"Father I have something important to tell you"
It was now morning, and all of us were dining together at the table when I hit them with this question. I was usually playing a cool and silent persona whenever I was around my parents, and I rarely say anything but "Thanks for the food" whenever we would dine together, so all attention immediately focused on me
My father cleared his throat and met my gaze
"It's rare for you to say something like this...what is it, Vergil?"
I snapped my fingers and signaled the maids to let the girl in
And upon opening the door the sight of her in a maid uniform that I stole from some random schmuck came to view. Most of their uniforms are custom-made, so for something that I just nabbed somewhere, it looked pretty good on her. It gave emphasis to her curves and her face which really amplified her pretty looks...
"And who is this?" My mother asked as she carefully observes her from head to toe
"This here is...uhm...hey, what was your name again? I was too excited to hire you yesterday I didn't get the chance to ask"
"It's Quinn, milord. I was unfortunately abandoned as a child so I don't really know my last name"
"Right, this lovely lady right here is named Quinn. And I want her to be my personal maid"
The entire table, including the servants who were idly watching from the sidelines, met my declaration with shocked expressions. I don't think I said anything controversial so I think these reactions of theirs are just unfounded...
"Vergil I just want to ask...she wasn't originally a part of our servants, right? Where did you find her?"
"Outside the manor while I'm doing my morning walk"
"And do you know this woman? From before you met her in your morning walk I mean?
"Nope, it's our first time meeting then"
My father lets out a sigh and takes a sip of water before continuing
"Vergil, you do know what it means here in the Empire to have a personal servant, right? The traditions of the Empire dictate that you could only have one, and once you've picked them you two would be making an oath that Quinn would be your servant, and you her master until both of you pass away...Now then, are you sure about picking her?"
"Yeah, I want her"
"Why?"
"She has a cute face, and I like her personality"
"Attaboy that's the spirit, fine then you have my approval"
Hearing this, my sister slammed her hands into the table in protest
"What?! you've got to be kidding me, Daddy! I make sure to carefully list down all of their information and everything about their personalities when I apply for a personal butler, and you still reject all of them, but if Vergil pulls up something like this out from his ass then you just give him your blessing like that?!"
"Honey, language. We're at the table" My mother interjected as she sipped from her tea
"It's a different story with you, my dear. I need to carefully investigate each and every one of them and make sure none of those bastards would take advantage and leach off of you. The reason why I've rejected every single plead you have for a personal butler is that none of them are suitable for you"
"They are! You're just being overprotective!"
"Now, now, calm down dear. Your father does have some grounds for rejecting some of your applications. For example, do you remember Robert? the one that's part of a scamming group that caused a ruckus in the capital? Or maybe that one elven boy that was a secret playboy and had fifteen women impregnated already? Or what about that one best folk boy that's wanted across the globe for twenty counts of murder and cannibalism?"
"Urk..." my sister could only back down the moment we list her past mess ups
She had always been gullible, and a terrible judge of personality. I personally find it to be quite amusing, though my parents are worried for all the right reasons...
"Okay that's fair, I'm a bad judge of character. But what about her, huh? What makes you say that she's not as bad as the other people in my applications?!"
"I'll actually be the judge of that"
My mother gave a smile as she placed down her cup
Now, this was the part where I'm nervous. I have a huge leverage when it comes to my dad considering the fact that I'm pretty much the prodigy that everyone is proud of, and he was quite lenient when it comes to men's things. But my mom was nothing like that...
Her sharp gaze was looking at each and every part of her while discerning everything she can about her...either that, or she was trying to scare her. I really have no idea how these girls deal with each other...
"...Let me ask you this...Quinn, is that right?"
"Yes my lady, that's right. And please ask away"
"Right...do you really want to be my son's personal maid?"
"More than anything"
"Why?"
