Accompanying the maid (End)
Anna's words startled Mi. Were the maids just more expensive prostitutes? Mi looked at Anna. She was full of a mother's gentleness but not as nagging as her mother. Her words and eyes were full of admiration and praise, making people unable to help but be immersed in her and think that they were really as dazzling and beautiful as she said.
"How much does a maidservant earn?" Mi recalled the sense of security Anna gave her.
Anna held out a hand: "This is the salary paid to the David family. As for the reward, she can keep it or take it back."
“Kindri?” Mi looked at Anna’s slap. How much debt did she owe?
Anna nodded and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry, no amount of gold can buy my daughter's life."
“But you didn’t know at first that I could save your daughter.” Mi looked at Anna; David was clearly a shrewd businessman. Mi glanced at the three-story building; maintaining it would require a huge sum of money.
“Accompanying maids never do unprofitable business,” Anna smiled mischievously. She explained to Mi, “Our employers are mostly noble ladies, and occasionally some injured adventurers hire us. Adventurers offer more than just ordinary gold décor; they are willing to protect the David family when necessary.” This is also why the David family has a place in Sun City; they have both noble ladies on one hand and adventurers on the other.
Mi couldn't quite understand Anna, nor could she understand the maids who accompanied her. These women, who were both mothers and friends, seemed humble yet possessed great power.
"Have you never thought about changing your lives?" Mi knew that most of these maids would be sent back when they turned thirty, and only a few who were particularly favored would continue to stay by their master's side.
“Of course there are,” Anna said. “The David family’s expenses are so high that the wages of their maids alone are not enough.” It turned out that the David family owned not only farms but also ranches. Some of the girls who no longer worked as maids chose to marry and return to their farms in the countryside, while others, like Anna, stayed in Sun City as caregivers, occasionally taking on adventurer clients. Most of these adventurer clients were injured and returned home; they didn’t need young, pretty girls, but preferred mature, stable mothers. Noble ladies were their stable, long-term clients, but the adventurers themselves brought them the most profit. Both male and female adventurers would hire a maid for a short period after returning from an adventure, simply because a maid could help them escape their nightmares—this was the foundation for their survival in Sun City.
Most of the women who settled on the farm would choose to send their daughters back to Sun City. Of course, not all girls could stay in Sun City; eventually, some would leave David's family for various reasons.
Anna led Mi to another small building, where all the girls lived, around twenty years old. They wore gauze dresses, and the walls were painted with various erotic pictures.
“This is the essence of being a maidservant,” Anna said, pointing to the painting on the wall. “If you can’t get past this hurdle, you can’t be a maidservant.”
Here, Mi witnessed a more thorough exploration of the female body, where every girl was expected to understand the meaning behind every facial expression and the message conveyed by every subtle bodily movement. Furthermore, they also needed to learn about and understand the male body.
"Why?" Mi felt a strong sense of unease. They were not born homosexuals. No, they had no love, only skills and techniques, and were filled with primal desires.
“The reason why companion maids are so different from ordinary maids is because we can bring women unprecedented pleasure and enjoyment.” At this moment, Mi saw a sense of pride in Anna. “Our companionship is the most luxurious item in Sun City. We provide what is needed.”
Mi discovered that the maidservants were completely different from the Second Elder from the planet Ashihara. The Second Elder was masculine-centric, teaching Mi how to please men and to feign surprise and admiration afterward to show satisfaction and submission. The maidservants, however, were different; they focused more on women's needs. They spoke softly, embraced them gently, and guided them step by step. All of this was unrelated to beauty, manners, upbringing, or love; only naked desire was being satisfied. Mi thought again of what El had said about pleasure. Both men and women are born with the ability to enjoy sexual pleasure. The Second Elder had learned how to satisfy male pleasure, while the maidservants provided female pleasure. When desire returned in its entirety, men and women were so different. Men fantasized about conquest, while women were more focused on themselves.
“Those ladies, their husbands only want them to have children. What else can they do in the long days besides drinking? Dancing is a social event for young people, while married ladies can only sit on the sidelines, watching the young men in the room, calculating which one might become their son-in-law.” Anna looked at Mi, “As they get older, they develop all sorts of headaches. At first, a glass of wine is enough to keep them asleep all night, then they need a whole bottle, and then they can’t sleep at all. Once their husbands have younger girls in their arms, they will never knock on their wives’ doors again. At first, the ladies only need to sleep, then their bodies will send signals, and that’s what we provide.”
“We are the best conversationalists, the best listeners, the best companions. We are women, and we will not pose any threat to men in the morning, for just a little money. That little bit of gold is nothing to a nobleman, but he gains an emotionally stable wife, even a radiant one.”
“What is this?” Mi didn’t know how to answer. Isn’t sexual orientation innate? These girls can’t become companion maids if they can’t pass this test. And those noble ladies aren’t born lesbians, so how can they accept women? “How do you know which women will become your clients?”
“Mi, some services aren’t essential, but we must be able to provide them if the employer requires them. We offer service, even better service than men.”
Why do you only do business with women?
