《The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It》 CH 1 ¡°Huh-hum.¡± I swept at the front door. It is early morning and the dim light is slightly peeking in. The first task in the schedule given to me as a maid was to clean the front entrance. There are only three people coming and going, so it¡¯s always relatively clean, but it has to swept every day nonetheless. Because that¡¯s a maid¡¯s job. ¡°Hum-hum, hum!¡± After dusting, the next thing to do is to water the small flower pots at every step of the stairs. In fact, this was originally the job of a gardener, but the distinctions between occupations does not hold any value in this mansion. In the Weatherwoods family, everyone cleans together, takes care of the garden together, and cooks together. The reason is that the owner¡¯s wallet is severely deficit. ¡°Ahem!¡± I stopped watering the pots and instead shifted my gaze to the iron gate beyond the desolate garden. Some guy¡¯s been coughing up his throat for a while now. If you add the men around him who seem to be his subordinates, the total number is four. When our eyes met, he made a very arrogant expression, and anyone could tell he wanted me to talk to him. But I didn¡¯t have to come forward. Because the maid from the mansion greeted the man across the small garden instead. ¡°Are you here again?¡± ¡°Oh, what do you mean again? It would sound very embarrassing to other people if they hear.¡± ¡°Like I said last time, the time before that, and the time before that, we will not be disposing of the mansion. Please leave.¡± Is he a real estate agent? I turned my head and continued watering the seeds I¡¯d bought for cheap at the market. I don¡¯t really know the name of the flower that will bloom from this seed. I just bought the cheapest and most filled seed bag. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯ve come today. I must see the new Viscount Weatherwoods. Please show me into the mansion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but the master is currently away.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that three times this month already!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry as well. Master is very busy.¡± A furious answer burst out. ¡°Busy, you say! At this point I can¡¯t help but question, is it really true that there is a new viscount Weatherwoodss in this mansion? In over a week, I¡¯ve only seen three employees going in and out of here. Everyone is talking about this being an abandoned haunted house without an owner. What¡¯s with the black exterior of the mansion anyway! Don¡¯t you think it ruins beauty of the street?¡± ¡°That does not concern us¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! Get out of the way! I can¡¯t stand this any longer!¡± The man raised his hand and shoved the maid on the shoulder, stepping inside the main entrance. He looked around the small and dilapidated garden and muttered with an expression that looked like he¡¯d chewed on shit. ¡°Tsk. Abandoning such a beautiful mansion like this¡­hey, maid!¡± Did he just call me? ¡°Why are you staring at me so blankly? Aren¡¯t you coming, huh?¡± The man asked, his arms crossed and an arrogant expression painted on his face. ¡°How long has it been since the new Viscount Weatherwoods abandoned this mansion? 2 years? 3 years? I answered, recalling Viscount Weatherwoods, who would currently be sleeping soundly in his bedroom. ¡°He didn¡¯t abandon it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t abandon the mansion.¡± The man who had been glaring at me with a sullen expression asked again with a newly-found patience. ¡°With the way you¡¯re talking¡­is the health of the new Viscount Weatherwoodss in critical condition? Is it hard for him to move even once a week?¡± No, although he lays motionless for ten days at a time, his skin is definitely as shiny and smooth as a boiled egg. I answered again; ¡°He¡¯s healthy.¡± ¡°Heh, you cheeky-nosed girl. Do you not know me? Well, it should¡¯ve been obvious. A maid hired by a mansion like this wouldn¡¯t anything anyway. I am Baron Fedegail, a close friend of your former, deceased master.¡± So what do you want me to do about that? I wasn¡¯t the least amazed and wanted to scoff. The surprise his words amounted to were that of an ant. The Baron has visited three times this month, asking for the mansion to be disposed of. ¡°¡­He asked me for a favor before he died: to help the new Viscount establish his position in the city. So do not worry and just be honest with me. Is there anything wrong with the Viscount? As in, is there really nothing I can do to help? Hm?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t any.¡± The baron, thrilled by the kind answer, opened his eyes wide. ¡°Yes, I see! I was convinced by your unheard-of remarks. There is no new Viscount Weatherwoods here! It¡¯s an empty mansion with two maids. If the viscount truly lived here, no maid would be able to answer something like that!¡± I can now be sure. This man is a swindler who seeks to acquire the legacy of the Weatherwoodss family for himself. You wicked man, scoundrel, flea; what the hell are you trying to steal from a house who¡¯s sold even its silverware? Bang! The baron who forced open the door in a manner unlike any guest, shoved me inside the house. Startled by his actions, the other maid followed us nervously. ¡°What is this about, Baron!¡± The baron snorted at the maid¡¯s cry. ¡°You, go out and keep an eye so that no one enters the mansion, and you, go find something we can use for a beating. It must be just right. I also wish to see just how long the Weatherwoodss¡¯ maid can keep her mouth shut. I will find out what you¡¯re hiding at any cost.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I see.¡± At the baron¡¯s order, one person closed the front door and waited in front of it, and one disappeared into the right aisle, leaving one standing between the maid and me. The baron, who was still looking around inside the mansion, fixed his eyes on a frame hung on the stairs. It was a portrait of the former Viscount Weatherwoodss. ¡°That face is so nostalgic. How sad would my old friend be to see this in such poor condition? Has it already been four years since he died in the Magical War? The Magical War. It would take a long time to explain what kind of war this was, so let¡¯s move on. All you have to remember is that it was a terrible war that lasted almost a decade. The baron smiled fishyly as he watched the interior view with greedy eyes. ¡°Fo him, who dedicated his life to our country, I must help the new Viscount Weatherwoodss. That is the only way to honor our fallen friends. Yes, that is right.¡± The comment was short. But I felt hot blood spread throughout my body as my heart began to beat fast. Simply dismissing the Mado war does not mean the numerous sacrifices in it can be so easily dismissed. Those who died in battle are those who left to protect their loved ones and friends. Trying to use such a noble sacrifice as an excuse for your own dirty desires? It was something I could not overlook as a person who watched the 10 years of horrors with my own eyes. Every man has a duty, and this man¡¯s duty was to honor his friend¡¯s sacrifice. Not go after the Weatherwoods¡¯s property. However, the baron¡¯s actions were far from that of someone honoring his close friends¡¯ sacrifices. In other words, it also meant that the baron was not a close friend of the former Viscount Weatherwoods. A man who does not know the owner has forced himself into the mansion, a thief is what he is. That was my conclusion. ¡°I have brought it, Baron.