005、I may not dare to look her straight in the eye (continued)

  "He's a man." Gabriel said to Aristotle with a slightly dissatisfied tone while looking at Amun.

  "Aristotle smiled and replied, 'He is still a minor, meeting your requirements. You also saw it, sir, in this town, it's really hard to find someone with no gray hair and no mud under their fingernails. I only found him. And there's another thing I want to tell you, this child is the miner who excavated the Tears of the Gods. Without a pure heart and the blessing of Goddess Isis, how could he have welcomed the descent of the Tears of the Gods?'"

  Gabriel's voice softened: "I heard the discussion at the other end of the town, and I know what you brought. The boy's excavated divine stone is actually the Tears of the Gods, but it was almost punished by the priest here."

  Aristotle nodded: "Yes... So, can this child stay?"

  Amon looked up at Gabriel and found that the warrior was staring at his face, with a piercing gaze that seemed to have a sharp penetration power. As soon as their eyes met, he involuntarily lowered his head. This noblewoman was beautiful, the most beautiful woman Amon had ever seen, but he felt that her tall figure had a kind of surging tension, as if there was an invisible force that would push people away, giving people a first impression not of her beauty, but of her majesty.

  Gabriel: "Amon, you can stay. Later, follow the maid to change clothes. Your work is simple, just take care of Maria-sama's daily necessities... Hmm, you're a child, but be careful, when delivering things, don't touch Maria-sama. When Maria-sama is washing up or resting, you must withdraw and not make a sound... Also, everything you see and hear here, you can't say a word to anyone! Otherwise, you will be punished."

  She was the first to see Amun, yet she called out his name, and her demands were even stricter than those of the temple, although Amun was still a minor boy. She reminded him not to touch Maria, or he would be punished, but didn't say how, and Maria heard it all from upstairs.

  Gabriel scared Amun for a few sentences, then let the maid take him to change his clothes, because although Amun's clothes were clean but very old. Gabriel wanted to find someone in town to serve as Maria's servant, and there was another reason, she didn't want anyone to know that Maria was learning magic, the ignorant residents of Duketown wouldn't be able to spread the word, but it would be hard to say for Rodick's followers.

  ……

  Just before he met Maria, Gabriel was the most beautiful woman Amun had ever seen, but when he saw Maria, Amun sincerely praised her as the most beautiful woman in the world. The moment he saw Maria, he was a little distracted and unconsciously saluted: "Hello, noble Lady Maria, I am a servant sent to serve you, named Amun."

  Maria and Armon were about the same age, at most only two years older than him, and her height was also similar to his. Yet Armon had to address her as Lady Maria. Her hair was light brown with a soft amber glow, falling on her shoulders with a slight curl, and her eyes were also light brown with a hint of blue, like the stars in the night sky, or like clear spring water.

  "Are you the miner who welcomed the tears of the gods? Thank you for the blessing of Isis, and thank you too!" As Maria spoke, she kept her eyes fixed on Amun's, her gaze calm and gentle, trying to maintain a composure that couldn't quite conceal a hint of curiosity.

  This made Amun feel a bit uneasy, and he habitually lowered his head. Her features were beautiful, as beautiful as the vague images in a dream, especially her eyes. With his head down, Amun couldn't help but blush a little, thinking to himself: "There has never been such a girl in Du Ke Town, why does she always look at my eyes? In fact, she is a girl about my age, I shouldn't be afraid to look straight at her."

  Amon's job was simple, which was to prepare the utensils and objects needed for Maria's daily life, send them to the living room on the second floor, wait for Maria to finish using them, and then collect and hand them over to other servants. For example, Maria's three meals a day were all delivered by Amon. Maria didn't eat much, her food intake was less than one-third of Amon's, but there were many things that needed to be prepared.

  Various silverware was placed on the small table, Amun needed to wash his hands clean, then cut the food well, and place the small knife and spoon in their designated positions. The silver can holding goat's milk and the cup for drinking water, as well as the small plates for salt and spices, were placed on either side of the edge of the table, facing Maria's dining position, and the dinner table was carefully set down without making a sound, nor could the goat's milk or soup be spilled onto the table.

