dad, Mom, I love you so much. Oh, God, I miss them so dearly.
"Maris, it's time for lunch," someone called from outside the door as their footsteps faded away.
Then I set the paper I had been clutching aside and left the room. Oh, gods, I feel strange. It's obvious that it's because I'm about to see Laos. As I walked, Camellia approached me and said:
"Hey, Maris, we'll playing cards tonight. A lot of us will be there—Ferly and Petal too—and we'll invite Laos to join us as well."
"Really?! That sounds amazing!" I replied, already imagining Laos playing with us. Oh, gods, playing cards alone is great, but with Laos joining in? Yoohoo!! No, no, no, I'm sure it'll be terrible. I'll be too shy and unable to focus, especially after having sex with him.
After that, we entered the dining hall and took our seats. Evol and Petal were there, but Laos was nowhere to be seen. Ugh! Where's Laos? Why isn't he here? Ever since he apologized to the princess, he's never missed lunch. What's going on with him?
'Where's Laos?" I asked as I sat beside Camellia, who had just taken her seat as well.
"We haven't seen him," Evol answered while devouring a chicken leg and gulping down lemonade with enthusiasm.
Maybe something is holding him up. I sat and waited, and waited… eating a bit of chicken in the meantime. But he didn't show up. This is really odd. What could he be doing?
"I'm going to look for him," I said, standing up from the table.
"What about your chicken leg?" Evol asked.
"Finish it," I said as I quickly exited the hall.
"Thanks a lot!" Evol shouted after me… Strange how he can eat the same thing for months with the same enthusiasm. Dragonborn-blooded people are really weird.
I rushed to Laos' room and began knocking on the door, calling his name. Yet, no one answered. Laos, what are you doing?!! Oh gods, is he dead?! No, no, impossible… Damn it, is he having sex with the princess right now?!!! No, no, no… I couldn't handle it. Anxiety spread through my entire body as I called out in a slightly raised voice:
"Laos, if you don't open this door, I'll open it myself!"
Even then, the door remained closed, so I had no choice but to open it… only to find no one inside!! Laos, where are you, by the gods of the moon?! Laos, where did you go? You're just a low-ranking servant. There's no way you'd have an opportunity to deviate from your daily routine!! Could he be with Sabrina? After all, he's someone from another world, so different from us. Maybe Sabrina called him for some mysterious discussion.
After that, I gave up hope and remembered the cleaning work I had left unfinished when I ran off from Ferly. Yet, the anxiety wouldn't leave me. The worst part is that I can't even go to Sabrina and ask her about Laos. Oh, gods, what's happening all of a sudden… Why am I this worried? Why am I so scared?? What is going on, by the gods?!
Then I arrived at the hall, and what caught my attention was something stranger than I could have ever imagined: a young man with black hair, wearing a white shirt and black pants, standing in front of the cabinet and wiping the cups I had left earlier this morning. Yes, it was Laos. When he saw me, he glanced my way, gave a faint smile, and greeted me softly:
"Hi!"
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"What are you doing?!" I asked as I hurried toward him.
"You had me worried!" I added.
"Well, Maris, I have a goal now," he replied as he placed the cleaned cups back on the shelf. "I want to get a promotion. So, I asked Maris to add me to the list of servants working extra hours to speed up my promotion."
"Why do you want to get promoted?" I asked.
"Simple, so I can leave this palace," he said, staring at the dusty dishes.
"So, you want to leave," I repeated.
"Yes, I can't stay here. I've realized that my true happiness lies outside this palace… That's how it is," he answered.
"You should have told me! I would've brought you a chicken leg," I teased as I pulled out the broom to start cleaning.
Silence settled between us. Oh gods, why can't I start a conversation with him? I really want to talk to him… and above all, I want to ask him how he feels about me. Does he love me or not? But should I? Should I ask him? Oh gods, I'm so embarrassed, I can't do it. Impossible… But wait, he said he wants to leave the palace. This is my chance—my chance to have Laos to myself and live with him alone outside the palace.
If he's determined to leave, he won't stay attached to Tiana, and she won't take him away from me… Alright, I need to ask him about his feelings. Come on, Maris, you can do it. He's just a handsome guy.
I gathered my courage and softly called out, "Laos—"
Suddenly, a plate fell to the ground, the sound of it shattering echoing loudly. Oh gods, what did Laos do? I rushed over to see what had happened and found the broken plate scattered across the floor, with Laos holding his finger, blood dripping from it. Oh gods!
"Give me your finger!" I exclaimed, my voice rising.
I grabbed his hand and cast a simple healing spell, which closed the wound. When I looked up at Laos, I found him staring at me in shock, as if he'd witnessed something miraculous. Does Laos not know about magic? He kept staring, then inspected his finger multiple times, unable to believe what had just happened.
"Wow! This is amazing! It's magic!" he exclaimed, his eyes fixed on me.
"Is this the first time you've seen magic?" I asked, my face puzzled.
"I've seen it with Sabrina before, but it's never been used on me!" he replied with a wide grin.
"Maris, do you know magic?" he asked.