¡± ¡°Alright, I love how strong this one looks.¡± The baron, who was handed a shovel by his subordinates, returned to stand before me. I think he¡¯s going to use that shovel to beat me. The maid¡¯s expression hardened coldly. ¡°Stop now, Baron Fedegail. Don¡¯t touch the child. Instead¡­¡± ¡°Oh, maidservant. I¡¯m so proud of you for trying to cover for this bottom liner. So, I¡¯ll give you one last chance. Tell me the whereabouts of Viscount Weatherwoodss. I promise I will not hurt any employees of this mansion, including you. I mean it.¡± ¡°The opportunity is being given by me, not the baron. Please calm down for the sake of your well-being¡­¡± ¡°Are you still not understanding what I¡¯m saying? If you don¡¯t open your mouth when I count to three, I¡¯ll start hitting this girl. No one will be able to complain about any injustice. I will take this girl with me and sell her as a slave to the east! Now, one¡­¡± Talking about East, so you¡¯re dealing in slaves too, huh. He is a thief without any principles, and also trash that even trades slaves? As a sincere maid of the Weatherwoodss, the attitude I needed to show was obvious. The maid called me with nervous eyes. ¡°Daisy.¡± For your information, Daisy is my name. As if the situation in front of him was amusing, the grinning baron lifted two fingers. ¡°Two.¡± ¡°Hold it in for now.¡± I nodded like an obedient maid. ¡°Yes.¡± And he swung his right hand. ¡°Sigh¡­KKK!¡± The neatly-dressed maid only shook her right hand horizontally, but the baron flew away like a stone and embedded himself into the wall. The whole area became quiet in a flash. The baron¡¯s men stared blankly at the fallen baron and ran to him. ¡°Baron!¡± The maid called me with stern eyes. ¡°Daisy!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I warned you to put up with it. How come you didn¡¯t listen? You fully know that if you use your strength, the life of these sickly raccoons will be at risk!¡± ¡°I¡¯m holding it in.¡± ¡°Are you saying that even after looking at what you¡¯ve done?¡± ¡°They can stand at least my right hand, look.¡± I slapped the cheeks of the two men who tried to support the fallen Baron with my right hand. ¡°Cough.¡± ¡°Khak!¡± Two stout bodies now lay upon on the baron. That¡¯s a very close relationship. ¡°Your right hand is unstoppable. I¡¯ll give you a good scolding after work, just you wait.¡± The maid stared at me again, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. My right hand often follows the heart, not the head. At times, even as the owner of my body, it is hard for me to control it. ¡°What the¡­?¡± After finishing the third man who¡¯d come through the door fearlessly, I asked the maid. ¡°Should I throw them somewhere?¡± The maid shot at me, the chief contributor to the mansion¡¯s security. ¡°Don¡¯t say such terrible things. Where did Mr. Rue go?¡± When the undesirable name was heard, my forehead naturally wrinkled. ¡°To buy groceries.¡± ¡°Sigh, it can¡¯t be helped. These people, in front of the mansion¡­¡± ¡°Should I cut off their necks and hang them?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll send them back normally. Normal.¡± ¡°If we just send them back, it¡¯ll be troublesome later.¡± ¡°Does it get simple when you cut off their necks? It¡¯s amazing how rational your judgement can be, Miss Daisy. I¡¯m sure they did something wrong, but I do not think the felony they committed is big enough to be killed. It¡¯s alright to just send them back. This was self-defense in its own right, this will be finished at the right level. Trust the Weatherwoodss, this place will protect us until the end.¡± It was a persuasion that was completely doubtful to me, knowing the reality of the Weatherwoodss. But a maid has to peel if she¡¯s told to peel. At the maid¡¯s request, I had to lift the grown-up men like a princess and move them out of the mansion. I laid them down in a row on the pavement where carriages run and prayed they would be trampled to death by the horses. A maid¡¯s middle name is hardship. There is no end to our struggles. Hello there, this is Ami~ I picked up this series because it¡¯s from the same author of one of my favorite novels ¡°There is no counterattack from the supporting character¡± let¡¯s enjoy watching it unfold together! CH 2 The time of the day was just past noon. Naturally, we were sued for assault and intimidation by the baron. Damn it. I haven¡¯t even finished doing the laundry yet! ¡°Miss Daisy, you work as a maid for the Weatherwoods, and the person behind you is the head maid, is that correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Officer Thomas. You two, please follow me for a moment.¡± The maid and I were called to the investigation room. No, to be exact, the head maid answered only a few questions from the policeman and only I had to be called to the investigation room. In the investigation room where I arrived, another man ¨C not a police man- was sitting. The man who caught the weird atmosphere flipped through the documents and finally opened his mouth. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Daisy Fager. Let me be blunt. I found a singularity in your status. I know it may be unpleasant for you, but we¡¯re definitely going to have to address this.¡± I could feel the man searching my face for a reaction through his keen gaze. I shrugged my shoulders to show I didn¡¯t care. ¡°First of all, when were you employed by this mansion?¡± ¡°Ten days ago.¡± ¡°What did you do before you came to this city?¡± But it wasn¡¯t long before I had to shut up. This question is troublesome. The reason why it¡¯s troublesome is simple. It¡¯ll take too long to answer. I¡¯m Daisy, a maid. But before I became a maid, I had a different name. The sword of the king, Andert. One of the heroes of the turbulent times who stood at the front lines of the decade-long Magic War and protected the fate of mankind. That was me. * * * Ten days ago, the city¡¯s human resource office. ¡°Next interviewee.¡± When I raised my hand quietly, a woman with a strict expression and silver-rimmed glasses looked at me. ¡°Come on in.¡± I followed her into the office. As I sat on a simple iron chair in front of the desk, the door closed as if it had been waiting. In front of me sat a woman with a much stricter expression than the secretary who guided me, quickly rummaging through the papers. I could feel the exhaustion she must be in because of the countless interviews by looking at her face as she sipped her coffee. I looked down at the number slip stuck on my chest. ¡°Interview No. 38.¡± The number sounded exhausting enough. ¡°Nice to meet you. What a beautiful woman.¡± The interviewer, who carefully examined me from head to toe, opened her mouth. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± That¡¯s a good question. ¡°Daisy Fager.¡± My name is Andert Fager. In order to hide my true name, I chose an alias that sounded like a maid¡¯s name to anyone. I bet there are more than a thousand maids in this world named Daisy. Daisy was a great disguise that could guide me to the world of terrible labor. No matter how well-versed the interview is, if you¡¯re used to something, you¡¯ll end up leaning into it in the end. ¡°That¡¯s the same surname as the hero of the magic war. Although, I guess it¡¯s a common surname throughout the tributaries. What about your family? Have any?¡± That¡¯s a good question as well. ¡°One younger brother.