Chapter 27: Epilogue
I return to the kitchen, slipping back into routine as if nothing had happened, and finish cleaning up after breakfast. The task flows smoothly now, my hands moving with practiced ease. My adoptive mother drilled a maid’s duties into me with relentless precision, but putting them into practice is another matter entirely.
Theory is one thing; reality is less forgiving. I’ve fumbled before—even dropped my master’s cherished books—and each mistake stings sharper than the last.
All I had back then was her training, a foundation built on instruction rather than experience. I’d never truly cared for anyone before this. Practice, it turns out, is a far stricter teacher than any lesson.
Still dressed in my maid outfit, I retreat to my room and sink onto the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight. “Ugh, how embarrassing…!” The words escape in a groan as I clutch my head, cheeks burning.
“Y-Your personal maid…?! Was that too much? In that situation, no less! What if he thinks I’ve completely lost it?” My voice trembles with the weight of my own audacity. Clinging to him like that, summoning every shred of courage I had—it felt like leaping off a cliff. But if I hadn’t pushed myself, Keiji-kun might never see me as his maid, someone he can truly rely on.
He’s a bit peculiar, but he’s still a boy. Surely, it had some effect… right?
“A-Anyway, let’s just forget about that for now,” I mutter, trying to shove the memory aside. My heart still races from Keiji-kun’s earlier probing. To think he pieced together so much just from catching me snooping in his room—his sharpness caught me off guard.
It’s not merely the polished education of the Kiyomiya family; there’s an innate brilliance to him, a spark that must have always been there.
After all, he’s—
“Hey, Sa-chan. Got a sec?”
“You’re already inside, aren’t you?” I sigh, glancing at Maki-san, who’s somehow slipped into my room without a sound. She stands there in her school uniform, casual as ever.
Maybe it’s her knack as an info broker, but her ability to move like a shadow is uncanny.
“I’ve been wanting to have a little chat, just the two of us. I’m really glad I came to Keiji’s place.”
“With me? The only thing we have in common to talk about is Keiji-kun.”
“I was surprised, you know. I thought you’d hate me showing up at this manor. You finally got to be a maid, living alone with Keiji, and then I barge in like some intruder.”
“I don’t think you’re an intruder,” I reply evenly. “You’re my master’s friend, after all.” Truthfully, I harbor no romantic feelings for Kiyomiya Keiji. I just feel sorry for him. He was meant to be born free, yet he’s chained to the legacy of a prestigious family, a thousand years in the making. And yet, I was the one who was supposed to be destined in that suffocating role.
“So, what’s this talk about?”
“I’m an info broker, remember? I pretty much know everything you guys know.” Maki-san pulls out her smartphone and tilts the screen toward me. My breath catches—it’s the same photo Keiji-kun had. Wakura Honoka.
“Where did you get that? It’s not something you just stumble across. A photo of the head of a noble family and his mistress?”
“Mistress, huh? Wouldn’t ‘lover’ be a better word? Kiyomiya’s old man has always been single, after all.”
“So, where’d you get the photo?” I press, ignoring her deflection.
“That’s a secret, but it wasn’t that hard. Everyone knows Keiji’s an illegitimate child, which means everyone knows about his commoner mother. Getting a photo of someone that famous isn’t too tough.”
“It’s not that simple,” I counter. “Not just anyone could pull it off.” I couldn’t even find a photo of my real mother, no matter how hard I tried.
“The moment I saw this photo, it clicked. From there, digging up proof is my specialty.”
“And what did you find?” I ask, bracing myself. To be interrogated about my past twice in one day—first Keiji-kun’s sharp guesses, and now Maki-san with what sounds like solid evidence.
“A swap, huh? The Kiyomiya family sure plays bold.”
“Maki-san, just how much do you know?”
“Like I said, pretty much everything. Including your mother, Sa-chan.” She fiddles with her phone and pulls up another photo—a woman with semi-long black hair, clad in an expensive-looking suit. A face I know all too well.
“Hisaka Tsukasa. Your adoptive mother, right? Quite a beauty. Not on Wakura Honoka’s level, though.”
