Unparalleled Motherly Love I

[Grayfia's POV]

I was sitting in the corner without any energy left, Feeling ashamed and disgraceful. The party continued on top; my senses were firmly focused on my master, his every action and word... he knows I'm looking.

"Dear, are you there?" I heard my mother's voice from the other side, I know she was coming and Layla is right behind, but right now...

"Leave me alone for a minute, mother, please" I requested with a voice that resembled a dead person more than a woman who a mere day ago had made the most intense love to her beloved.

She didn't heed my words.

The door opened and in came my mother and Layla... the room was dark in the night so they lit it up to see my ruined dirty dress and ruined expression, sitting in a corner, not knowing what to do.

"Dear, what happened...?" Mother knelt down beside me with a worried expression and hugged me, taking me away from that cold corner while Layla stood to the side, holding her elbow without a word to say. We both had our own issues.

Who is at fault for this? no one is...

If I blamed Sirzechs for being insistent... then perhaps I should also blame myself for getting over him so quickly and falling so deeply in love with master... or blame master for being so greedy and possessive towards me; wanting to possess me completely... or blame Layla for not holding onto her husband and keeping him under check.

No one was to blame for this incident, I couldn't look at her with hatred for something Sirzechs had done. I couldn't feel hatred for Sirzechs, for I abandoned him to leave on a mission.

I could only feel hatred for myself and my lack of determination to follow my master.

"I failed my master... as his maid, as his mate... as everything..." I summarized to my mom with mocking laughter that brought along tears of sorrow.

"But sister, what did you do?!" Layla yelled in confusion, as far as she was concerned I did what was correct, in fact, she is in all her right to hate me if she does. I tried to stop them from saving Sirzechs.

"I didn't follow master's will... but instead I was selfish and followed my own, as his maid... I'm a failure"

Why do I feel like crying? is it because I failed as a maid? or is it something else? does it hurt me so bad... that his affection for me decreased? the gauge that I have longingly and steadily increased; seeking the greatest peak for Master's love for me... suddenly decreased because of my mistake. How dependent have I become on it?

"Sweetie, calm down... it is not as bad as you think" Mother was still confused but tried to encourage me, she doesn't know that I just saw master's affection for me decrease, how can she understand?

"Dear, in a relationship... there are ups and downs..." She began, I remember her holding me like this and giving me advice when I was a kid.

"..."

"Sometimes your partner will do something that will disappoint you, you may even feel like you love that person withers; the same can also happen the other way around, you could disappoint that person with something you did, he may feel hurtful, he may even be too prideful to accept it".

The more she spoke the more it resonated with me.

"I think... I hurt m-master..." It hurt me to think I did.

"Shhh, dear that's... alright... we can't be perfect all the time. You know, there may be a day that you have to do something that your master won't accept for desire... it could be for your children's sake, or for your master's sake... you're doing the best for them, saving them from pain or even lessening their load. You never know, but as a maid... how will you choose what's correct?" She frowned placing me straight into a powerful dilemma.

!!!

My eyes widened in disbelief, what would I do? if one day... I had to do something he doesn't like... for his sake? would I still follow his orders or would I act wilful, like today?

"If that was the case then... would you follow your master's will, or would you do what's best for him. It is the job of a maid to make the right call".

"But what-" I wanted to know what this has to do with what happened.

"What I'm trying to say is... that sometimes you will have to reject your master's orders... be it because of your will or his... dear, the perfect maid doesn't exist~ that's not a maid, that's a robot~" She giggled.

"..."

"Remember this sweety... as a maid, it is your job to do the best for your master, nothing more... nothing less. If you can make him happy that's additional pleasure~"

I engraved her words in my mind.

"He looked angry, I could feel it... but there was not a moment in which I thought that he was going to drop you away, in fact... if he was going to leave you behind, he wouldn't be up there -in that banquet- waiting for you, don't you think?"

"..." She's right.

"He'd be gone... and with his power, if he wanted to be gone, you'd never see him again".

"N-No..." Just imagining it, brought so much pain to my chest a world without Richter-sama, we haven't been together much, or in fact... we have.