"Because I love him" Quinn replied with zero hesitation
"Wha-"
Damn, I didn't think this chick had the guts to tell that in front of my entire family's face. Each and every one of the servants began to silently whisper among one another, Morgana looks like she'd seen a ghost, and my father was bumping his chest while looking all proud...
My mother on the other hand was...crying?
"I like her. She has my approval"
"W-Wha? This is such bullcrap! I call bias on this one, biased I say! This is a show of tyranny among this family and-"
"Lady Morgana...did I get your name right?" Quinn cut in with a smile
"Y-Yes?..."
"Considering you're the older sibling, I thank you so much on behalf of Milord for taking care of him. Please rest easy, I'll make sure to carry on the bonfire and thoroughly fulfill each and every one of his desires. So while I understand that you don't support us now, I could only hope to gain your approval in the future"
Quinn then bowed down while moving her left toe and crossing it on the other side of her leg, which was a gesture of respect and submission among the Imperial aristocrats...
"S-So formal...Wait a minute, you don't look like someone from the Empire? How do you know our customs?"
"I learned it from the merchants who would often visit our village..."
"Kgh..L-Listen here! My parents may have approved of you, but I won't! I won't ever hand my lil bro to you, remember that!"
My sister shouted as she bolted out of the room
And all of us could only watch her figure disappear in the distance with a smile
[***]
After a bit of introduction from Quinn's end, we were thankfully able to survive my little breakfast introduction without little to no preparation. Once we returned to our room, I lay down in my bed and let out a huge sigh...
"Haaaa...we somehow managed to make it work..."
"Good work out there, milord. I think I've managed to paint myself as a suitable wife material to your parents. Now, all we need to plan is the wedding and-"
"Oh enough with that shtick. You saw me in action firsthand when I slaughtered those bandits, right? You of all people should know firsthand why I'm the last person in this world who would have a chance to get married"
"Why? Is it because you have some sort of crusade against evil or something?"
"Oh, hell no. I think you're under some sort of misconception here, Quinn. I make a hobby of hunting down bandits not because I hate them for being a menace to society, but because they're convenient little things that I could train with..."
"I see, so you're telling me your goal is..."
"Yep, my goal is to become the strongest for the sake of accomplishing a certain dream of mine. And in order to achieve that goal, I plan on shedding as much blood as it takes. So seeing you walk in a white dress with flowers in hand is the last thing that I want"
"Hmmm, I see"
Quinn nods in approval as she moves in to begin brewing tea
"So do you get it? Will you stop it with the 'I love yous' and whatnot"
"No, I don't think I will"
"What? Are you serious?"
"Very serious I'm afraid. I'm a very patient woman, so I don't care how long it takes until you see me in all my beauty. Until then, I have no choice but to also get stronger in order to follow you down to that twisted path of yours..."
"Hehe...you have a few screw losses, you know that? But I guess that's expected of my partner in crime"
Quinn smiled as she hands me the fresh cup she just brewed...
"So what's your plan now?"
"Hmmm, I guess I'll just continue roaming around the forest and killing bandits. What about you? Are you planning on taking revenge or something?"
"Not really. And besides, you've already killed the bandits who did this to me"
"Yeah, but did you see their equipment? Ain't no way a bunch of bums was able to get such high-quality weapons on their own. And the fact that they were able to bring you from Maidenport all the way here in the Empire without being spotted by the authorities means there must be someone high up who's pulling the strings..."
"You might be right...but I don't really want to concern myself with revenge as much as possible. It's quite depressing. But If you want me to do so, then I'll be more than happy to do it, milord"
"...Nah, it's fine. You do what you want"
I let out another sigh before sipping from the cup and spitting the contents back out...
"Is it that bad?"
"It is that bad. It's like drinking hot water that came from the sewer"
"Sorry, I don't really know how to brew tea. I thought putting leaves in hot water was the only thing you do to make a nice cup"
"Well that's not right, but not exactly wrong either..."
Quinn giggled, and I was forced to drink this concoction while staring at the morning sky