maid's night (r19) | completed

Chapter 42

After a long ride, the carriage stopped at the castle of her grandfather, William.

Evely gasped nervously and heaved herself up. The carriage door opened and Alec got out first, followed by Evely. As soon as she was about to step down, a man's hand was in her field of vision.

Knowing that she should take his hand and step down, Evely hesitated.

It would be easier for someone to help her, though, since the dress they suddenly bought on the way here was somewhat long, but... as soon as she faltered, Alec grabbed her hand.

Evely tilted and at the same time felt her heart drop with a thud.

Alec quickly grabbed her and helped her to her feet.

She felt strangely nervous because it was his hand that she hadn't come in contact with in a long time.

The temperature of his hands was unusually high. Through the thin lace gloves, she could feel the heat and the firmness of his hand. Just as Evely swallowed her breath and blinked in tension, a strange man's voice was heard in the distance.

"Ah! Thank you for coming."

It seemed to be a servant who worked here. Then Evely finally came to her senses and looked at the landscape in front of her.

This was where her grandfather lived.

It was much smaller than the one she worked in. A slightly larger mansion than a castle would have been more appropriate.

Everything was unfamiliar, perhaps because it was the first time she had seen it.

Evely stood still and watched the figure as if she was possessed. The servants who immediately rushed over to her greeted her kindly and checked on her feelings and physical condition. While Evely was telling them that she was fine, just a little sore, she saw an elderly man walking towards her step by step in the distance.

The way he dressed up and his energy, he seemed to be the master of the mansion.

He opened his mouth with a slightly faltering voice.

"So....you are Roy's daughter?"

Evely immediately looked puzzled and bowed, lightly grasping the hem of her dress. The way she had seen the aristocrats did it and copied them.

"I'm Evely Siranen."

"Yes, you're my son's, Roy's ......."

Soon tears welled up in the old man's eyes.

He probably found traces of his son in Evely's face, as he would not have cried at the sight of a strange granddaughter he had never seen before.

"No. Your name is Evely Sarnia."

His voice was still trembling.

"You will be my granddaughter from now on."

***

Evely was not familiar with the castle, nor with her grandfather, whom she had never met before. William greeted his granddaughter poorly but enthusiastically, and the awkwardness slowly began to fade as time went on. Before she met her grandfather in person, she was anxious and nervous about this and that, but once she actually met him, she felt rather calm and at ease. Perhaps it was because his heart touched hers as well, as he made an effort for his granddaughter, whom he had never met before.

When she was very young, her father died and eventually her mother passed away. Evely accepted as fate that she would live alone without any family. But the fact that there was another bloodline left and that she remembered her parents was a greater comfort than she thought.