¡± My brother died in battle while defending his hometown a long time ago. His name was Andert Fager. I have lived under my brother¡¯s name for many years; turning my originally female body into a man¡¯s through ancient magic. The name I received from my parents has long been abandoned. It¡¯s been a very long time. Enough for me to not miss it anymore. ¡°Where are you from?¡± This is also a good question. My younger brother and I are from Queen, an island of bad luck that is no longer inhabited. Queen Island, the southernmost island of the Imperial South, literally suddenly became a sea of fire one day. The Empire sent troops several times, but to no avail. The main culprit was Mephisto, a cannabis wizard who slaughtered tens of thousands of humans to gain immortal power. Thus, the great wizard Mephisto became the enemy of mankind in an instant. The Magic Coalition is an organization formed by 13 countries, led by the empire, to annihilate this vicious killer. The winner of the decade-long war was the Magic Union, but the damage was enormous. Four years had passed since the end of the war. The world was now overcoming the pain of the past and stretching towards a future where life prospers. Even so, my burned-down hometown won¡¯t come back. ¡°How tall are you?¡± ¡°170 cm.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite big for a woman. It will be a clear advantage in the job you applied for.¡± That¡¯s a good compliment. ¡°We¡¯re almost there. There are only a few questions left. You¡¯ve never worked as a maid before, so what have you been doing before this?¡± These questions are all really good. ¡°I was unemployed.¡± I was one of the commanders of the Magic Union. And I went around the battlefield with Raphael, a hero sung by the people in those troubling times. ¡°I can¡¯t show my back to anyone but you, Andert. You¡¯re the only one I can trust. I know it may sound funny, but often I think that If I ever had a long-lost brother, it would be you.¡± Raphael, commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, was the hope of the Magic Union and the salvation of mankind. We defeated all our enemies and moved forward one step at a time, attracting precious friends and allies. So, I finally stepped back into my hometown, which had turned into Mephisto¡¯s base, but¡­. In the end, the fate given to me was death. ¡°Damn, don¡¯t you dare let go of this hand. Wait! Stop right now, Andert! You can¡¯t die! I won¡¯t let you die this way! Come back now, Andert Fager!¡± Yeah, I was definitely dead. I stepped into the enemy camp by myself, and thought it was a noble sacrifice to make for mankind in my own way. ¡°But why did I come back to life?¡±¡¯ It¡¯s been four years. Even the body of a man that I¡¯d made by ancient magic had disappeared. Only a weak woman¡¯s body remained. ¡°Why did you apply for this position?¡± Ah. Now that¡¯s a good question. ¡°Money.¡± The answer is money. Whether you¡¯re a hero, an aristocrat, or a normal citizen ¨C you need money to survive. This truth also applied to me, who was lucky enough to come back to life after the decisive showdown with the great wizard Mephisto. I needed money. I needed money no more, no less than to live at least three more years. ¡°Last question. What kind of mansion would you like to work in?¡± That is an important question. ¡°A mansion that is so hard to clean, maybe we¡¯d die before being able to complete the task.¡± ¡°What kind of employer do you want?¡± ¡°A vicious employer who squeezes their employees.¡± The interviewer gave me a look that said I was crazy. But only for a brief moment. ¡°Thank you for your hard work. This is the end of the interview. You¡¯ll be contacted within a week, so get ready. And take this book.¡± Did I pass? Before I left the office, I received a small book from the interviewer. The art of fine speech. When I looked at the title and raised my head, the interviewer¡¯s eyes looked like they were looking at a golden pig. ¡®Wait, why a golden pig?¡¯ The answer to that question was not available until a week later. When I got my second job in life, as a maid. * * * The human resources office contacted me a day later. The interviewer who called me gave me a note with an unfamiliar address and added a short explanation. ¡°You¡¯re very lucky. It¡¯s rare to find a job in a day. Your place of work is a mansion on the main street of the city, and the owner of the mansion is the Viscount Weatherwood. The Weatherwood family is one of the most historic families in the empire. Being able to work for a family like this is an honor in every way.¡± When I nodded and picked up the note, the interviewer, who clasped the paper tightly with his fingertips, said to me. ¡°I have one request for you. Endure at least a week and then quit. If you quit too early, the image of our workforce office will also be damaged.¡± I nodded again, but the interviewer didn¡¯t let go of the note. ¡°Did you read the book I gave you yesterday? A maid should be polite. Answer in words, not actions.¡± I remembered the book I used as a pillow when I slept on a park bench last night. Of course I didn¡¯t read it. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°In honorifics.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better answer a little more kindly. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to add an ¡®okay¡¯. At least as a maid. Answer me again.¡± The hard-nosed glasses interviewer said again. I was upset, but I knew this was pure advice. Still, I kept my lips close for 5 more seconds and then I hesitatingly opened my mouth. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I don¡¯t like to talk for long. Because this voice is not familiar. It¡¯s not just the voice. I was also unfamiliar with the reduced height, soft appearance, and softened skin. For me, as Andert Fager, as Commander of the Magic Union, and a man for 10 years, the body of a woman seemed to belong to someone else. The fact that I was a woman 14 years ago seemed unbelievable, and it felt like I was being forced to incorporate myself into an uncomfortable frame. ¡°Good job. Much better.¡± But I cannot deny my own body forever. Since I¡¯ve gotten a job as a maid, it would be nice to get used to it slowly. Very, very slowly. ¡°Go. May you find Midwintertree to be your new home.¡± After leaving the human resources office, I asked street vendors to find my new workplace. ¡°Oh, that one? It¡¯s easy to find that mansion.¡± The place where I got a job was so famous that it was very easy to find. It was actually really easy. in the midst of a bustling street. The gloomy appearance of the mansion, similar to that of a haunted house, displayed a presence that could not be ignored. Half this chapter is just daisy being like ¡°hmm that¡¯s a very good question sir¡± an employer who squeezes their employees is someone who wants to get their money¡¯s worth down to the last drop. they squeeze the work out of their employees. CH 3 ¡°It looks like the sort of mansion the devil would walk out of.¡± Even the bell was out of order, so I had to shake the bars of the main gate to call someone. After shaking the door nonstop for about three minutes, a person came out of the front door. A woman in her mid to late 30s dressed like an employee stared at my face and opened the front door. ¡°Is this Miss Daisy Fager, who came to work as a maid? I apologize for being late. I¡¯m the head maid of the Weatherwoods mansion. Please come in.¡± The maid, who was about to lead me inside the entrance, stopped walking and looked back at me. ¡°Where is your luggage?