Passing by me and everyone else in a flash, both the twins ran towards her.
"M-Maiaaa!"
"Maiaaaa!!"
Each one of them hugged one of her legs, while crying. Look at those little shits, crying so much even after I tried so hard to prevent them… but I guess these tears are acceptable in the end. Maia smiled, picking both of them up in one arm each, while at the same time, the boss of the jump squad in front of us spoke.
"…how are you already here? I thought you said you wouldn't be here today."
He seemed relatively composed, but honestly it wouldn't really have made any difference even if that wasn't the case. For example, the other guys next to him were pretty mixed up within their reactions. A few dropped to the ground, some started crying, and others were paled up, mortified and what not.
"Hmm, well, I'd prefer it if you just used your brain to come up with the answer for that… but given the circumstances, it's that you guys don't have one, so I'll go straight to the point."
She spoke in her casual, almost serene tone, while both twins held on to her. I guess she was in her big sister mode now?
"We've known about it since the very first planning stages. Though we didn't plan to wait this long until we interfered, it couldn't really be helped. Poor Markus almost started crying from worrying after all. But making it short, you guys would've never made it, since we knew from the very beginning."
"…w-wait…?! D-did you say… does that mean, she also knows?!"
His face changed the instant Maia mentioned a "she", so drastically that I honestly was genuinely shocked. It was the fastest I had ever seen someone's face pale up so fast, and go from a resigned expression to one of despair. However, given the circumstances… it wouldn't take a genius to guess who this "she" was. So with that in mind, I'd say his reaction was more than understandable.
"Hm? Are you really that stupid to ask? If I know about it, of course Mio does too."
And at that moment, as he got his confirmation, his expression shifted once again for a final time. It went from despair, to a look of complete hopelessness, and giving up. He fell on his knees, looking up at the sky, while the rest kept going with their own breakdowns, and what not. I couldn't really sympathize with them since they had just attempted to kill us, but I did feel somewhat bad to some extent. The reason was pretty simple too honestly, it's just because after a "simple" relatively speaking, failed assasination attempt, they'd have to face not only the Lieutenant of the Sentinel's Commander, but also the Commander herself it seems. You kinda have to feel bad for them to some extent at that point.
Humming, as if finally being done with dealing with them, she then turned around to face us.
"You guys can go ahead and go inside. I'll bring these guys to the capital, then I'll come back. It shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes give or take, depending on whether we have enough cells ready or not at the closest recruit guarded prison."
"Do you need any help in grouping up the passed out ones, little one?"
Maia let go of the twins, before replying to dad.
"Nah, don't worry about it, old man. As you can see…"
She then made some fire ropes, which fled towards all of the jump squad members, including the conscious ones, and they tied themselves around them. It was kinda like she has some extra arms or some shit like that, but way cooler. Though I did wonder why the ropes didn't burn them.
"Haha, I see now. Alright then, just take care."
"Of course, that goes without a say. Though I highly doubt you'll get trapped again by the time you reach the mansion, you too should be careful ever so slightly at least."
"To think that our daughter would end up being the one telling us to be careful of our surroundings… time sure flies, doesn't it, Isolde?"
"It sure does, dear. It sure does."
I feel the same way… to think that Maia out of all people would turn out so reliable, huh? I would've never thought that back when she got slapped for killing a bunch of goblins recklessly.
Seriously though, how did those not burn them? The ones who were scattered around and unconscious got dragged near the rest, and while some of them woke up because of it, no one actually seemed to be in any kind of pain.
"What's wrong, Cael?…Oh, that? I can regulate the heat on contact, so it won't actually burn them. Torture isn't really my thing after all."
Noticing that I was staring in confusion, she ended up answering my question before I could ask it though. And yeah, hearing the answer out loud does make it seem stupidly obvious in a second though. She has a contract with the Fire Spirit King after all… regulating the heat of her own flames is probably easy enough for her to not even need to do anything other than thinking of it.
