When she heard the guards talking about the Gallick estate she had always assumed there was no way it could compare to the luxury and grandiosity of the Jakoban lands. How could it when the Jakobans' put so much time and effort into keeping it all in perfect condition and in line with current trends?
She had never been so wrong in her life, the Gallick estate wasn't an estate, not really. It was a fortress in all but name with triple layer walls that rose over thirty meters high, a grand moat that was over fifty meters wide, and enough silver, gold, and precious metals coating every layer of the inner walls its a miracle that the Gallick household hadn't gone bankrupt just maintaining it all.
Then she saw the work crews, slaves by their thousands, walking the estate performing all the duties that would have been undertaken by freemen in Ellacuria and she suddenly understood just how the Gallick's had built their estate. Walls and grand fortifications alone did not make the Gallick estate grand however, no that was the pure martial pedigree that stood out in every part of it.
Whether it was the thousands of wandering patrols, the grand drill yard in which entire regiments of soldiers trained day in and day out, the huge forges and armories filled with weapons to outfit the estates soldiers, the various momentos and monuments to war and soldiery, or the Gallick household itself everything was beyond fitted to be a celebration of soldiery and the houses' grand history of service to the throne.
Honestly it was no wonder her Master was so cold all the time when this is where he had been raised, did she even have a chance of winning his heart when his whole life had been dedicated to duty and death?
"You seem worried Selena, is my houses estate not to your liking?"
Panicking slightly she put up her hands and tried her best to explain. "Not at all Master! I just can't believe so much beauty can come from such a serious and dower profession."
"Mmm"
With a sigh of relief she could readily admit was over exaggerated she turned away from her Masters lovable face and back to the estate itself. "So Master, now that you've returned home do you have any plans for the future?"
"I do."
"……….."
"Will you tell me what they are master?"
"I will not."
She tried her best to hide her frown and scowl, why the hell did he always have to be so closed off to her? He had been opening up throughout the trip, and before the kiss he had even been a little flirty. After though… she knew she had messed up, but she had thought he had wanted it!
The way he was staring at her was enough to make her heart beat out of her chest and feel things she never quite thought she was capable of feeling. He was handsome, fit, a noble, and he seemed interested in her! Was she really just supposed to let the chance pass her by?
"Master, I need to know your schedule so I can make sure I'm prepared to do anything you might need or set up the various appointments that a scion of the lordly houses must attend to. I can't do that if I don't even know what you're going to be doing tomorrow."
"I will not be requiring you to make any appointments. I won't be staying here long enough for it to matter anyways." What?
"What do you mean you won't be staying here long enough for that to matter master? We've only just arrived!"
"And we'll be leaving soon too, I have no intention of staying here any longer than absolutely necessary."
This… this made no sense! Why had he insisted they return to the estate so quickly if he planned to leave just as quickly!? They had traveled through the night on many occasions just so they could get here faster, pushing the men and beasts to their breaking point all so we could make it here as fast as possible.
"Where are we going then Master?"
"You'll find out soon enough, for now help the soldiers unload the cargo and get some rest, we have no week here at most and then I plan for us to be gone."
"Yes Master." Why did she feel like something big was coming?
----
It didn't take long to unpack and get the men to their barracks where they could pass out and finally get some rest after a literal forced march. Thankfully they had horses so they didn't have to carry their kit over the whole distance, but even still a month of constant travel is stressful whether it be on horseback or on foot.
After that she found out just how hectic the personal maid of a lord could be, for a full two days she was constantly running around doing things to help her master get settled in for his time in Gallick lands.
Some of it made sense for a maid to be doing, like cleaning his chambers, washing his clothes, polishing his equipment, and setting up his schedule for the week. Other things though? Not so much. What maid did you know of that escorted their Master everywhere no matter the setting, helped their Master with their physical training, made soap, purchased new clothes and no less than five new sets of arms and armor, and acted as an intermediary between her master and the captain of the local guard?
She had certainly never heard of it, that's for sure! Even still she couldn't say it hadn't been an exciting few days, it certainly beat sitting in a carriage for weeks on end with nothing to do but make small talk, eat, nurse her master to health, and try to seduce him. A task he made far harder than it had any right to be! Especially when she knew he had feelings for her! It was written all over his face.
