The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 70: Together (3)

Chapter 70: Together (3)

’Someone needs to put a bell on this man,’ Annalise thought as she panicked. It should be impossible not to hear such a large man walking around. Why was he sneaking around in his own home?

"Many of the other servants have left, so I was going up to see if there was anyone I could spend time with on the second floor. Other than the butler, of course. I did not find anyone on the first floor, so now I must check here," Annalise said, wanting to pat herself on the back for the quick lie.

"It seemed to me like you were sneaking up there when there was no reason for you to. The second floor is not off-limits to maids. Only my study is," said Rafael.

"I don’t want to be caught by Edwin. What if he tries to make me work or spend time with him since I am alone? I like the butler, but not enough to spend time with him. Forgive me if this is out of my place, but what are you doing here?" Annalise asked. She thought Rafael would join whatever the town was doing, but here he was in comfortable clothing like he was going to bed.

"I do not enjoy festivals. There is the crowd and the attention that I prefer to miss," Rafael answered. It would be no different from a party where he would be swarmed with women. He had not gone to a festival since he was young, when his mother would take him during the time his father was away. Even then, he only went since it made her happy.

Annalise found that hard to believe since he led an army of knights. "How can you hate crowds when you are the commander of knights? You lead like thousands of men. All eyes are always on you. From the moment I came to town, I heard your name. You picked the wrong job if you do not like crowds or attention."

"There is always attention on me, so when I can avoid it, I stay home. Being around my knights and being around women and their mother’s trying to court me is different-"

"Mothers want to court you too?!" Annalise exclaimed, surprised by this.

"No," Rafael shook his head as he made his way up the stairs to where Annalise stood. "They are aiding their daughters in courting me. To have women of my mother’s age try to court me would be a tragedy.

Annalise covered her mouth with her right hand after she pictured an older woman flirting with Rafael. To be specific, that older woman was Mavis. It should gross her out, but for some reason, it was funny to imagine.

"What is funny? Enlighten me," Rafael said, wanting to know what had her on the verge of tears. Without realizing it, she had let her walls down to be comfortable laughing around him. Many of the servants would not be so bold since Mavis or Edwin would correct them.

Rafael didn’t mind his servants speaking so comfortable with him as long as they did their jobs right and did not come to him asking about something that did not concern them. Like the maid he saw Annalise with yesterday. He was quite close to firing her instead of letting her stick around to cause more trouble.

With his mother not on good terms with her relatives and his father once an orphan, the servants and knights served as his family.

"I’m sorry," Annalise apologised for laughing. She just could not help laughing at the thought of an older woman flirting with someone far below her age. What could be said to convince the young man to say yes?

It was almost as funny as some of the men in town, both young and of good age, who would sometimes stop Annalise as she walked through the market. She tried her best not to laugh at their foolish words, which they thought would convince her to just marry them.

"I am glad someone gets humor in my horror. Come along," Rafael said as he turned around to go back downstairs.

"C-Come along?" Annalise panicked once more, as she saw no reason why she would have to follow Rafael unless he was going to take her to Edwin.

"You said that you are alone. Weren’t you looking for someone to pass the time with?" Rafael asked, looking up at where she stood with a confused look. He planned to just go to bed, but considering how early it was and how much work needed to be done, he would not get any rest any time soon.

If he were to go spend time with the knights who stayed behind, they would find it hard to relax since he was still their commander, and they tried not to make a fool of themselves when he was around. They failed at it, but he gave them credit for how they would quickly become serious around him.

Annalise wouldn’t be his first pick for someone he would spend time with, but there was always something happening with her that made her entertaining. Be it something she did or something someone was doing to her. With Logan foolishly deciding he wanted to court Annalise to the point of having children with her, Rafael would use this to see what she was like.

"But..." Annalise trailed off. Why was it so hard for her to be able to snoop around with someone interrupting her?

Her shoulders slumped from disappointment. as she followed Rafael like a child saddened by their mother calling them inside too early. To not feel like all was lost, Annalise decided to use this time to get a better understanding of Rafael. She had been around him many times since he returned, but Annalise did not know what to make of him as a knight and just as Rafael.

Twice now, he has helped her even though she did not need his help. First with Connor and now with Aria. Annalise might consider thinking highly of him if he had fired Aria for being a headache, but he was nice as everyone said.

"Where are we going?" Annalise asked, keeping herself two steps behind Rafael as Mavis instructed the maids.

"I would like something to drink," said Rafael.

"You are taking me to serve you on my time off? How evil," Annalise said, biting her bottom lip. Her mouth needed to not be so quick to say what was on her mind. Annalise frowned and stepped to the left to get a good look at Rafael after she was certain she heard him laugh.

That was a good thing, right?

"I did not say you needed to serve me. I was only stating that I was in the mood to drink. If I make you uncomfortable or you fear that your peers will misunderstand why you are walking with me, you are free to leave and find someone else who shall keep you company in the quiet house," Rafael said, not wanting to keep her around if it bothered her.

The quietness of his home was another reason he wanted to keep her around for a moment. She would serve as a distraction, so he would not think about his time out or the people he had killed. Trying to sleep would have him rewatching many take their last breaths with his sword. There was no better distraction than Annalise, who liked to play with snakes and threatened chickens.

It was either spend time watching her or finding something strong to drink to make him relax or be drunk enough to fall asleep without thinking of war.

"If I am free to get a taste, then I will join you. I don’t think it is right that my employer be left alone," Annalise answered. As much as she wanted to leave his side, she still wanted to know more about him, and she could not if she left his side now.

She hoped for him to be a light drinker, so he could get drunk quickly and answer whatever she asked him.

Rafael slowed down and looked to his left at Annalise, who was bold. Bolder than what he already knew. "You must have your parents worrying about you often."

"It hurts to admit that I do. They both worry for different reasons. I do not see why they worry so much when I am such a wonderful child. Just because I have held a snake here does not mean I am bold enough to do it around my parents. I love them dearly, but at the same time, they scare me. I am on my best behavior when they are around," said Annalise.

"So in order for you to be on your best behavior here, I must let your parents be here frequently," Rafael mused.

"Ha!" Annalise forced a laugh at his joke. "You will never want them around since my parents are quite protective of me. Since we are making jokes using parents, should I send a message to your mother that you are here alone and it would be the perfect timing to send a lady like Delilah for you to speak to?"

"If you wish to lose your hands, you can."

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