"Ah...if the nobles of the Papal State were half as kind as you, then the church wouldn't need to write a Bible to the world."
The count signaled the little maid outside the door to come in with a look, her small figure shyly lowered her head and approached.
When he walked in front of the boy, he raised his head with the earl's cane against his chin. A big, clear eye on his red face looked at the boy shyly.
"I've been observing for a few days. This child's hands and feet are quite nimble. Even if he is clumsy sometimes, he will get better as time goes by." The count looked at the boy.
"Even if you can't bear to let her do chores, it's a good thing to have someone of the same age to accompany you. You can have someone to accompany your sister when you hide in the library every day. This can save me a lot of worry."
"But..." The boy was still hesitant. The natural shyness of children made him a little afraid to look into the eyes of the little maid.
"Of course, I won't force you to accept this gift. This child's family members are all dead. Since you insist on letting her go free... I have no choice but to send her back to the forest to fend for herself. "
With that said, the count held the little maid's shoulders and was about to take her away. The moment the girl turned around, fear flashed across her face, and her eyes seemed to be begging to stay.
"Wait a minute!" After listening to the earl's words, the boy suddenly felt soft. He thought that he had also lost a close relative, and only his beloved sister was left by his side. Thinking of his own experience, he suddenly felt that the little maid in front of him was very pitiful.
"Okay...she can stay, but she is not allowed to say what kind of gift she is. She is a person and should be respected!"
"Oh, as you wish, of course." The count stopped and turned his face with a satisfied smile, as if he had known that the boy would definitely change his mind.
"You see, when you stopped being so polite, it made us seem a lot closer to each other as a family, don't you think so, Cesare."
The count said the boy's name, and Cesare, who was young at the time, clearly felt as if he had been trapped in some kind of trap, and turned his head away with complicated emotions and stopped talking.
Then the earl bent down and whispered in the ear of the silver-haired maid.
"I said he would agree, and then it's up to you." Then, the earl spoke in an extremely quiet voice that could only be heard by the girl. "Never forget Ilona, your life was given by his words..."
When the count stood up and smiled softly at the children, the hunched figure holding a stick walked out of the door. His shadow was not seen in the castle for the next few days.
The young Cesare Hunyadi lived in the family castle. He never stepped out of the iron gate since he came to the castle during his childhood. He had only two choices in his day and night life, staying with his sister. Be next to me or stay in a quiet and lonely library.
It wasn't until his birthday that year that he met the silver-haired girl Ilona, who was both the first servant and the first friend in his life.
From that day on, Cesare had a playmate by his side. Ilona is indeed very nimble with her hands and feet as the count said. Whether she is making the bed or washing her brother and sister's clothes, she never needs to be reminded by outsiders.
More importantly, she was able to stay with her sister Crocia when Cesare locked himself in the library. Crocia also liked her very much because she could braid her hair very gently, better than anyone in the castle. All maids must be good at it.
And Cesare regarded her more as a friend than as a servant.
In my memory, Ilona was always very timid. She was afraid of the dark and being alone. She was afraid of the underground of the castle and even more afraid of the forest outside. Whenever she was asked what she was afraid of, she couldn't tell her. Clearly, it was as if a pair of eyes were watching her all the time in the darkness, making her cry in fear.
But whenever Cesare had some bold ideas, Ilona would always have the courage to follow him. Having a supportive peer around him also made Cesare a lot more courageous.
He eavesdropped on adults' gatherings, sneaked into the basement to explore, and tried to climb over the wall to see the outside world. Sometimes he would take Crocia with him, and sometimes he would set off while his sister was asleep because he was worried about danger.
Once, two children were locked in the basement. Ilona was frightened and cried. Cesare comforted her for a long time before she calmed down. The two children slept together all night until the next morning when they were picked up by the family servants. Discover.
There were several times when he accompanied Cesare and tried to escape from the castle, but each time he was caught fiercely by Mr. János, who had a scar on his face, and then he was brought to the count one by one for questioning.
But fortunately, he was forgiven by the earl every time, as if he was condoned for every dangerous behavior.
As the children grew older, Cesare and his sister Crocia began to live in separate rooms. It was no longer convenient for the brothers and sisters to be as close as before, and they began to have their own independent space and time.
It's just that Ilona got closer and closer, always following Cesare's side, not only taking care of Cesare's daily life all the time, but also playing together every day.
The girl's body was soft and fragrant, and she would hug Cesare's arm inadvertently. The relationship was so good that it didn't even look like a master-servant relationship.
Perhaps because he lost his family, he regarded Cesare as his only relative.
But the day-to-day life is destined to come to an end. When Cesare grew up and needed to go to school in Carlius, the family took into account the many comments about the Hunyadi family from the outside world.
And worried that the secrets about the territory would be inadvertently leaked, they finally decided not to allow anyone in the castle to accompany the brother and sister to school, so that the brother and sister could avoid unnecessary trouble at school as much as possible.
Cesare finally had to say goodbye to Ilona.
On the day of departure, many people from the family came to see Cesare off, and many family members had faces that even Cesare felt were unfamiliar to him over the years.
Ilona naturally came to the scene and cried very sadly. The girl's maid uniform was soaked with tears. She hugged Cesare for a long time and refused to let go, as if the last relative in her life was about to leave her.
Cesare, who was still young at the time, comforted her.
"Don't be sad. I will come back to see you often. When I finish school, I will come back to you and then I will never leave again."
Cesare's smile at that time was very warm, which made Ilona reluctantly let go of her hand, watching Cesare and Crocia get into the carriage and gradually disappear into the forest...
In this way, a long time passed...until now, Cesare finally returned to the castle.