“That’s because men will never marry us. You see, which nobleman would marry a commoner? Those youngest sons who can’t inherit the title will lower their standards for marriage and will only marry the daughters of wealthy merchants, waiting for their wives to bring large dowries for them to squander.” Anna’s expression finally showed sadness. “Since we’re all just playthings anyway, why not choose the one with the greater reward? If you’re with a man, you could get pregnant at any time. Once you’re pregnant, the man will kick you aside and replace you with a younger one. Women are the most loyal. An employer can maintain a relationship for ten years. When they need to replace you with a younger woman, they will prioritize choosing someone from my family. Two generations can accompany a noblewoman for her entire life.”
“But you—” Mi thought of Anna’s daughter.
“That was an accident. Most employers don’t want to share their women with their husbands,” Anna smiled. “We accept any accident so that we can get the best compensation. We are obedient, we are gentle, we are kind, we are considerate. Who wouldn’t like us? Who would have the heart to let us down? Every time we come back from our employer’s house, our employers always send someone to bring us gifts, and they will also invite us back to have afternoon tea together.”
"Don't you feel wronged?" Mi suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
“I’m not wronged, Mi. I’ve been to the market and the mill. I’ve lived on the farm every day. I know I can’t do that kind of work.” Anna stretched out her hands. “Look at my hands. You can tell they’re hands that haven’t been through hardship. Look, I can read and write. I’ve served nobles, and they’ve pleased me. I’ve received so much that many people don’t have.”
Mi looked at the gentle woman in front of her. She was gentle, even resilient. She was open-minded and had a broader perspective than many people. She was content with everything she had. What made her accept her fate?
“Those rich ladies,” Mi turned her eyes, “are not as pretty as you, they are not as smart as you, so why do they live better than you and want to hold your daughter’s life hostage.”
“Mi, people can’t choose their birth,” Anna said softly. “My daughter would have been fine if she hadn’t run to Mrs. Aldrich. She was just throwing a tantrum; she’s still young.”
Mi stopped talking; she couldn't bring herself to get angry at Anna. Men of varying ages walked out of the building. Mi turned her eyes away: "Where did these men come from?"
“You don’t think the David family only consists of women, do you?” Anna smiled. “These men are also our family members, and also our hired human body instructors. Even as companion maids, we have to learn how to protect ourselves, how to avoid men, and how to protect ourselves from male violence.”
Mi looked at these men; they were good-looking, had good figures, and were particularly good at flirting. "Why don't you let them seduce you?" Mi stopped asking the question; she felt despicable.
“Mi, if you seduce a noble lady, you’ll be exiled. You know where they’re exiled to, right?” Anna looked at Mi and nodded before continuing, “We’re after money, not our lives. Those noble ladies’ marriages have already been arranged.”
"What about rich ladies?" Mi thought of those men gazing at her with infatuated eyes and whispering sweet nothings; most people simply couldn't resist.
"Miss might get carried away with enthusiasm, but their fathers aren't stupid. A daughter without a dowry is worse off than a poor man's daughter. At least a poor man's daughter has strength and can work."
"Ha, you guys are so realistic."
Anna burst into laughter: "Mi, don't be angry. This isn't normal life. There are only two families in the entire Sun City that do this job. Even maids are very precious."
Mi watched the girls' classes with Anna a few more times. These girls had been following their older sisters since they were three years old, curiously imitating their every word and action, and reciting many beautiful, poetic sentences at such a young age. Mi found that she couldn't refuse a three-year-old girl's sweet, childish voice saying, "Please give me a kiss."
Once they turn six, they begin to experience the realities of life. After being pampered for years, no little girl is immune to resistance. Each act of resistance teaches them that their comfortable lives are bought with the labor of their older sisters, mothers, and aunts, who are essentially unable to support themselves. They begin to learn to compromise with reality.
When they turn ten, they are assigned to a three-year-old girl to learn how to care for a child and how to be a mother. Children are the most challenging little angels, and these little girls gradually learn composure and gentleness by caring for the child.
As teenage girls begin to develop, their voices become more nuanced, carrying emotion, and their eyes gleam with intense light. They worship everything without reservation, and standing among them, Mi feels like the center of the world. They even engage in playful rivalry, vying for Mi's attention. At this point, Mi is merely a guest, someone so poor he can barely qualify as a customer. Mi fully understands why those noble ladies cannot resist the allure of a maidservant. A maidservant offers a gentle, silent mother, an obedient daughter, a comforting and understanding sister, a friend with boundless respect and admiration, and a passionate and stimulating companion.
Those girls in their twenties are a completely different story; their gentleness begins to take on a powerful quality. Anna told Mi that they typically choose to get married and have children around the age of twenty, and then return to their maternal instincts at their most vulnerable.
Mi said goodbye to Anna and returned to her normal life. She discovered that Anna possessed a power that made her unconsciously rely on her more. The salary for a maid was high, and Mi couldn't bring herself to renege on her payment. She told Anna, "I will pay you your salary."
Anna smiled and hugged her. "Okay, Mi, we never refuse Kindry." Anna didn't know why Mi was so interested in having a maidservant, but gaining the friendship of an adventurer was worth the risk. So many people wanted to know why the David family girls were so popular; it was the result of a huge investment of time, money, and effort.
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