"Right…"
"Well, alright then. We'll get going first."
"Yeah, I'll see you guys later."
We then began walking towards the mansion, while Maia fled off, with all of the jump squad dangling below her, while tied by the ropes. I don't really think it'll be an enjoyable ride for them, but I already used up all the little tiny bit of worry I had reserved for them, so unfortunately or not, it kinda just looked weird and funny at the same time.
They would've probably have had a little more time on the ground if Lysanna and Aldric also had anything to say, which would've dragged on the conversation a little longer, but that wasn't the case either. On a side note though, from the way it looked like in the few moments I managed to actually still see her before she was out of eyesight range. If I had to put myself in their shoes, I think that it would probably feel as if I was tied down to a moving plane by a sturdy ass robe, or something along those lines. It looked fun to some extent. Not that I'd actually wanna try it though.
As we approached the unnecessarily large doors of the mansion, as if waiting for us, they opened inwards on their own, or so I thought at first at least. It turns out, someone had actually opened them from the inside, at a perfect timing. They were definitely waiting attached to the door, weren't they? But still, it wasn't so bad. Standing in front of us were 2 maids, bowing as they centered themselves after opening the doors from each side.
"Welcome, Lord Ashford. We've been awaiting your arrival, with great anticipation."
"It is our greatest pleasure to serve you. Please be free to come inside, and we'll guide you towards the living room where Sir Markus is."
Yeah, this definitely reminds me of someone…
They were very clearly twins. Identical twins at that too. They were both brunette, and had the same blue eye color, however one of them had long hair tied in a pony tail, which may be a little unusual for a maid but whatever, and the other had her hair cut short, to around mid neck length. Though they didn't have blue and pink hair, or the same hairstyle respectively, they still gave off a similar vibe as a certain pair of maid twins. The one with longer hair had a more serene expression and tone, while the other seemed a little more monotone.
"You can drop the Lord. We're not even nobles anymore. Currently at least."
"Yeah, and it would also make us more comfortable if you would just speak casually with us."
Dad and mom were quick to hit them with the usual adjustments though. On the other hand, Nala and Rune seemed to be staring at them quite a bit. Rune aside who was clinging to mom's leg, Nala wasn't trying to hide it whatsoever. Now that I think about it, this was the first time they'd ever seen twins besides them, wasn't it? And they're an identical pair at that too.
"I understand, Lor-… Sir Bartholomew, and Lady Isolde. We'll speak more casually from now on."
Said the one with shorter hair. Meanwhile, the one with longer hair walked towards Rune and Nala, as mom took a step back, and crouched in front of them, putting a hand on each of their heads.
"Nice to meet you two. I've heard from Maia, that you two are twins, right?"
Rune nodded. He seemed a little troubled, given that he couldn't cling to mom at the moment, but without taking her eyes off of the maid, Nala took his hand, and he seemed to have calmed down. I guess that's just how the older twin is going to be, huh?
"That's right. My name is Nala Ashford, and he's my younger twin, Rune. Come on, Rune. Say hi."
"…h-hi."
I'm fairly sure I saw a faint blush come across her face after he spoke, but it wouldn't be too crazy even if it was the case. The kid was really cute after all. I'm proud of you, my dear little brother!
"I see, once again then, nice to meet you two. We're also twins, as you can probably tell."
"Yeah, but I didn't know twins can look like each other! Me and Rune don't even look alike."
"Well, that may also be just because you're a girl and he's a boy haha. But it is true that it seems like only you have inherited the Signature Ashford features, not just among you and your twin, but among all of your siblings."
She smugly puffed her chest hearing that.
"He he! That's right, I'm the only one who has them both, just like mommy!"
"Haha, I guess you're the luckiest one then. But that doesn't mean that you're unlucky, Rune. You may not look a lot like your older sister, but you do look quite a lot like your older brother, you know?"