¡± Just when I was about to just shake my head, I recalled the interviewer¡¯s advice. ¡°I come empty-handed.¡± The maid looked at me with a strange expression and then turned back. ¡°Originally, maids cannot use the main gate or front door, but you can use it comfortably in this mansion.¡± We passed through a barren garden that looked like a war had swept it by. ¡°The owner of this mansion is Viscount Weatherwood, alone. There are three employees, you and I, and the cook and gardener who will arrive in three days. Your work will be properly distributed. Regardless of whether It is cooking, cleaning, laundry, or taking care of the garden.¡± We stepped on the faded carpet in the main hall and went upstairs. ¡°The salary is paid on the first day of each month, and the day starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m.¡± We arrived at a room on the end of the aisle, dusty windows passed us by. The maid opened the door, and a spacious bedroom greeted us. ¡°It¡¯s big, right? The only place where a maid can use a bedroom on the second floor ¨C not the attic, annex, or basement, would be the Weatherwood¡¯s mansion.¡± The reason I figured out this was a bedroom was due to the presence of a large, antique bed placed against the wall. Luxurious but old stoves; luxurious but old desks; chairs; black curtains that would probably shirk dust when you move them, luxurious but rusty iron chests, and there was even a doorway that seemed to lead to a bathroom. This was a decently furnished room. As the head maid said, it was pretty nice for a maid to use. ¡°You are free to come and go anywhere in the mansion. There is only one thing to keep in mind.¡± The maid warned me in a firm voice. ¡°Do not enter the master¡¯s bedroom. And if anyone asks about the master¡¯s whereabouts, let them know that he is out. There are no exceptions to this, whether they are acquaintances, friends, or distant relatives. The master is very busy, so he can¡¯t greet outsiders. Be sure to remember this.¡± Nods. ¡°Don¡¯t just nod, answer.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I think they told me to add something after saying yes¡­I forgot. ¡°Ha, you¡¯re really¡­no, then, go and unpack now. Then start working right away, oh wait, did you say you had no luggage? If so, then take a 10-min break and then come down to the first floor. I heard this is your first time doing this job, so I folded the clothes for you to wear over there. Let¡¯s get along well in the future.¡± The maid quickly left the room, leaving only her words behind. I was left alone, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood to feel sentimental about it. I threw myself on the bed. ¡°Cough!¡± Dust covered my body almost immediately, but I didn¡¯t feel like getting up. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a bed, it feels like I¡¯m going to melt in it. After I lost my consciousness in the face-to-face showdown with the Great Mage Mephisto. The next time I opened my eyes was surprisingly nearly 4 years later. I woke up to find myself in a wasteland of ashes, my appearance no longer that of my younger brother, Andert. The male body, which had been maintained by powerful ancient magic, had returned to the originally female body. ¡®Did I die and fall into hell?¡¯ The question didn¡¯t last long. Because I heard a strong heartbeat inside my chest. ¡°¡­I definitely died.¡± But have I come back to life? How the hell does that work? I went down to the village where I loved, but there were no human beings there. The village had been burnt black, and was left as a site devastated by war. There, I found a piece of clothing that looked like a dress and headed to the port. Fortunately, there was a military post on the coast, where soldiers who were coming up found me and took me to the post. Later, the soldier, who was investigating my status, looked at the loose sleeve of the dress I was wearing and asked; ¡°Bertie? Is your name Bertie?¡± Bertie Lushan. The name was engraved in small letters on the inside of the sleeve, and was one I knew very well. ¡®This was Bertie.¡¯ I caressed the name of the friend who¡¯d died a long time ago with my fingertips. Bertie and her family died in the war. It was during the air raid by the wizard Mephisto. I still remember the day I collected their bodies and buried them in the ground myself vividly. ¡°You look very young, how old are you? Is your name Bertie?¡± After a short series of thoughts, I nodded. The subsequent investigation was completed at a fast pace. Bertie was an old friend of mine from home. Because I knew her home, family, and life better than anyone else, the forgery of her identity was very easy. I¡¯m sorry, Bertie. I¡¯ll borrow your name for a little while, and then return it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Bertie. The world is safe now. The Magic Union defeated Mephisto and achieved peace! It¡¯s been four years. The Empire is now at peace!¡± I heard from the soldiers every detail of what happened to the Union over the past four years and in what direction the empire has gone. They encouraged me to act as a refugee in the southern part of the Empire, but I refused. The reason was simple. Because I didn¡¯t want to get caught up there and get involved with my old colleagues, including Raphael. Around that time, I noticed that this body had a big flaw. When the soul of the Great wizard Mephisto and my soul collided in a huge impact, the lifespan of my original body was reduced to three years. I had no desire to reunite with Raphael with this body. I am no longer Andert, and I had no reason to live as Andert anymore either. Aren¡¯t Raphael and all my former colleagues the ties that belonged to Andert? ¡®Even if I go back, with a broken woman¡¯s body, I will only receive sympathy and compassion.¡¯ I didn¡¯t want to provoke their guilt. Considering this and that, I felt the best way to live as ¡®me¡¯ in the future, not Andert. ¡®I¡¯ll fix this broken body while living as me.¡¯ Even if it¡¯s impossible, let¡¯s try. To do so, I chose Midwintertree among the many cities in the Empire. If I can find that thing hidden in Midwintertree, my lifespan may be prolonged. After that, the memories of the month before I came here came to mind, but I gave up on thinking about them. Afterall, from the beginning to the end, it¡¯d only been a struggle. When I changed into the maid¡¯s clothes and went down to the first floor, the maid was waiting for me. ¡°I spent a lot of money to bring you here. I¡¯d like you to last at least a week. That way, you¡¯ll get paid for your work and can leave.¡± Was that why the interviewer looked at me like I was a golden goose? ¡°Shall we begin? You have a lot of work to catch up on. It¡¯s going to be a little hard.¡± From that moment on, the head maid began to make me work like a slave. And I really did work like a slave. Dusting off the chandelier of the main hall that looked like it hadn¡¯t been cleaned for a century, wiping it, reinstallation. Dust the handrails of the stairs. Wipe with a cleaning brush. Shake off the large carpets. Brush indefinitely. Clean the window sills. The windows themselves. Oiling the¡­ ¡°Me.¡± Is this even a house? Am I a maid? Or am I a slave? Am I slave-maid? ¡°As expected, the speed is much faster when there are two of us doing it. Your head rotates quickly and you have good stamina.¡± It was a sincere exclamation, but I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to laugh. The maid is the one who will feed me, put me to sleep, and give me money for the next three years. So I shouldn¡¯t hit her. Despite the urge. ¡°The sky is already cloudy. I think we should go get the groceries before sunset. I¡¯ll be finishing up today¡¯s work, so go run an errand.