“My, my. It suits you so well, Stella!” Marie gently praised as she looked up and down at the white dress with purple outlines that she fitted on Stella. “I’m sure he’s going to like this one, very much so. Ah, I can’t wait to see his reaction!”

  “W-what are you even saying?” Stella asked, pouting a bit. “I said we’re just visiting the orphanage.”

  Stella looked down at her dress, giving it a little swirl. “Isn’t this a little too much?”

  “Pfft, back then, you won’t mind every bit of clothing I put on you. Has Stella grown too much now?”

  “Please stop poking my cheek!”

  “So cute! And so pretty! I can’t believe you’re back!”

  While Stella melted inside her dressing room as Marie doted on her, outside, Phoebe and Marcus were talking to each other. As for him, he wore his standard White Watch uniform alongside his mask. As a result, the haughty maid crossed her arms and huffed at him.

  “You’re planning to visit a place that is a sanctuary for children without parents, yet you sure look like someone from their bedtime nightmares.”

  “Oh, shut it, will you? Isn’t my role to just carry her luggage?”

  “That may be so, but even then, you look like you’re preparing for some kind of crusade. How dreary. Is hiding your face and identity really that important?”

  Marcus frowned. He knew Stella trusted this person, so Marcus naturally wanted to do his best to trust her too, but unlike Marie, who was a kind-natured lady who swore her full loyalty to Stella, this elven maid was a bit too proud, and her mouth was too loose. In response to Marcus’s souring mood, however, the maid just sighed.

  “You shouldn’t look at that to me, Sir Marcus. I have honor, mind you. What happens in Stella’s territory, stays in her territory.”

  “Well, you ‘tease’ her too much, and you’re trying to do the same to me, so I have doubts.”

  “You appear to be misguided. ‘Teasing’ is an act between good friends and is done in good humor. You are still a bit of a stranger, so my criticism for you is, in fact, always accurate. It is not ‘teasing.’”

  “You love stabbing people in the heart for no reason, huh?”

  A pleasant smile grew on the maid’s face again as she curtsied.

  “I’m glad that you are impressed of my skill in that.”

  Marcus wanted to bash his head. He couldn’t let this stuck-up woman play him like a fiddle. After all, she was just a damn maid, a fallen noble even. Why’d she act so highborn? He was basically like Marcus, though; he supposed she still grew up as someone high up, and she literally served royalty, which gave her and Marie massive prestige, but still!

  “I can just hide in the rear if I need to,” Marcus said, facepalming a bit. “It’s not going to look bad for her, I promise.”

  In a way, she’s probably just watching over Stella. Being seen with a masked thug will probably not do wonders for her reputation. Man, I just wanted to help her. I guess I overplayed my hand.

  “It’s disappointing,” Phoebe let out a longing sigh as she looked at the door to Stella’s dressing room. “I was hoping for more. I suppose I’ll try to do better next time.”

  “Hoping for more?”

  “Nothing.”

  What’s up with this woman? It’s so hard to figure her out.

  “Don’t try to be elusive,” Marcus warned, his voice low, until he started to realize something. “Wait, is this why you revealed her secret to me, and now you’re disappointed because it didn’t lead to the perfect scenario in your head?”

  “My, I have so much work left before we depart. I’ll take my leave now.”

  “Now you’re running away. Pfft, I knew it; you’re one of those schemer types.”

  “Whatever you’re saying, Sir Marcus.”

  Marcus didn’t bother chasing the retreating maid, resigning himself to a chair in the guest room he was assigned to. Since Stella and the rest of her entourage were taking way too long to prepare themselves—and Marcus only took around two minutes—he decided to rest his feet for a while.

  He stared at the window. The warm rays of light freely entered through it, and he could see the outline of the beautiful royal capital from out of it. Quite frankly, he loved the view here, and the vibes of the room were both quite cozy and luxurious, so he wouldn’t mind renting this out if it was a hotel suite in a city he would like to stay in.

  For now though, it was time to think. The Death God Cult still bored Marcus’s mind, and he was profusely using [Mass Surveillance] just to scan the situation in the Royal Palace, as he feared interference from the king and the other members of the royal family while they were here.