  This dining table is quite heavy, and it's not easy for an ordinary fourteen-year-old boy to carry such a table steadily up to the second floor without making any noise. But Armon can already control the heavy pickaxe to mine divine stone, so this is effortless for him.

  Maria ate in almost complete silence, with barely a sound from the utensils touching each other. She seemed very refined and cultured. Meanwhile, Armand stood by her side, waiting for her to finish eating before clearing the table and bringing in water for washing her face and rinsing her mouth. He then stepped aside, waiting until Maria had finished washing up before coming back in to take away the water-filled vessel, and standing on the stairs, listening for her summons.

  As a saint, if necessary, there can be many attendants in the temple of Isis, but Maria has only one attendant, Amun, who is directly responsible for her food, clothing and utensils in Duqiao Town.

  Amon spent the most time with Maria during meals, and Amon, who had grown up in Duke Town since childhood, had never seen anyone whose body and clothes were so clean. It may not be suitable to describe Maria as clean, but she gave people a feeling of purity. Maria didn't ask him, Amon couldn't speak, but during the intervals between meals, after Maria drank a mouthful of water or goat's milk, she would often ask him some questions, such as the situation in Duke Town and the process of miners mining divine stones, etc., and she was also very curious about these things.

  Amon replied very carefully, and found that Maria seemed to have a habit of speaking naturally and directly into his eyes, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, floating with a warm smile. This made Amon feel a bit uncomfortable, his heartbeat was also a bit messy, and he didn't even know where to put his hands.

  "She's so beautiful, I want to look at her, but why don't I dare? Her gaze isn't scary at all, why am I afraid?" Ah Meng muttered to himself, even feeling a hint of inexplicable despair.

  Amon is not aware that Maria did not have this habit before, and now she is doing it according to Gabriel's instructions. Gabriel reminded her while teaching her the divine technique -

  "Maria-sama, you are pure and this is the demeanor of a saint. However, your age is still too young, making you appear overly gentle. As a qualified saint, you are guarding the dignity of Goddess Isis, and you cannot give anyone an impression of weakness. From now on, pay attention to one thing: when speaking with anyone, look them straight in the eye."

  "Your gaze must be serene, but not a hint of retreat or evasion, just like the goddess gazing at her people. Whether it's kings and nobles or slaves and commoners, when you ask questions, you should gaze into their eyes like this, that's what makes you a holy maiden. No one dares to look down on you, under your gaze, they will feel the great Isis' compassion."

  But there was almost no one else around Maria who could make her "practice" like this, and the most suitable object was only Amun. Poor Amun had no idea about these things, and he was quite at a loss under Maria's gaze. Amun was not clear about Maria's identity, even if someone had told him, he did not know what the guardian saint of the Isis temple was, he only knew that Maria was a noble lady, he had to call her "milady", and could not offend her.

  Take a look at this beautiful girl, meet her gaze, is it considered an offense? The old madman has never told him about such a situation, and the drunkard father can't tell him. It shouldn't be, she's looking at me! --- Ah Meng thought to himself, while also feeling that his nervous heartbeat was very embarrassing, how could he be so unmanly?

  Fortunately, apart from this, there was nothing else disturbing, and the one-day-one-gold-coin job seemed easy, but an unexpected event occurred on the first night.

  At that time, Armon was already asleep on the wooden board under the stairs, having a very vague dream. In the dream, Maria looked at him, and he also looked at Maria with the same eyes. This feeling was strange, just like after washing in the cold spring in the dark forest, sitting by the pool to rest.

  Just then, Armand suddenly heard a cry, not loud, intentionally suppressed to make it less sharp, but clearly very frightened. It was Maria's voice, coming from the room on the second floor. Armand immediately jumped up, he was a bit dazed from sleep, and for a moment forgot that he wasn't at home, his head hitting the wooden board under the stairs with a dull thud.

  But Ah Mun didn't care about these anymore, and he rushed out from the stairs, supporting himself with one hand on the wooden railing and flipping over to go up. He took three steps at a time, rushing upstairs, passing through the living room to arrive in front of Maria's bedroom door.