I've wondered before whether Rune was bothered or not by the fact that he had none of the Ashford features. I honestly probably didn't really put enough thought into it though, since I didn't even realize it until the Maid put it on a silver plate for us all. He was looking at the twins with a slightly concerned expression earlier, not because he didn't know twins could look alike, but most likely because he and his own twin don't.
They all looked at me after she said that, and Rune's expression seemed to lighten up at the realization.
Do we really look that much alike?
"Hmm, now that you mention it. Cael and Rune do look alike, don't they, Isolde?"
"I never really thought too much about it either, but now that she mentioned it. They both took a lot after you, dear."
"Though Cael's hair is changing color, he did get Bartholomew's eyes. Rune seems to have the same color palette as Cael."
"Maybe when they grow up, Rune will be the reference to what Cael could've looked like before his hair changed color hahaha."
Everyone's comments about us seemed to have lightened up Rune's mood quite a bit. The maid then continued.
"See? To begin with, you wouldn't look a lot like her since you're a boy. But you don't look weird, or anything like that, just because you and your twin aren't identical. There's also someone else among your siblings that you really look like, no? So you shouldn't worry too much."
Was it a thing between twins? For her to notice what Rune was worried about, from having just met him? Honestly, they seemed to be pretty similar to them too. The one with longer hair was a lot like Nala, with her more approachable nature. Meanwhile the other twin who had been silently observing the situation, was pretty similar to Rune.
"That's right Rune! You're really handsome, even if you don't have the same eyes and hair as me. You're my Twin after all!"
With a smile of approval, she patted their heads one last time, before standing up, and moving back inside the mansion's door, where her sister was.
"Now then, we've kept you guys outside more than enough. Please come in, and we'll take you to Markus right away."
We all shared a glance at each other though, instead of walking yet. They looked at us confused, probably completely unaware of the simple thing we were all wondering.
"Uhm, is there something wrong?"
"Yeah, did we do something? Why aren't you guys coming in?"
"No, we will come in. But…"
"It would be a little weird to end the conversation here without it after all."
Dad and mom spoke first, then I decided to be the one to address the elephant in the room.
"You two… what even are your names?"
Taken aback by the question, both of them blinked rapidly, simultaneously. Was this also a twin thing? Their synchronization while blinking was also surprisingly high.
"Oh…"
"Now that I think about it, we didn't introduce ourselves, did we?"
"Nope, you didn't."
"Hahaha, I'm sorry for that. We completely forgot."
They both bowed, while lifting their maid uniform's skirts slightly off the ground, before speaking. The short hair one being first.
"I'm the younger twin. My name is Iris."
"And I'm the older twin. My name is Ivy."
They then spoke at the same time.
"'We're sorry for not introducing ourselves sooner. We're glad to be able to serve you from now on.'"
"I see. It's nice to meet you, Iris, Ivy."
After I replied, we all then walked inside. The inside of the mansion was as lavish as you'd expect from the massive size we saw from the outside honestly. Paintings, vases with flowers and even sculptures were all around the place. No wonder this place used to be of some rich dude who didn't pay his taxes…
But regardless, after around 2 minutes of walking in between corridors, we arrived at the door of a room.
"Markus is inside this room. He's been waiting for you ever since the little uhm, incident. From earlier."
Maia said she had to calm him down pretty urgently, didn't she?
Over the past month or so, Markus had kinda grown not just on me honestly, but on all of us. He was the head of the servers that Maia sent to get us through this journey, and I had been genuinely amazing with us. If after we opened this door, we'd find him still crying or he'd try to jump on us out of joy, I wouldn't even stop him. I'm completely prepared to cheer him up, and I won't stop until Markus is back to normal!
Ivy opened the door as I had made up my mind. Come on, Markus. Show me just how much I have to console you-
"Hmm? Oh, you finally came back? It's been a while, Cael."