“Are you here to compare me and Keiji-kun’s mothers?”
“Nah, this is where the real talk starts.” Maki-san turns the phone back toward herself, giggling softly. “Hisaka Tsukasa—she was scum.”
I stay silent, my jaw tight.
“From her teens, she cozied up to the rich, pulled off scam after scam, and somehow wormed her way into working for a certain noble family. Impressive, huh?”
“Very impressive.”
“Yup, Hisaka Tsukasa was scum. But a genius at it, wasn’t she?”
“Exactly. Mama—Hisaka Tsukasa—was brilliant and had sticky fingers. But, surprisingly, she wasn’t obsessed with money. She just toyed with the rich for fun.”
“That makes her even worse.”
I don’t respond, letting her words hang in the air.
“But even someone as cunning as Hisaka Tsukasa was too young back then,” Maki-san continues. “While working for the Kiyomiya family, she made two big mistakes.”
“What?”
“She rose to the point of being entrusted with this old manor as a servant, but outside, she fooled around carelessly and got pregnant with a kid whose father she didn’t even know.”
I stay quiet, the weight of her words settling in.
“The other mistake was getting too drunk on outsmarting rich folks. She didn’t notice there was someone far more cunning nearby—a commoner so brilliant they earned a scholarship to Sōshūkan.”
“I’m in a complicated spot. To think my real mother was the one exposing my adoptive mother’s schemes.”
“Tough break, but your real mom was a force, too. Wakura Honoka knew about Hisaka Tsukasa’s crimes but let her keep going, using her when she was cornered.”
“You’d have to be that cunning to survive in high society, wouldn’t you?” I murmur, my thoughts drifting to Wakura Honoka, my real mother, known to me only through photos. She must have been brilliant to earn a scholarship to Sōshūkan, just like me. But, also like me, she was probably no saint.
Ruthless, exploiting servants to the fullest—she navigated that world with a sharpness I can’t help but admire, even if it unsettles me.
“Wakura Honoka needed a ‘son.’ She took Hisaka Tsukasa’s newborn son and swapped him with the daughter she’d given birth to… That’s insane.”
“Absolutely, what kind of person treats kids like that?”
But for Mama, that deal was likely a windfall. She handed over her newborn son—a boy—to the head of the Kiyomiya family, desperate for a male heir, and took the female baby born at the same time. The Kiyomiya family paid a hefty sum, doubling as hush money and child support, ensuring her silence.
“So, Tsukasa-chan’s vanished somewhere recently, huh? Where’d she go?”
“I really don’t know. I want to know myself.” The first part is true; the second is a lie. If she’s gone, I’d rather she stay gone. I never want that woman back. Mama wasn’t a reckless spender, so she likely still has a fortune tucked away, but when she disappeared, she took every penny with her.
If she’d left even a fraction behind, I could’ve covered Sōshūkan’s tuition. Expecting any kindness from her, though, was my own foolishness.
“Hisaka Tsukasa, total scum. But Keiji’s scum is a different breed.”
“Obviously,” I retort. “Being scum isn’t genetic. If anything, it’d be passed down to me, raised by that woman.” I knew everything but kept it hidden from Keiji-kun. I planned to serve him while burying those secrets forever. Even now, when silence is no longer an option, I have a reason to stay by his side.
“I won’t let anyone call Keiji-kun scum ever again,” I declare, my voice firm.
I’ll free Kiyomiya Keiji—tainted by Hisaka Tsukasa’s blood—from her curse.
I’ll make him a proper person, worthy of leading the Kiyomiya family.
“So, what’s the goal of Sayaka-chan, raised by that Tsukasa-chan?”
“My goal—you’re the second person to ask me that,” I say, meeting her eyes.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” Like Keiji-kun said, I’m a liar, but I won’t hide my purpose anymore. “Of course, it’s to serve as a maid. My entire life is dedicated to him.”
This maid outfit isn’t for show or some fleeting whim.
He’ll become the head of the Kiyomiya family, and I’ll support him from the shadows.
My entire existence is for Kiyomiya Keiji, and him alone.