¡± The maid is the one who will feed me, put me to sleep, and give me money for the next three years. I shouldn¡¯t talk back. ¡°Here are the ingredients and expenses you¡¯ll need. Don¡¯t even think about sneaking around at even one thing. I know the market price of every ingredient in the nearby market. It¡¯s not good to be at odds with merchants, so be polite. Especially with the way you talk.¡± If you¡¯re so worried, buy it yourself. It must be the maid¡¯s duty to protect the mansion somehow. It was time to leave the mansion for a few pennies worth of produce. ¡°Oh no! Be careful about your head. You¡¯ll be in big trouble if your pretty face gets scratched, Miss.¡± A large table brushed past my face busily. I wondered what was happening, and saw men pulling out furniture from the house across the Weatherwoods mansion one by one. ¡°They¡¯re moving.¡± Will the owner change? I don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to have a dim neighbor for the house in front. CH 4 When I finished buying the goods and returned to the mansion, the maid led me to the kitchen. ¡°You are late.¡± ¡°First time.¡± Today¡¯s dinner was a vegetable stew. While I peeled the potatoes, the maid cut up the carrots and onions and seasoned the stew. I was touched when I sat at the table and was greeted by a hot steaming stew. ¡®How long has it been since I had such a warm meal? And there¡¯s cutlery, too.¡¯ But are we the only ones eating? ¡°By the way, the master takes care of his own meals, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± I see. I took a spoonful of the stew, savored it and swallowed it. Even I, who lived like a beggar, was surprised by the taste in my mouth. ¡°This tastes awful.¡± ¡°It tastes awful?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Just keep that to yourself. I¡¯m not good at cooking.¡± We emptied our plates without saying a word. For your information, the plate I was emptying was the third plate, and the head maid looked at her slave eating nonstop with fed-up eyes. ¡°It¡¯s only been a day since we met, but I have to say, I¡¯ve never seen a maid like a Daisy. I¡¯m not bragging, but there are a lot of maids who come and go from the Weatherwoods mansion. Most of them quit or just run away in a short-term period.¡± I think I know why they run away. To subtly answer, I just kept moving my spoon. ¡°How did you end up doing this work?¡± How did I end up doing it? After I escaped Queen Island with the help of soldiers, I encountered a big problem. I had no money to live on. My hometown, Queen Island, and my home in it, was burned to the ground long ago. I had also lost the identity of the younger brother that I¡¯d been using for 10 years, so I had nowhere to go to get money. There is little a woman who has no connection and no skills can do. The factory does not employ without a letter of introduction, and the farm is not a place where one can work all year-round because of the off-season. Store employees ae not provided with lodging, so the way only way I could get both food and money was to become a maid. That was the reason my reply to the glassed-interviewer¡¯s question was, ¡°I want a vicious employer.¡± Because I would be forced to work in such a place and stay. ¡°Maid.¡± I don¡¯t think the result of that choice was bad. In the first place, the time I¡¯d been given was three years to live, and in order to extent my lifespan, I had to find a certain item in the city of Midwintertree. Since I had no intention to save up to enjoy luxuries, I did not need more than enough money to live on. I¡¯d never thought about it. The maid¡¯s eyes as she looked at me were full of pity. ¡°If it¡¯s hard to answer, you don¡¯t have to tell me. Who in this world doesn¡¯t have a story? Doesn¡¯t everyone keep something hidden away in their heart?¡± I have neither a home nor money, so instead of replying, I changed my mind and kept my mouth shut. ¡®If I tell her I¡¯m broke, I might be worked like a slave even more.¡¯ Let¡¯s just pretend to be a person full of stories. I might get less work out of pity. Still, I ended up getting dish-washing duty that day. The next day. I cleaned the house like a dog under the direction of the maid. ¡°Miss Daisy has great strength and stamina. You¡¯re going to wipe the dust off the ceiling on the second floor today. Did you know? If you don¡¯t take care of it for a long time, even the ceiling catches dust.¡± After dinner, I closed my eyes for just a little while, but when I awoke, the sun had already risen. Can this be true? This was my first time experiencing this after rolling on the battlefield. The day after the next day; Today I worked like a cow, not a dog. ¡°A new employee will arrive tomorrow morning. The schedule will be harder than today, so we¡¯ll finish work an hour earlier today. First, let¡¯s clean each room¡¯s fireplace.¡± About three days later, I became quite familiar with a maid¡¯s job. It was about time I looked into the ¡®reason¡¯ I came to Midwintertree, so I inquired the head maid and market merchants about any information about the item. But the answers that came back was nothing but the obvious. ¡°Hmm. Do you mean the legacy that Dian Cecht left behind before he died? It must definitely exist. Wouldn¡¯t it be enshrined in the treasury of some great nobleman?¡± ¡°Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy? Oh, that¡¯s right. They say there¡¯s such a thing hidden in this city, but¡­isn¡¯t that just a rumor? No one but the children believe it, miss.¡± Yes, I settled here in Midwintree in search of ¡®The Eye¡¯, one of the five relics left by Dian Cecht. Dian Cecht was a powerful healer who could raise even the dead. He divided his power into each of his relics and sealed it, and a myth ¨C which is not really a myth ¨C has been passed down that if one gathers all five relics of his legacy, any incurable disease will be cured. ¡°It remains to be seen whether the treatment will cure a broken soul, of course.¡± Dian Cecht, along with Mephisto, was called a demi-god. It must be something at least worth looking forward to. If only I could find it. In this way, I had a long and tiring day, looking for Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy whilst still doing all my tasks as a maid. It was at midnight of that exhausting day. The mind, which was wandering between reality and sleep, suddenly rose sharply. ¡°One person.¡± Someone had crept into the bedroom. The steps, breaths, the timing. It was a great infiltration in many terms. I thought of threatening the other party by attacking him, but held it in. Highly trained assassins usually kill themselves when they feel the crisis of not being able to complete their mission coming up. It was a very bad habit. Therefore, it will be difficult to identify the intruder unless I aimed for a loophole. ¡°Wake up, Maid.¡± Soon, a sharp blade that cut through the cold air touched right under my chin. ¡°If you scream, I¡¯ll cut your throat with this. Listen with your mouth shut. Follow my orders if you wish to live.¡± When I opened my eyes calmly, cold blue eyes were staring at me. ¡°From today on, you are a spy. Monitor the movements of Viscount Weatherwoods and report them regularly.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me tell you to shut up? This is an order, not a demand. Like I said, follow my orders if you want to leave.