But in front of us, sitting across at a table and sipping tea with Markus who had a serene expression, was someone that made my heart skip at sight. Long wavy and blonde hair. Blue eyes that could be distinguished in any crowd. And an aura of nobility and elegance that only she could leak out to such an extent. I instantly felt my cheeks blush, as everyone walked past me inside the room, while for the time being I stood there frozen.
"What's wrong, little man? Do you know her?"
"She just greeted you, sweetie. Isn't it a little rude if you just stand there frozen? What's up with that?"
Please shut up…
"Ah, you two must be Cael and Maia's parents, right?"
She then got up from the table, and walked towards the 2 of them. Placing her right hand over her chest, she then introduced herself.
"My name is Luna. I'm one of Maia's friends, and I am indeed familiar with Cael as well. After all, we've spent quite a bit of time together in the town near your former village haha."
"My… Maia had mentioned you a few times before. I'm really glad to finally meet you."
"Yeah, I also have to thank you for paying for our kids' meals all the time… we'll pay you back once this whole court thing is over as well, so don't worry about that."
"No, no. It's alright. I was just helping out 2 friends of mine, it's nothing for you to be concerned about."
"Even then, we just wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing you helped our kids so much, but we've done nothing for you. So let us thank you in some way."
"I see… you guys really are their parents, huh?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Of course we are haha."
Aldric, Lysanna and the twins were already at the table getting tea served to them by Iris and Ivy, with Markus, while I was still frozen in place.
"Why are you still there? Get your ass here already, will you? Stop standing there looking stupid, my dear son."
"I'm not-"
"Yeah, yeah. Just come here already and greet her properly. Is that an appropriate way to treat your friends? Standing there frozen while she does all the talking?"
"…I'm coming."
Both of them then walked past Luna and sat down as well, getting tea poured as well, while I walked in their previous spot, in front of Luna.
"I-it's been a while…"
Shit… I don't even know what to say now! This is way too sudden, why didn't you warn me, Maia- wait, now that I think about it, she did say "we were calming Markus" didn't she…?
Fuck. Why didn't I question before she left?! I thought for a second that she maybe meant her and a random servant or something, or that it may have been a simple mistake on her end, but this? This was the last thing I was expecting. The way she smiled gently while looking at me was enough to make my heartbeat skyrocket, and I was having extreme trouble with maintaining my composure. Or actually, I was probably already blushing so hard that I don't even know if I could say that I had any composure to begin with at the moment.
"It sure has. I'm sorry about that though haha. I've been too busy to come see you off when you guys left. You see, though I'm not in a full time position or anything, I'm kind of an assistant of Maia's of some sort, so I was actually already at the capital with her."
Isn't that an insane upscale for someone who already seemed to have a little too much information? Luna's ladder climbing was moving a lot faster than I expected. Though on one hand, it is also true that she was Maia's friend before she actually became the Commander's Lieutenant, and she's not the type to cut out people because of her position, so it's not actually that unreasonable.
"I see… I guess that means you're doing well, no?"
What the hell was that reply… I actually want to shoot myself.
"I definitely can't say I'm not. But I can say the same thing for you, you know? After all, both me and Maia know about the way a certain someone and his family saved an entire village from a gang of child traffickers."
She said that with a smug smile, almost as if teasing me about it.
"I guess our little reckless hero here really just can't stay put, can he?"
I-I can't even deny the last part.
"I-I'm not a hero…"
Though I still hated being called a hero, she had already seen me act recklessly to help someone before, so I actually had 0 defense cards on my end.
"You sure aren't, you sure aren't. But that's enough teasing for now. Let's also sit down and have a cup, alright? After this, Iris and Ivy will take your measurements, so our tailor can get started on making your clothes. Of course though, If you're unhappy with them, I can take your measurements myself."
"As if!"
"My, my. It seems like I got rejected! How sad I am! I'll indulge in drinking (tea) to deal with this heartbreak!"