  Heh, even now, when I’m supposed to help her at giving aid to people in need, I still can’t help but think about how I’ll kill people.

  Briefly, he removed his white mask and stared at it. Stella already freely gave up hers, and she was probably only going to wear it if she was going out under the White Watch’s banner. Marcus, meanwhile, still insisted on wearing it. He only ever let his mask fully fall so far in front of Stella, the only person he truly trusted.

  But is that needed here?

  Marcus wondered about that. Apparently, because of Stella’s declaration, there was talk about knighting him soon, should he prove himself to her parents. The problem was, knighting someone was a ceremony. It’d be weird if you did that to someone so faceless and silent.

  “That’s who I am though…”

  Outside of interacting with Stella and with her familiar and friends, Marcus was a silent, faceless man. Even if he did, in fact, save her once, to stay with her any further, people were going to ask a lot of questions about who he was and why he should be in her service. No one liked someone who hid their face, after all.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The children. The people at the orphanage, I wonder, will I scare them?

  Marcus looked back at the city. To be truly linked into this world so that he could form bonds with people and not make it weird, Marcus would have to embrace it and integrate with it. But could he do that? When would he do that? Would it cause trouble, or lessen trouble?

  I mean, I said it before. If I remove my mask, it’s not like I won’t beat the living shit out of anyone who messes with us.

  And I’m only keeping it on because I wanted to escape to a normal life later on.

  But now, it was keeping him from living normally and becoming a proper human being. Someone with a name, a personality, and a face. It was essentially a decision now whether he would keep this facade onward till the end if his goal was a normal life once everything settled down.

  Or, I can let go of it now and try to live life with people I already know.

  The faces of the people he met flashed before him. Stella, Siris, Fritz, Heinrich, Marie, Phoebe, and many more. Should he remove his mask for them and live normally with them as he befriended them and more?

  He needed to figure out this one soon.

  The trip to the orphanage was short. Since Stella and her maids opted to use a carriage, it only took around a few dozen minutes for them to reach it. It was at the northern side of Kalthafen, where the slums were. Well, ‘slums’ was what they called it. To Marcus, it looked…somewhat normal?

  Not in the sense that it was normal in reference to the rest of Kalthafen. But, to Marcus’s eyes, it was no less worse than the places he lived in back in the day, and it would be outrageous to call his home ‘slums.’ When someone said slums, Marcus imagined starving people, trash everywhere, and homes that were barely standing.

  Instead, the slums of Kalthafen seemed somewhat like an old town. The buildings were outdated and rarely made of stone, bricks, or concrete, but they were still made at least with timber frames, alongside wattle and daub. Some, though, were made of stone and bricks, but that was a bit uncommon.

  Others were mostly wooden. All in all, unlike the rest of Kalthafen, which seemed to have a standardized, high-quality architecture and urban planning, the slums was a bit of a chaotic mess. with a hodgepodge of building materials being used. The streets were also a bit unorganized, and there were a lot of people, and by that, it was more than what he saw in the rest of the city.

  The slums were full of life. It was bustling, with markets that were stocked full of vendors and customers, workshops, and even areas that had ongoing construction and demolition operations. It was poorer, yes, but it wasn’t as poor as the true ‘slums’ that Marcus remembered.

  But, I suppose my standards are just lower because I came from the past. He looked at the faces of Stella and her friends, which were full of pity as they drove through the slums. I need to remind myself that the standard of living now is higher.

  “We’re here now, Lady Stella!” The coachman called as their carriage came to a stop.

  A smile appeared on Stella’s face. “Thanks for bringing us here! Everyone, let’s go.”

  Coming out of the carriage while carrying two bags that Stella bought, Marcus looked at the orphanage on the side of the street where their carriage was parked. It was a small gated complex, with three buildings total within its walls. Inside, he could see a garden and a square in the center, with a statue in the middle that depicted the Goddess of Life.

