Strike the iron while it's hot. Kill your enemies before they kill you. Walk around with blood smeared on your face at night to scare ghosts away. Bite mosquitoes before they bite you. In one form or another, the saying 'first one to strike holds the advantage' has been floating around since the beginning of striking.
I was a follower of such age-old wisdom. Honestly, the strong didn't need advantages, but I was still getting there so this was ok.
With that in mind, I now found myself hiding behind a bush. In front of me, the sight of my mansion's kitchen was paved through a window. As the scant sunlight bounced over the windowpanes, their fall a fight against the many leaves in the way gave a cherubic air to the maid that stood amidst it.
"HAHA! HAHAHA!"
Or it would have, were it not for the way she was sharpening her knife while laughing out loud.
"Oh, she's gone gone, Eugy. What the fuck did you do?"
"I have no fucking idea."
Well, thinking about it again. She did see my mother as the only thing in her life and then shifted that attention to me when my mother told her to take care of me. If I abandoned such a person, they would surely be broken.
What have I done?
I took in a deep breath. It was best to go and meet her first, shock her before she could shock me.
Using a quick spell, I blocked the sounds around me as I opened the window and sneaked in.
My feet landed lightly on the flooring.
"Haha, hahaha!"
Her laughs were borderline psychopathic. They went past my head and scratched at my heart.
Slowly, I went behind her. Tapping her shoulders, I spoke in a whisper.
"Maria."
Maria froze. Slow, excruciatingly slow, her body started turning my way.
With the knife still tight in her grip, Maria looked at me.
"Oh, dear..." Even my partner was at a loss for words just seeing her face.
Tears streamed down Maria's face. Her entire body trembled as she raised her hand toward me.
"Y-young master? Is it you? Are you finally back?"
Right before her hand could touch my cheeks, she stopped.
"No, I must be seeing things again... Yes, it's just an illusion..."
"Maria," I clasped her free hand. "It's me."
"Ahh! I-I can touch!"
"It's really me."
Maria finally moved her hand over to me. The grip on her knife loosened, giving me a much-needed sense of relief. She gently caressed my cheek as she spoke, the tears not stopping.
"Y-you've grown so tall... and... all these scars..."
"It just happened."
Maria took a step closer. She held my shirt with her hand and pulled it to the side to inspect the scar that reached my chest. Then, her gaze fell on my hand and a gasp left her.
"T-this!"
"It just happened. It's nothing big—"
"I knew it. I knew it. I shouldn't have let you go."
A chill ran down my spine for the second time today.
"This time, I'll tie you up and keep you safe, you won't have to worry about anything."
"Maria? Maria!"
Her mumblings became incomprehensible.
"Don't hate me, young master."
Not a good line!
Maria suddenly swung the knife right toward my stomach. I hopped away and barely dodged the knife as it clanged against the marble platforms. Laughing through her tears, Maria turned and swung the knife again.
Her skill was showing as the knife made unpredictable arcs. When she swung down, it struck from the side, and when she swung sideways, it lashed out in a stab.
"Eugy she's crazy! I thought they were all good people, but that's two crazies down already!"
"Third time's the charm, darling."
"You won't hate me, right young master? I am doing this for your good, you understand, right?"
I took a step back and dodged her attacks. I couldn't risk hurting her, so I didn't fight back.
Shock. Yes, I came here for some shock therapy.
I was pushed against the window I had come in from. Maria glared at me as if she had trapped me now.
"W-we'll be together now, young master. You won't be able to leave anymore!"
Maria swung the knife again.
The blade came crashing toward my shoulder, but I didn't move.
If she ended up stabbing me, I was sure she'd come to her senses. Just a wound in the shoulder, I could heal that much with a potion—
Maria's swordplay showed its shine again as the knife twisted once more.
Now, it was coming straight for my neck.
"Hey fuck!" I screamed out loud. It was too late to dodge. I wedged my hand in between my neck and the knife grasped the blade tight. Blood dripped down my palm as the knife tore through my skin and dug into my hands.
The blood seeped through the blade of the knife and a drop touched Maria. Perhaps from the sight, or maybe from the sudden sensation, Maria froze up.
"Ahh..." she muttered. It seemed my shock therapy had worked.
"Maria," I said. Strike the iron while it's hot. "I am sorry."
Maria's hand slipped off the child of the knife. She broke into a mess of tears and snot as her emotions started overwhelming her.
A tap rang out.
And then another.
Maria's head fell on my chest.
She raised her hands and punched my shoulders.
"S-stupid young master! Stupid! Stupid!... ng... you... you think sorry's going to cut it?"
She spoke between her sniffs and cries as her weak fist kept crashing against me.
"H-how can you do that to us? How can you just leave!!"
Her voice grew weaker as her sobs grew louder. I could feel a wetness spread on my chest as her tears and snot blended.
I hadn't thought much of just leaving them but... no...
How did I not think much of leaving people behind? My people.
"Strongest or whatnot? You're just a fucking coward! Coward!"
What was the reason that I had left them without another thought?
I had no excuses to offer her.
Her meltdown had trapped me in my mind as I pondered on things.
Without saying a word, I wrapped my hand around her back and embraced her tightly as she continued crying.
"How can you just leave..."
Those words and her cries repeated over and over until strength left her body.
Before long, Maria fell asleep.
I supported her up as I weakly leaned on the walls behind me.
"Wow... that one's insane," Titania said. "I should recruit her in my army sometime."
"Sure, sure," I answered.
I could feel it well.
Ever since I met Lethe, no, maybe even since before that, a change had happened inside me.
Coming back to this place after all those years had made that change just all the more apparent.
I... had started to care about people more than I used to. Just a tad bit more, just a little, but it was there.
For the first time, I felt a sense of uncertainty toward change. Was this good, or was this a weakness in the making?
I couldn't tell.
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