"Not much. I can use a few attack spells and one healing spell," I replied as I started sweeping up the shards of the broken plate. Oh gods, if someone finds out he broke a plate, he'll get punished!
"Can you teach me magic?" he asked, entirely focused on the idea of magic, completely unconcerned about the plate.
"Teach you magic? I learned it from my mother a long time ago, and I don't really remember how to teach it, but I can explain it to you," I replied.
"Alright, once we're done with work, please explain it to me, Maris," he said.
"Alright."
Silence filled the room again as I swept the shards into a bag to hide them in my room, where no one would see them. I started thinking about how to explain magic to Laos. This could be a great way to make him more attached to me. Oh gods, I'm so lucky this year!
We finished cleaning after a long while.
"When you're ready, come to my room," I said as I put the broom back in its place.
"I've got nothing else to do. Let's go now," he said, moving toward me.
We went to my room. Once inside, I closed the door. Oh gods, it's just me and Laos in the room. Should we do it again? No, no, focus—he wants me to explain magic to him. I'd be a beast to ask him for sex right now.
After we entered, we sat on the bed, and I started organizing my thoughts. Oh gods, I barely understand magic myself. How does he expect me to explain it to him?!
"Ahem… Laos, what do you want me to explain first?"
"Healing magic," he replied.
"Alright… Healing magic. Healing magic… Laos, healing magic is a type of sacred magic commonly used by priests. It's a divine gift granted by the gods to their loyal and devout followers. Healing magic works to heal wounds and includes other defensive spells. There are several types of healing magic, but I only know two: simple and blessed."
"The simple type is like the spell I used on you. As the name suggests, it's straightforward and can be used by any priest or even some people with weak magical power. Blessed healing magic, on the other hand, is a grand form of magic. Only high-ranking bishops can use it. It has various applications, including restoring limbs."
"Restoring limbs?!" he asked in astonishment.
"Yes! Blessed healing magic can reattach a severed hand, for instance. That's why it's incredibly powerful and rare. Only high bishops can use it, and even most bishops in Westevios can't. It's extremely rare."
"Westevios?" he asked.
"Westevios is the western region of Sevios, where we are now," I explained.
"By the way, one of the people who came with me to this world has the class of a priest. Do you think they could use blessed healing magic?" he asked again.
"A hero from your world? Impossible. Blessed healing magic is far too powerful for someone like him," I replied, staring into his handsome face.
"And what about other types of magic, like offensive ones?"
"As for me, I only use two offensive spells, and they're gray. Well, I know you don't understand that. Magic is divided into two categories: gray and colored. Gray, or pale magic, is slightly weaker and looks like colorless magical energy. Colored, or radiant magic, is the more common type in Staria."
"Colored magic relies on various elements like fire, lightning, water, wind, and many others. It's much stronger than gray magic and harder to learn. However, most creatures are born with a natural affinity for colored magic, which is why it's the most widespread type."
"That was really amazing!" Laos exclaimed.
"… Well, Maris, I'd like…" Laos began, hesitating.
"What?" I asked.
"I'd like to do it again..." he said.
What a wild one, he seems to like sex very much, well, after that I lay down on the bed and opened my shirt to expose my naked breasts, then he started touching and squeezing my breasts, suddenly I remembered my previous question, should I ask him now or after we finish having sex?
He kept squeezing my breasts and then he took off his pants, he's really wild, well here's my chance, I suddenly grabbed his hand and took it away from my breasts, then I whispered to him in a sexy voice:
"Laos... Do you love me?"
"...!"
"Yes, yes, I love you so much, Maris!" he replied, looking into my face while I lay on the bed.
"Alright, let's do it," I said as I placed his hand on my breasts.
Amazing, Laos loves me. I knew it, I've found my life partner... Life has smiled upon me. This year is the best year of my life. Jurmes the God of Mercy... Thank you so much! Thank you for your mercy. Even though I don't follow any god, thank you. Thank you for granting me someone who loves me. Finally, I will fulfill my dream—my dream of building my own family.
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At this moment, Maris was lost in the depths of her dreams. while Laos was fucking her, she continued to imagine a life where they lived together in a private home. This was Maris—a girl who had always run from her past, seeking a source of happiness. Perhaps she had finally found it. As Maris said, maybe the gods had decided to pity her. Despite everything that had happened, this is the girl who continued to be a good girl even after everything that happened to her.
But being a good girl wouldn't stop her from claiming her favorite man, no matter who her rivals were. Here was Maris, sinking her claws into Laos and pushing away anyone who dared to get close to him. Or at least, that's what she wanted—to have Laos all to herself. Maris' dreams continued as destinies intertwined within this palace. Characters would die, new ones would emerge, with the same body. and the cycle of life would go on. For Maris, it seemed she had changed drastically since she first shared a bed with Laos. She had always loved him, but never as deeply as she did now.
Will Maris be able to keep her favorite man, or will fate toy with her, as it does with Laos, and tear them apart? Regardless, this moment marks the beginning of the story of an NPC and the Cow-Eared Girl. A bond between two unfortunate servants who endured harsh circumstances. While Maris drowns in her fantasies to taste a fragment of happiness, Laos does the same.