  He stared at the white figure. She resembled an elf—well, at least with her pointy ears, but that was where the similarities ended. The goddess had two wings, which were slightly folded in this statue’s case, alongside a halo, which was made of light, actual light in this case. It was probably made with magic, some sort of spell to create that effect. He imagined that during dark nights, the children of this orphanage could peer through their windows and see the goddess’s glowing visage to get a sense of comfort.

  Her eyes were closed, and she was slightly looking down as she prayed. All in all, it was a humble and divine-looking structure. Stella sure had quite the great taste, Marcus thought.

  “You gawking at it is quite funny, good sir,” Phoebe teased from behind as she suddenly stood beside Marcus. “Like what you see?”

  Marcus stiffened up a bit, embarrassed that he was caught staring like some deer in front of the gate. Then, he chuckled to ease things up a bit. “Ah, yeah. I just thought…she looked holy.”

  “...That’s the point.”

  “Don’t look at me that way, Miss Phoebe.”

  A mischievous smile grew briefly on the maid’s face as she walked forward while holding a key. “You’re so serious. Being that stiff wouldn’t help your chances.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  As Phoebe opened the gate, Stella rushed forward with a bright smile on her face. She called out to Marcus for him to follow her, and Marcus did so. The voices of their arrival immediately caused the whole place to come alive. Workers and volunteers, mostly young women and a few old ladies, came out.

  Then, the hordes of children began arriving. Before Marcus knew it, he was standing at the square while Stella and her maids were swarmed by overenthusiastic children. Of course they would be surrounded! Stella was patting their heads, while Marie and Phoebe held boxes of cookies and macarons, which she personally distributed to the girls and boys.

  “It’s the princess! She’s here!”

  “Wow! It’s my favorite!”

  “Princess, can I have another one! Please let me have two!”

  “Everyone, please calm down,” Stella tried. “You will have one, okay?”

  “Me! Me! Me!”

  “No, me first!”

  Meanwhile, the adults of the orphanage tried to restore order or apologize to Stella for the ruckus. Marcus sighed. It was quite the sight, he thought. In fact, he wondered how there was an orphanage this big. He’d never seen one like this. It wasn’t an operation of a few people that wanted to help; this was a well-funded institution.

  Every child wore something nice; they looked bright and healthy, and he could even see a boy that had glasses, while holding a book, watching the other kids fight for the sweets that Stella bought. He seemed timid, but otherwise, he was doing well, and considering the book he was holding, the children here must be studying too.

  I wonder then, why did she leave all of this to become a [Saint]? Marcus was a bit out of his depth as he tried to understand Stella. She felt choked by her family, didn’t she? That’s why she escaped to go to the Holy Church.

  Or was this just another way for her to escape back then?

  It would certainly make sense. Stella was someone who always wanted to act out of the goodness of her heart, and she couldn’t stop herself. Perhaps that was why she hated being caged by her overbearing family. She wanted to do more than this but couldn’t.

  Eh, it’s all speculations, but…

  Her kindness was so bright, it was blinding. Marcus groaned at that. She truly was a [Saint], wasn’t she? And she looked so happy over there while giving out sweets to cute children. It was almost enviable.

  “Oh…right…” Stella suddenly looked at Marcus, who was standing in the sidelines. “Everyone, I have a new friend in town. He’s a bit shy, so he’s hiding his face and name, but he’s a good guy, and I travelled with him a lot across the world. You can call him Sir M! Please say hello to him!”

  “Sir M?!” Marcus sputtered.

  When the kids first looked at him, they all seemed afraid of him. But, as if a switch was turned, when Stella introduced Marcus, immediately, some of the kids ran toward him, asking questions after questions.

  “Sir M! Sir M? You’re another friend of the princess?”

  “She said you guys travelled together. Was it fun?”

  “Hey, are you carrying more cookies in those bags, Sir M?”

  Overwhelmed, Marcus could only try looking left and right as he kept track of the children asking questions and poking at him. Some were even laughing at how he looked ‘silly’ as he retreated bit by bit due to their questioning.

  Damn it.

  He realized that he may have a certain weakness. He wanted to place his hands on his head and scream.

  They’re all so cute!