Maine helped me with my research about this world, bringing me to libraries across the capital while hoping that no one would find us weird. I learned that I'm in the Kingdom of Hassia, which is in the northern part of the continent, no wonder winter took so long. After my research, I became certain that this world is still in the Medieval Era, mixed with stuff that were supposed to appear later in the Renaissance Era.

Well, this is a fantasy world, expecting logic may be unrealistic. Even on Earth where magic don't exist, there are still unexplainable things in our history.

"Mister Chair, it's the middle of the night already. Let's go back to Aya's bedroom," Maine yawned softly, sounding like she'd fall asleep at any moment.

Oh yeah! I heard her yawn today! Maine's sleepy voice feels so good to my ears!

All of sudden, she summoned vines, tied me on her back, and hurriedly ran towards Aya's bedroom. I had never seen her in a sense of urgency before! What's going on?!

Whispering a chant to herself, she proceeded to the next corridor with a powerful declaration, calling out flames merely with her own words. As if the entire area had been drenched in gasoline, the corridor quickly became engulfed in a raging inferno, exposing two men hiding in the dark.

Who are those two?! Wait, has she always been that strong?!

The two men ignored the fire and charged towards Maine with knives between their fingers. One of them threw a set of knives, but Maine deflected his attack with a magical barrier. The two men soon collapsed to the ground, swallowed by the flames as they screamed in agony, pleading for their lives while Maine only stared at them, expressionless.

The first day Maine became a maid, she was looking for someone. "This palace is so large, I can't find her at all." Her face looked expressionless, and her voice sounded lifeless. The only thing she had in mind was her 'task.'

Until that time when she met a little girl playing alone in the garden. "Hey, you look too young to be a maid. Wanna be my playmate? Do you know how to play…" Maine couldn't process the girl's words, who was speaking too fast for her to understand. Then, It was night already, and the girl was still speaking to her, saying, "Oh? Where did the sun go? Nice chatting with you by the way!"

Upon noticing that the girl had finally stopped talking, she asked, "What's your name?" But the girl was already gone, leaving her question unanswered.

The next day, Maine returned to the garden and saw the little girl playing alone again. Before she could ask for the girl's name, however, the girl started speaking without stopping for even a single second. The conversation continued into the night, and eventually, the girl waved her goodbyes, but Maine was lost in the moment, forgetting to ask the girl's name.

"She's gone again…?"

Even after asking the other maids, Maine couldn't know the girl's name. It seemed that nobody in the palace was aware of the little girl, as they believed the King only had three sons. But Maine was sent there for a reason, she was tasked to assassinate the King's fourth child, 'Celestia Bourne.'

The following day, Maine woke up early in the morning to visit the garden where she saw the little girl laughing by herself, playing alone again. She approached the little girl and asked, "What's your name?"

"Why are you asking that? I've told you my name already," the girl replied, smiling mischievously.

"You're not talkative today, it feels unsettling."

"I like enjoying the sunrise, you know. It's beautiful."

"Beautiful? What's so beautiful about the sunrise?"

"You don't know that? Then, why don't you sit down with me and watch it, I'm sure you'll find it beautiful as well!"

Maine took a seat beside the little girl, both quietly observing as the sunrise gradually reached its conclusion. Then, the little girl turned towards her, grinning, "The sunrise has ended. Isn't it beautiful?"

"What makes you so happy about everything?" Maine asked.

"I'm just enjoying my life, because just like the sunrise, beautiful things come to an end!" the girl said confidently, making a big smile.

"Maine!" the head maid called, "I can't believe you're always—" Then, she stopped upon seeing the little girl, as if surprised.

"Ah, Your Highness Princess Celestia!" The head maid bowed with grace, showing her utmost respect, "May you enjoy your company with Maine, while I humbly take my leave."

Maine's eyes widened as she turned towards the little girl, who was Celestia Bourne, instinctively reaching for her concealed knife. However, a sudden hesitation overcame her, and she found herself questioning her actions. "Have I been killing 'beautiful' things until now? Are all the lives that I've taken 'beautiful?' Is there no 'beauty' in this world because of me…?"

The girl, Celestia, patted the maid's back and suddenly ran away, laughing in the distance as if teasing her. "You're the tagger now, chase after me!"

"She looked so happy... Is running beautiful...?" Maine asked herself as she followed Celestia, tears were streaming down her face as she gazed at her own knife. She noticed Celestia getting farther and farther away, prompting her to quicken her pace until she found herself running after her.

She couldn't help but smile at the sound of Celestia's laughter in the distance, which made her laugh as well. While enjoying the warm summer breeze, she found comfort in the garden's colourful flowers. The scenery brought life to her dull existence, making her shout in joy as she threw her knife away, "Beautiful, this is so beautiful! Everything around me is beautiful!"

She turned her gaze towards Celestia, mesmerised by her charm. "Her life is so beautiful... I'll do whatever it takes to protect her beautiful life! I want her beauty to never end!"

Fortunately, Maine was able to heal the two strangers before they suffered wounds that would have required advanced magic to cure. However, they were left with terrible burn scars all over their arms and legs, resulting in their appearance being significantly disfigured. "Every life is beautiful, prove that to me before I change my mind," Maine said, threatening them with a menacing glare.

They confessed without hesitation to being hired assassins assigned to eliminate Aya, but they had no clue who hired them, not that it mattered since their main concern was getting paid. Given that Aya would soon be crowned as the Queen of Hassia, it was not surprising that someone would organise an assassination attempt against her.

I'm sure this was planned by someone in the royalty, considering that there should be enough guards to not let anyone sneak into the palace! At this point, I wouldn't question Maine's hidden talent in fire magic. She is my only hope in protecting Aya now!