¡± The intruder seemed a bit bewildered when I asked again. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You must be half asleep,¡± he said, before I flicked him on the head. The confused intruder stumbled because of a small flick. Not missing any movement, I aimed for the intruder¡¯s mouth and gouged the pill out of his mouth with my fingers. A pill ostentatiously fitted inside a molar in the back, otherwise known as the ¡®Bite of Mercy.¡¯ It was a suicide pill that was usually used by the Assassination or information guild. ¡°Why?¡± I stuffed a blanket into the mouth of the intruder, who had come to his senses quite quickly. I crushed the man down on the floor and took away all the tools hidden on his body and threw them away. ¡°Why?¡± A long needle-like blade, a hard dagger, a medicine powder of unknown utility, a leaf shuriken¡­ And finally, when I threw away the emergency ¡®bite of mercy¡¯ hidden in his sleeve, the fighting spirit completely faded from the intruder¡¯s eyes. There was no way to suicide left for him now. ¡°Be ready to answer.¡± In despair, the intruder, with his eyes closed, nodded his head. When I took the blanket out of his mouth, he took a rough breath. He moved his lips in utter disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re not an ordinary maid. Who the hell are you?¡± ¡°Answer.¡± ¡°¡­I only accepted and took charge of the request that came into the guild. I don¡¯t know who entrusted the request or why we should monitor Viscount Weatherwood.¡± ¡°What number am I?¡± ¡°As far as I can remember, this is at least the third time this has happened.¡± That meant that at least three maids were threatened in the same way as I was. There is only one goal. To keep an eye on the Viscount Weatherwood. ¡°What about the previous maids?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Answer.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. My role is to take an oath of obedience from the maid. I¡¯m not involved in anything before or after that.¡± The assassin pointed to a small tack-shaped earring in his right ear. Seeing the spiritual energy flowing out, this earring seemed to be a magic tool. ¡®It¡¯s a magic tool to take an oath.¡¯ An oath is a promise made with the soul as collateral. It was also a taboo magic that was banned a long time ago, because those who broke the rule would die and their souls were destroyed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you forced such a terrible oath upon ordinary maids, and more than three times too?¡± It was certainly strange when I thought about it. Although I¡¯ve only worked for a day or two, I know that the Weatherwoods mansion is a bit hard to work at. But it wasn¡¯t terrible enough job for a series of maids to quit or run away one after another. The owner of the house did not show his nose anywhere, the assigned bedroom was spacious and well-furnished, and the daily working hours were observed strictly from 6 am. To 7 pm. Therefore, the maids were more likely to have disappeared, not run away. Because of reasons other than one¡¯s own choice. ¡®However, there is no Viscount Weatherwood in this mansion.¡¯ It was not difficult for me, who¡¯d been on the battlefield for 10 years, to detect other people¡¯s presence. The Viscount Weatherwood had most certainly vacated this mansion. That too, for most likely a long time. ¡®If you¡¯ve sent an assassin three times, then the client can¡¯t be unaware of that.¡¯ An ownerless mansion. A client who constantly monitors such a mansion. This mansion is suspicious in many ways. heya, I love reading comments on the chapters and they really motivate me to translate at times, so let me know your thoughts on the chapter! ^^ CH 5 At that time, a pathetic voice disturbed my thoughts. ¡°Spare me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I have failed my mission and failed to commit suicide, so I am a fugitive from now on. If you let me go like this, I will never appear in front of you again. I promise I won¡¯t even talk about you. If necessary, I will swear an oath to obey.¡± Yeah, I don¡¯t need that. I knocked the assassin on the back of his head. I thought about it after I knocked him out. What should I do with this guy? ¡°Should I kill you?¡± There were many things that bothered me to put the thought into practice. The client was the one who sent the assassin at least three times. If I kill the assassin like this, it was clear that another assassin would come. It would get troublesome again. So let¡¯s hold on to this guy for now. At first I thought about leaving him in the room, but I gave up the idea quickly. If I get caught by the maid, I might be kicked out of this mansion. I would have nowhere to go if I was kicked out of here, so I definitely had to look good in front of the head maid. While I was worrying about where to hide him, my eyes caught the panoramic view of the house in the front visible through the window. A window opened at an angle on its second floor, to be exact. ¡°Well.¡± Since they¡¯ve only moved out this afternoon, it will take at least a few days for the new landlord to move in. I threw the intruder over my shoulder and leapt out of the window. Then I jumped over the fence of the front house, climbed the wall and went into the second-floor window. I pulled the white sheet covering the bed and tied the intruder and bed together. After sealing his mouth completely, I closed the window and went back to my bedroom. ¡°Sigh.¡± Is there a dead mouse in this mansion or something? When I brushed the dust off my hands and lay on the bed, I had a slight question. Why does the client want to spy on the Viscount Weatherwood? It was sunny the next day. This fine job at the Weatherwoods mansion included a great agenda of sipping tea after a short breakfast at 9 am. Thanks to this, I was given a break to enjoy a bit of rest after a (not-so) delicious meal. Until I saw the unexpected scenery outside my window. No way. ¡°¡­they¡¯re moving?¡± When I pointed out the window with my finger, the head maid, who had been busy reading the newspaper, turned her head. ¡°Hmm? Oh, do you mean the Eachus residence over there? Ah, I guess since yesterday they moved everything out, it¡¯s weird to call it the Eachus residence. I didn¡¯t expect a new family to move in within a day. It must have been a pretty sudden sale.¡± Yes, the mansion across the street, which was supposed to be empty due to the move, was currently crowded with people moving furniture. A person came in in a day? What if someone just forgot their stuff yesterday? It couldn¡¯t be. ¡°I was complacent.¡± ¡°What? Stop mumbling to yourself, Miss Daisy. It¡¯s not a good habit for an employee.¡± I¡¯d slept by habit, and that mansion had an intruder tied up in it since midnight. I emptied the tea in one gulp and ran to my bedroom. There are too many people for me to rush in and bring him back right away. We need to look at the situation first. My bedroom is located in the corner of the second floor, but it was perfect for a panoramic view of the mansion across the street. I glued myself to the window and looked at the mansion carefully. A doorway busy with workers. Unlike our own garden, a well-organized flowerbed adorned their place. An unknown man enjoying tea and reading on a round table in the middle of the flowerbed. For a moment, I was surprised by his mysterious blue hair, and then, I found the intruder sitting on his knees besides him. The moment I thought, ¡®wait, why is he there?