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"Selena. Come over here quickly."
Dropping the sweater that she had been knitting, yet another thing most maids weren't expected to do for their master, she quickly zipped over to her master's desk to find him overlooking various charts and sheets filled with nothing but supply and troop manifests. 'Is he planning some kind of military expedition?'
"How can I help you Master?" She didn't notice the way he flinched at her tone or tried to keep his eyes away from her dipping cleavage. 'I knew it was a good idea to wear this dress! Oh you're too fun to tease master!'
"You'll need to change into something a little more… modest and formal. You're coming with me today to meet with my father. I have some business with him and I'll need you there to hold onto and hand me some important documents during our meeting."
"I understand Master, how long do I have to get changed?"
"20 minutes, be quick." Eh? EH?! Twenty minutes was not enough time for her to get changed and prepared for a meeting with lord Gallick! Which is why she didn't even bother to acknowledge her master with an affirmative before she literally bolted out of the room to hers, grabbing a few other maids on her way, explaining to them the rush and what she needed them to do.
It was a close run thing, and by the time she met her Master back outside his room her hair looked like it had just barely done up in any way and her make up was slightly caked on but it was the best she could do on short notice dammit!
"I see you made it on time, good job Selena, I knew I was right to place my faith in you getting your preparations done quickly." And suddenly she wasn't so pissed any more about being forced to literally run across the estate to get ready in time.
"Thank you master, I tried my best to meet your standards. I just hope your father doesn't mind the state of my makeup and hair, I had to be quick getting ready."
"But your makeup and hair look gorgeous to me? What are you talking about?" The look of pure confusion on his face was enough to send her heart aflutter. 'Dammit, how can he be so intelligent and yet still so innocent?'
"Thank you Master, I hoped you would appreciate it."
"It's not me you should be worried about, my father is eager to meet you and his opinion is what will determine whether or not you continue to act as my personal maid." There went her good mood, really why did her master always have to do that?
"I understand, master, I will do my best to impress his lordship."
A nod, "See that you do. I would hate for him to find you lacking, especially when you've proven yourself so competent."
She wasn't sure how to take that comment, on one hand she was delighted that her master thought she was competent and useful, on the other hand was that really all he had to say about her?
Whatever it didn't matter because the conversation was over as soon as her master started walking in the direction of his fathers study. In all honesty it was a pretty peaceful stroll through the halls of the estate, servants and soldiers kept a respectable distance, and they sort of fell into a nice dynamic where neither of them talked and instead enjoyed the companionable silence.
That all came to an end when they entered the study and were met by Lord Gallick himself. He was like Vahid, if Vahid were in his fifties, had a much longer beard, and a thousand scars and age lines. He was a man of granite and from the moment their eyes locked she knew Lord Gallick could care less about her, seeing her as nothing but a living prop that had entered the room. It was humiliating in a way she could never describe.
"Father."
"Son."
Neither father nor son said anything more, Vahid simply took his seat in front of his fathers desk and Lord Gallick continued to go over the documents on his desk. No words were spoken as seconds turned to minutes, and minutes transformed into an entire hour before Lord Gallick decided to finally speak again. By that time she had said fuck etiquette she was taking a seat.
"Your servant seems to have taken a seat without my permission, Vahid."
"That she has father, you did leave us waiting for quite a while."
"So I did, So I did."
Once again silence overtook the study as Lord Gallick went right back to the various documents on his desk. 'If it was gonna take hours for him to even say anything, why the hell did I have to get ready so quickly?!'
"Father, I've come here with a request."
Lord Gallicks come hither motion was enough for Vahid and he quickly took the various documents she had been holding and handed them to his father.
"You can see here that I have a list of supplies, equipment, horses, soldiers, and coin I will need before I depart our lands. I was hoping you could approve their transfer into my care."
"And what pray tell my dear son do you need three regiments for? Or enough gold to buy yourself a small fiefdom along the Erorous itself?"
"A Mercenary band requires troops and gold father. I did the math and everything you see before you should be enough for me to establish myself as a captain easily enough beyond the Empires borders." She didn't think she just heard that correctly, did he just say a mercenary band?