FLASHBACK CONTINUES
She did as she was asked. She never asked for more than what she was being offered. She was just doing her job.
She cleaned the rooms, swept the floors, washed the dirty dishes of those nobles—and always, and I repeat, always looked down when a noble was walking by.
Back then, it was disrespectful to look a noble directly in the eyes. It was also disrespectful to have your shadow touch theirs, so she always remained a big distance away from them.
She did the proper bowing etiquette, from the bottom of her heart. All she truly wished for was to never be noticed.
Yet this world was cruel. The world noticed how much she didn't want to be noticed—and so, the world decided to make her... the prettiest woman known to man.
Her beauty was simply too grand. If you saw her, you had to gawk, even if she dressed like a peasant and kept her head down.
That seductress body could not be hidden by cloth.
And soon... it ensnared someone.
One day, as she was scrubbing the floor with a small little sponge... the young lord of the house noticed her.
A few steps away, hidden just behind a lattice frame draped in flowering silk, stood the young lord.
Roughly her age. Maybe a few winters older. (Few years)
He had the look of nobility, yes—but not the haughty kind. His jaw wasn't set in pride, and his posture didn't scream superiority. If anything... he looked curious. As if he were gazing at something unfamiliar and beautiful, like an artist discovering color for the first time.
"Who is she?" he asked quietly.
The elder servant beside him blinked, lowering his voice. "That's the maid girl... Eve. Izanami's daughter."
"Izanami?"
"You wouldn't know her," the servant muttered. "She was the servant who slept with the foreigner. She served in the laundry quarters. Died a few years back from fever."
The young lord's gaze didn't waver. "And the girl?"
"She's been here ever since. Works twice as hard as the others. Keeps to herself. Smart, polite... but no one touches her. Her mother... complicated things, if you catch my meaning."
The young lord didn't answer.
Didn't blink.
Didn't care.
Because the only thing he saw was a girl kneeling under sunbeams filtering through the rafters—her skin kissed by light and labor, her black hair messy but radiant, and her eyes... gentle.
She didn't glow like noble ladies in the ballroom. She burned quietly, like coal in the hearth—steady, hidden, warm.
And he was captivated.
He couldn't keep his eyes away from this thirteen-year-old girl... he was nineteen, mind you, but fuck it, this was feudal Japan.
Age was nothing more than a number to them.
The last noble had married a twelve-year-old girl... he was forty, mind you. Oh well. Guess this was where Japan's whole loli culture came from.
Later That Week
He came dressed as a servant.
Brown robe. Dust on his hands. A borrowed name from one of the stable boys.
He found her in the side garden, carrying a basin of water meant for washing linens. She was humming to herself, something soft and old. A lullaby, maybe.
He cleared his throat.
She turned.
Eyes wide. Surprised.
He smiled awkwardly. "Need help?"
Eve blinked.
"No, thank you," she said, voice quiet but not cold. "I can manage."
"I insist." He stepped forward, grabbing the other side of the basin.
She stared at him suspiciously, then reluctantly let him help. Together, they placed it by the old stone well.
Silence.
Then—
"You don't sound like the other servants," she said, frowning faintly.
"Don't I?" he offered with a half-laugh.
"You're too clean," she muttered, brushing off her apron. "And you don't smell like manure or soap."
Caught.
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I should've rolled in the stable first."
She didn't laugh, but her lips twitched.
That was progress.
They stood quietly for a while. Just... breathing. Listening to birdsong and wind weaving through tall grass.
"You're not from here," he said.
"No," she answered simply.
"Do you like it here?"
A pause.
She looked away.
"I survive here."
And he wanted to say something poetic. Something bold. Something stupid like "Let me make it better."
But all he said was: "You deserve more than survival."
"I do not think we should be speaking, Your Majesty," she said, not daring to look at his face.
The boy looked at his hand... fuck, he forgot to remove the ring. So, his noble status was just laid bare for the world.
The boy tried to get the girl's attention again, but all he was met with was "Your Majesty," or "Your Lordship"—just a bunch of acronyms to call him anything but his name. And when he took a step closer—
She took a step back, not daring to let her shadow overshadow his.
She would never do such a thing... yet, Izanagi felt the need to get closer to this girl.
Something about her... made him want to get closer.
As the only heir to his family, who had recently reached noble status, one might even say... he was the first man. But he didn't care about that.
Currently, his gaze was on Eve. Something about her drew him to her.
She was quite cute.
A/N I felt a bit uncomfortable writing this due to the age difference but oh well.
Had to make this shit lore accurate.
S/N...How noble of me...sacrificing my own chapter release for this story....I deserve some praise.
{GET the hell back to your story}
S/N....You no fun.