¡¯ I made eye contact with the man with blue hair. It wasn¡¯t an illusion. He was looking directly at me, not the spring sky or the panoramic view of the Weatherwood mansion. Gold eyes as foreign and gorgeous as his vibrant blue hair fixed themselves on me. The sharp tip of his nose and deep eyes gave off a strangely gloomy and noble atmosphere. My eyes. My expression. His gaze was so clear and blatant that I could feel him scouring my appearance. I had the illusion that the man¡¯s smiling mouth was making a mockery of me, in a maid¡¯s dress. I took a step back from the window in displeasure. At the same time, I realized something new. The fact that it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve felt a feeling as special and personal as unpleasantness, in my first meeting with someone. ¡°¡­as expected.¡± There¡¯s a dead mouse in this mansion. It was once said, but I was on a high level enough to meet the sword on an equal footing with a person called Geomseong. To imprint such a strong and negative presence on me¡­¡­. ¡®It means a bloody suspicious person.¡¯ It can¡¯t be helped. Now that this has happened, I have to give up the recapture of the intruder. Just pretend nothing happened. Let¡¯s forget about yesterday. Back in the kitchen naturally, I poured a new cup of black tea. ¡°Miss Daisy? You left in a hurry. Where did you go?¡± ¡°Peeing.¡± ¡°Express that in a roundabout way next time.¡± It was all right. I will just keep acting naturally as a maid at the Weatherwoods mansion. Shortly after I made such a commitment, the doorbell of the mansion rang. ¡°¡­the doorbell? It¡¯s been more than a year since it broke.¡± The head maid, who stood up with a suspicious face, went out to the front door. I naturally followed her like a maid at the Weatherwoods mansion would. Beyond the main gate, I could see a figure of an overwhelming height. I only checked the silhouette, but it didn¡¯t feel good. It certainly wasn¡¯t good. ¡°Who are you? Unfortunately, the Viscount Weatherwood is not in the mansion. Please make an appointment and come back next time¡­¡± When the iron gate opened, dazzling beauty poured inside like the sun. The maid¡¯s voice firm voice suddenly stopped. There stood a blue-haired man dressed like a city gentleman. He smiled. ¡°The cook and gardener who¡¯s going to work from today on, it¡¯s me.¡± He was looking at me, not the head maid. That was my first meeting with Rue. Suspicious. He was not just suspicious; he was frantically suspicious. The five sense I¡¯d sharpened on the battlefield were sending a very loud warning to me about this man with the elegant and unique name, ¡®Rue.¡¯ Even if you look at him from the front, the back, or sideways, he was definitely not a normal person. So I had to be careful. I was deeply in agreement with the warnings sent by my instinct. First of all, this ¡®Rue¡¯ was suspicious right from his appearance. The moment I faced him head-on, not only the maid, but also me, who stood five or six steps away, suffered a considerable mental shock. It may sound a little funny, but Rue was a beauty that disturbed the body and mind of the beholder. Yes, this expression was the truth, not exaggeration. Even the odd blue hair that hung over his beauty was down-right gorgeous. What about those features that harmonize with dark and sophisticated lines of his body? What about the golden eyes that gilded like the sea when the sun shined on it? But what about that drowsy, somber gaze? I decided to stop thinking about it, otherwise I¡¯d just be singing praises all day. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m Rue, I got this job through the help of the human resources office. You must be the chief lady here¡­what should I call you?¡± ¡°You can call me Head Maid. You are¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the cook. Chef and gardener.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I keep making you say the same thing over and over¡­¡± ¡°I understand. You mean you can¡¯t believe a person as blindingly beautiful as me would become a cook or gardener in this dreadful mansion.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°But you must accept it, because it¡¯s true. I¡¯m Rue and I¡¯ll be working from today. Thank you, Head maid.¡± The man who smiled gracefully soon turned back to me. Just like the moment our eyes met, when I was standing by the window at the second floor and he was at the Eachus residence over there. As if nothing had happened. ¡°And this side?¡± I didn¡¯t like the way he looked. It was an instinctive but thorough rejection backed by experience. That¡¯s why I avoided answering even though it seemed clear that he had requested my full name. ¡°Maid.¡± ¡°Is your name ¡®maid¡¯? That¡¯s unique. I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future, Ms. Maid.¡± He¡¯s not as good as his face. The odds of being in the improvement class seemed strong. ¡°Sigh.¡± When I saw the maid blinking blankly washing her dry face that I had never seen in front of me, she didn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary shameless person. As he walked to the back of the main gate as if he were going in and out, he inspected the messed-up garden. ¡°Hmm. Please let me ask you one thing. Is the concept of this garden ¡®garbage dump¡¯?¡± The maid, who came to her senses, shook her head slowly. ¡°If that had been the case, I wouldn¡¯t have hired you, Mr. Rue. Come to think of it, I don¡¯t see your luggage. Did you come in bare, with only one piece of clothing on?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. I have a few servants¡¯ uniforms left, but Mr. Rue¡¯s height is so big that I thought it would never fit. Shall we go up first? I¡¯ll show you to the room where you¡¯ll be staying first.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Head Maid, but I¡¯ll only be working here, not making my bed.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± The smiling man raised his right hand and pointed somewhere beyond the gate. ¡°As of today, I moved into my house.¡± The place he pointed to was the mansion across the street. ¡°So I¡¯ll commute. What time should I come?¡± The maid could not speak for a moment. Then she asked back to Rue in bewilderment. ¡°Was it you who bought the Eachus residence? I don¡¯t know why such a wealthy person wishes to be an employee.¡± ¡°Do people need a reason to work?¡± ¡°Not in general, but I can¡¯t help but ask you.¡± Rue, who was sweeping his chin with his hand, answered insincerely. ¡°Let¡¯s call it a hobby.¡± CH 6 Episode 6 After that, he started cleaning up the small garden on his own even though no one asked him to clean it. The head maid returned to the kitchen after asking him about various things. She seemed to have given up halfway because of his stinginess with the answers. ¡°Hmm.¡± Standing inside the kitchen, the maid looked at Rue outside the window with troubled eyes. In the meantime, Rue was communicating closely with someone who we did not know where he brought from. But considering the words they¡¯re using; garden trees, fountains, carps and so on, it seemed like they were planning to do a major re-construction project. What the hell does it mean when a gardener that is hired to take care of the garden hires a professional to plow it? ¡°I¡¯m jealous.¡± He¡¯s suspicious, but also handsome, really rich and owns a home. I on the other hand previously devoted myself to world peace, currently live as a maid with barely enough to fill my mouth with. ¡®I mean, he didn¡¯t kick the assassin out of his home.