It was during the heart lineage's trial as he held me... time and time again that he became something irreplaceable to me, I don't want to ever be away from master. The pain I felt when I 'ate' him in order to surpass the trial and couldn't see his face, unaware of whether I'd see him again. That is not something I ever want to experience again!

"As a maid, it is not only your duty to keep your master in peak conditions, but also... to keep yourself in peak condition, dear... if you're not well, if your mentality and body are not well, how are you going to serve your master? how are you going to be devotedly passionate to a master that you resent..." Her words drifted and she shot Layla a sidelong glance.

"But I told him, that I'd kill Sirzechs-" I began and Layla shivered, looking at me in disbelief.

"But I couldn't do it, and he knew... he knew I wouldn't and he was disappointed with me, how am I to look at his face again?!" Perhaps what hurts me more was that master knew I was going to fail him.

"I don't know, dear, but... you have to go up there... with the best you have and with all your charm; conquer your master's heart" Mother smiled brightly, giggling, challenging me.

Conquer his heart.

"If you had killed Sirzechs; then you'd surely hold a seed of resentment towards him... deep inside you. It wouldn't have been a harmonious relationship anymore. In doing so you protected your feelings for him which is undoubtedly more important than anything else. You just need to realise that my son-in-law is not like any other master, he's a prideful dragon god, I think... we got a huge wake-up call today".

"Yes..." I nodded, having already seen master transform people into gold was as much of his overwhelming power as I had seen, but today... I saw his brutality.

"Then what you must do now dear, is protect his feelings for you~"

"...?"

"Seducing your master and keeping him under the charm of your presence is also a maid's duty, don't forget... if something has stopped him from seeing you as his main ally and strength, then you NEED to fix it. You need to be the centre of his gaze always, he needs to know that he counts on you for anything and against anyone".

Her words were so powerful, my mother's determination to be a maid was unparalleled, I have learned my lesson today.

"If this was a test, what do you think he was testing?~"

"L-Loyalty..."

"That's right... he wanted to know if he could give you his back, ask your opinion, depend on you... even if he is that strong that he almost looks invincible, strong enough to not need anyone by his side, dear... he still asked you" With that said, she allow silence in the room, bringing a dawning conclusion into my head as I shook my head repeatedly with a smile that conveyed a mixture of relief and also self-mockery.

I'm relieved that she's right.

"I'm so... stupid..."

Being selfish about my choices, and also... being selfish about my feelings. Showing such a pathetic expression in front of my master, my senses are all over him... I'm sure, his senses are all over me.

How could I be such a bad maid as to show my master this depressing sight. It doesn't matter if his affection for me increased, hitting my insecurities. There is only one truth that I can hold onto and never let go of.

[Dragon God's Affection: 89% (In Love)]

Master is in love with me, so much in love... that he has gone against his own beliefs time and time again. He has met my mother as his mother-in-law. He stayed with me when we could have already gone away to look for better options. He even... allowed me to say my last words to Sirzechs out of consideration for my past and his past.

Master has already placed me before his treasures and yet I!-

'Took you long enough, fool...' I heard his voice in my mind, as expected, he's seeing, he's hearing.

This lack of privacy is... relieving. He cares about me.

I cleaned my tears and stood up, walking in front of the mirror, my mother giggled and followed me while Layla stood at the door.

"See? such a beautiful Demon Goddess, what is there to be sad about? go up there and show that dragon that in that banquet there is no one like you~"

She tied my braids in a different pattern, fixed up my make up and cleaned my dress, I was ready again.

Taking my beloved mother's cheeks I planted a deep kiss on her cheek, "I love you, mother~"

"You're going to make mummy blush, go now or I will eat you~" She made cute munching motions and pushed me to the door where I took Layla and gave her a kiss as well.

My younger sister looked at me with an expression of confusion, I know she was holding back her tears, she doesn't want to cry in front of me, "I love you too Layla, come quickly..."

Leaving those two alone, I headed to the stairs, taking a deep breath.

It doesn't matter what I did, It is not my master I have to face, it is my own mistakes.