She dramatically walked towards the table, taking a seat, and looking at me while getting a cup poured. The only available empty seat was also next to her to make things worse, or I guess better? But anyway, I actually am not sure how I'll manage to deal with all this teasing if this keeps going on. Maia, please hurry up and come back!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Maia's Pov)
"I got them in a cell. Should I order someone to kill them or are you gonna do it later?"
"Why would we get them in a cell if we'd kill them right away… I'll do it later."
"Well- you got a point. How are things going there?"
"Everything is fine. We're having tea right now. The twins seem pretty fond of Iris and Ivy also."
"I thought that may be the case haha. They're my best maids after all."
Me and Mio did have a few personal maids as well at our house, though they mostly cleaned around and what not. Markus was also one of them, though we intend on giving all 3 of them to the soon to be reborn Ashford estate. They all know about Mio's identity as well for the record.
"I guess so. It's as you guessed too."
"Nala and Iris are surprisingly getting along?"
"Yeah, that. Though I also expected it to some extent, it's pretty interesting to see it firsthand… I guess we know who's gonna become who's personal maid."
"I can't say I'm displeased with the layout. After all, Ivy's easygoing and protective nature is perfect for Rune too. I can trust her with my baby brother."
"I heard a little of it earlier, it seemed like she also addressed Rune's worries at the door too by the way."
"Worries? … ah, you mean about him not having any of the Ashford features?"
"Yeah, that. I remember him being pretty upset about it in our first life too, huh?"
"Well, can you blame him? Though we weren't nobles back then or anything, some people couldn't even believe that he was our sibling because of the lack of shared features."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember that, yeah. It was pretty rough for him. Isn't that just because you guys were too famous though?"
"…I don't actually have a contra argument to that… but regardless, Ivy addressed it, no? So it should be all fine this time."
"Yeah, pretty sure she just pointed out that even he wouldn't look like Nala either way since he's a boy, and that he does still look a lot like Cael in the end. Even in our first life, didn't people mistake him for Cael's twin if they did believe he was your sibling?"
I had been sitting on a bench outside the prison until now, as we got immersed in our reminiscing mana communication. It wasn't so bad to talk about the past once in a while after all. It's great that Ivy addressed his worries early on too, since it should help him live a little easier this time. Until it's time to unseal Rune and Nala's memories at least, I think it's best to try and keep them as pure as possible. They're the youngest after all.
"That's right haha. I remember that Nala used to have to precise that she's his twin and not Cael quite often. But regardless, it's all in the past now. It shouldn't be an issue this time around, since we're nobles now. Our faces and names will all be well known."
"Well, yeah but still….."
There was a pretty long pause. But after around 10 seconds or so, she continued.
"Say, Maia."
"What's up all of a sudden? You seem anxious."
"…should we do it tonight?"
"Tonigh? Do what?"
"…Unseal your parents memories…"
"…? Didn't you say it's best to wait until after the trial? To not overwhelm them and all."
"I know that. But we both know that they're more than capable of handling it, even if we do it now, no? Not to mention, if I do it now, they'll have an easier time, knowing for sure that they'll win the trial and all, and-"
"Alright. I get it. You can do it tonight. I'll be there with you."
"Really?! I thought it would be a lot harder to retcon on my words and convince you-"
"I mean, for that matter we shouldn't have seen them this early on to begin with. It can't be helped."
"Wait, huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean that I expected this much to some extent. There's no way that you'd be able to meet them, and not want to stop pretending in front of them. After all, aren't they as much of parents to you as they are to us? Even if you had less time with them, and didn't get raised by them or anything like that, back then, they were the first true parental figures you've ever had."
"…I shouldn't have unsealed so many of your memories."
"Yet you did. After all, you don't want to lie to me either, no?"
"…that's right. I would never lie to you."
"I'm coming right now. After Cael and the rest are asleep, we'll do it. I'll tell my parents that me and "Luna" have to talk to them."