The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 58: Exposing friends (2)

Chapter 58: Exposing friends (2)

Annalise returned to Rafael’s side with the wine he requested, and after pouring some into his glass, she stepped back to give him some space to talk with the duke. She saw Edwin look her way and give her a nod as if telling her that she had done well.

Regardless of how the day started with Delilah, Annalise liked how it ended with some acknowledgement from Edwin. Mavis had not said anything to her further about the chickens, but after she carried a drink to Rafael and Edgar earlier, Mavis was quite easy on her.

If Aria were to go to Mavis instead of Rafael, it might change everything Annalise had achieved today, but Annalise was not worried about it. She could start from the bottom again before the king would arrive, and even if she were not picked to serve the king, she would find another way to get close to him and take his life.

"I will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. As fun as it would be to stay in town and get away from the fools in Lockwood, I must return before Alfred sends someone on the hunt to find me," said Edgar.

"And here I thought you liked me so much you would stay a bit longer," Rafael replied. He wished Edgar’s stay would be longer since he rarely had time to see his friends who lived in other towns, but he enjoyed the fact that Edgar had stopped by even for a day. Edgar wasn’t as cruel as some would say.

"If not for looking for who is taking the women in Lockwood and having to find out what information the baron has, I would stay a bit longer and send for Alfred so he could enjoy a small vacation. It is unfortunate that you have returned at a time when I am busy. You can kill Tobias for it," Edgar said since it was because of the king that he was busier than normal.

"Before you lose your mind constantly killing your enemies, my gates are always open for you to put down your sword and just be Rafael," Edgar offered since the weight of being commander for the Callahan knights often got to Rafael.

Annalise was curious about what Edgar meant about Rafael losing his mind. Was he haunted by the people he killed? She was reminded of one of the warriors back at home, unable to sleep after taking the life of one of their enemies. Not everyone was cut out for it. By some luck, she was never haunted by anyone.

Annalise snuck a glance at Rafael, whom many would never think would be tortured mentally by killing so many people. At times, he wasn’t seen as a regular human because of how many people he had slaughtered. He would be well respected by her father if he were on their side.

Dinner went by quickly, to Annalise’s liking. There were no mess-ups on her end, and once Rafael and his guests left the table, she was free to take the jugs back to the kitchen to wash, and then she could go to bed.

Meanwhile, Rafael and Edgar stood by the front door, looking out at Rafael’s gates.

"You should really take my advice and limit who comes through your gates without your permission, or one of these days someone is going to come in here easily to try to kill you. You are one of the few people I can stomach being around, so don’t die anytime soon. I’ll drag your ass out of wherever you end up if you do and bring you back here," Edgar said jokingly.

"Life as a knight means I can die any day, but it’s good to know you care. Even if it is because you can tolerate me longer than anyone else," Rafael said, watching Timothy bring around Edgar’s carriage. "Try not to kill anyone when you return to Lockwood, Edgar."

Edgar smiled as she took his cigar out of his coat. "I’m a changed man, Rafael. I don’t go around killing people anymore. What do you take me for? Hurry up and come to Lockwood so I can treat you to dinner," he said, patting Rafael’s back before he started to walk down the steps to go to his carriage.

Rafael placed his hands in his pockets as he watched Edgar leave. Out of all his friends, Edgar was the most antisocial one who would rather stay in a house alone than spend the night with them.

"How long do you intend to hide in the shadows?" Rafael asked, continuing to face forward instead of looking at the person who had been listening to his conversation with Edgar. "Come out now."

Aria hesitated at first, but thinking that Rafael might think she was a threat, she stepped out from where she was hiding behind the front door to be in view. "Young master," she said, keeping her head low.

"Sneaking around listening to my conversations leads me to think that you are a spy. Not a talented one and it will cost your life-"

"No!" Aria panicked, her feet moving on their own to get closer to him. "I am not a spy. I am simply a maid who has something to tell you about another maid."

Rafael looked to his side at the maid with her head down. He had seen her many times before he had left for his last excursion. From the way her body shook, she was either a spy who was caught or he had just scared her. "If you have something to say, sneaking around behind me is not the answer. Under a different circumstance, I would have attacked you. What is it?"

Aria slowly lifted her head, trying to regain her confidence. She made it too far to cower and run away. She would leave Rafael misunderstanding her intentions for following him if she ran away from him right now. This was her chance to get rid of Annalise, so she should not mess this up.

"Out with it," Rafael said, his voice sharp, like when he would speak to the knights.

Aria jumped at the tone of his voice. "There is a maid who has caused trouble in your home."

Rafael looked back out at the gate, where he could no longer see Edgar’s carriage. He shifted his attention back to the maid. "Complaints about other maids should be made to the head maid or the butler. You should seek them out," he said, turning around to go back inside and deal with the work he missed.

Catching up with a friend was over and now he had to get back into his work as commander.

"Her name is Annalise Woods, and she has been nothing but trouble from the day she showed up," Aria quickly said before he could walk away and miss her chance to get rid of Annalise.

Rafael stopped after hearing the familiar name. How many times did he hear her name or see her today? "What did she do?" He asked.

"She put the snake in the room which scared the other maids. You took the snake out for them," Aria revealed. Her shoulders felt light now that she had finally gotten this out.

Rafael didn’t reply right away. He thought Annalise had done something else after promising she would not. Annalise did well today, and seeing that he had already warned her, he could not take his words back when she was keeping her promise. "I see. I have already dealt with that. You-"

"What!" Aria exclaimed, so angered by the fact that he was letting this go so easily that she did not realise she had raised her voice. "Whatever relationship the two of you have should not let you ignore all that she has done. The other maids will think poorly of you."

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