¡¯ Is Rue the client who asked for surveillance on Viscount Weatherwoods? It was necessary to check. I pointed to Rue on behalf of the helpless maid who had many restrictions on what she could and couldn¡¯t do as a figure of authority. ¡°Fired.¡± The maid glanced back at me. ¡°Who? Mr. Rue?¡± ¡°Suspicious.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just like you?¡± Me¡­? But it¡¯s not comparable to that. ¡°Of course, Mr. Rue is definitely not a normal person. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anyone as unique as him in this job for years. Except for you.¡± ¡°So fire him.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to rush, Miss Daisy. If there¡¯s a dangerous man in the mansion, the Viscount Weatherwoods will kick him out. Do not worry too much.¡± How can a Viscount that doesn¡¯t exist get rid of that man? The head maid is too complacent. I wanted to say, ¡®At dawn, an assassin came inside the house, but I beat him up and locked him in the house across the street. But today, I saw that very assassin by Rue¡¯s side. The two must be in cahoots and sent to spy on Viscount Weatherwoods!¡¯ but I shut up. If I say so, it¡¯ll make me look suspicious. In fact, I don¡¯t care how I look in other people¡¯s eyes. However, if the opponent is the maid of Weatherwood¡¯s mansion, my position stands differently. ¡°You have to be a family as weird as Weatherwood to accept me.¡±¡¯ If I get kicked out of a house like this, I¡¯ll have nowhere to go. Money is such a dangerous thing. I can¡¯t even reveal the existence of something that threatens the owner¡¯s life. ¡°In addition, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste to fire a gardener who says he will directly re-construct the garden for half-the price? That kind of money is tight even for the Weatherwoods. Let¡¯s just wait and see for some time.¡± The maid was a true slave to capitalism. Money is a very dangerous thing. Enough to leave a man who might be a wretch in the house. ¡°Well, then, shall we get to work?¡± Today¡¯s schedule was cleaning windows on the second floor. For your information, it¡¯s my least favorite type of cleaning. It¡¯s the second hardest thing after wiping the ceiling. As a dutiful maid of this era who is loyal to her master, I did not forget to keep an eye on the gardener while I wiped the windows. What would I do If I lost my precious and one and only job? The gardener was picking dead weeds in the garden. Even the appearance of him picking weeds was so suspicious, so I monitored him even more. ¡®Originally, in this situation, you should pick a fight with the person over something trivial, have a physical confrontation and induce them to reveal their true feelings.¡¯ As I did with the assassin at dawn. However, with Rue, I was rarely given a chance to enact this. Surprisingly, Rue did not even show the slightest gap. It is beyond ridiculous. You¡¯re handsome, rich, own a house, and are even perfect? ¡®What¡¯s the purpose?¡¯ It was then. While cleaning up the weeds he¡¯d been pulling out this whole time, Rue suddenly looked up. ¡°Do you have something to say?¡± It was an ordinary voice, but Rue¡¯s voice could be heard so clearly it was as if he were speaking straight into my ear drums. Wearing a white shirt and a light-yellow vest, he was working hard on gardening¡­ it looked good on him. But then, what wouldn¡¯t suit a beautiful man? I can¡¯t have a physical fight with him, so I guess it¡¯s better to pretend nothing happened. I asked him while resting my chin on the window. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s my first name you¡¯re asking, I must have said it is ¡®Rue¡¯ earlier too, Miss Maid.¡± Miss Maid. I feel upset even though I¡¯m just being teased. ¡°Not your name.¡± Rue¡¯s eyes narrowed thin. He had a look on his face that was supposed to look happy, but he didn¡¯t look very happy. ¡°Do you mean you want to know more about me? I don¡¯t think we¡¯re in that relationship yet.¡± ¡°Stop acting like a scoundrel and answer me. Who are you? Why are you here?¡± It¡¯s been so long since I spoke this much that I was out of breath. ¡°Because I¡¯m your fan.¡± What? He smiled as he looked up at my face with his head tilted. ¡°Last night, you caught a pervert and tied him to my house. It was quite impressive of you to lock up a stranger in a place you¡¯d never been to before. I¡¯d like to award you the ¡®Midwinterre Brave Citizen¡¯ award¡­¡± ¡°Are you saying that¡¯s why you came to this mansion?¡± Again. It was so ridiculous that I spoke for a long time without realizing it. My shoulders trembled at my unfamiliar voice, Rue shrugged his shoulders with a mean smile. ¡°No way.¡± You don¡¯t want to open your mouth? Fine, I have no choice but to tear it open myself. I jumped into the garden through an open window. ¡°You.¡± As I strode toward Rue, he shouted to the inside of the mansion while watching leisurely with his arms crossed. ¡°Head Maid! Miss Maid keeps messing around and flirting with me. Is this okay? Does Weatherwoods not protect the human rights of its employees?¡± There was only one reaction I could show to the vulgarity of his tongue. Walking the very way, entering the kitchen through the back door of the mansion. My teeth gnashed against one another. ¡°Suspicious and even mean.¡± Why would you tattle to the maid? I worked hard to clean the windows until my feet went numb. I broke a window because of trying too hard, but the maid didn¡¯t scold me very much. Although this month¡¯s salary has been cut in part. Thanks to that, I felt very low at dinner time. However, as usual, only me and the maid sat at the table. ¡°What about the chef and gardener?¡± ¡°He says he¡¯ll have dinner separately. I guess our mansion has dinner after the official routine. We¡¯ll have a separate dinner table in the future.¡± I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s nothing to see after sunset. I like that one thing. I tucked the headless vegetable stew into my throat with ease. The next morning. After finishing the morning routine briefly, I ran into Rue in the aisle into the kitchen. Like yesterday, he greeted me with a clean appearance, unlike a gardener (which, to be exact, would not be strange if I were the owner of the mansion). ¡°Good morning, Miss Handmaid.¡± I ignored it and went into the kitchen. I heard a small laugh behind my back. Rue was searching here and there in the kitchen and uttered just one word. ¡°Has the daily groceries not arrived yet today?¡± The answer was replaced by the maid who had come down first and sipped the car. ¡°We don¡¯t order ingredients, we go out to the market and buy them ourselves, Mr. Rue, and the daily groceries are there today.¡± Rue looked at potatoes, carrots, and onions sprawling in a wooden box under the table and uttered a short exclamation. ¡°Oh, I thought it was leftover food waste.¡± For the first time since he was hired yesterday, he looked like he was going through hardships and hardships. I felt homogeneity for the first time in Rue like that. Yes, this family is a decent poor family, with a good reputation. You came in for a dog¡¯s dinner. ¡°We can¡¯t help it. Let¡¯s settle today¡¯s lunch with this. But I¡¯m glad at the very least that the butter, pepper, salt, herbs and milk seem good enough. Head Maid, Miss Maid.¡± He smiled and pointed at the box. ¡°Cut them.¡± I cut the ingredients without complaining. There is something I have realized while living like a beggar over the past month, that is that it is good to follow the words of the person who feeds you. At least in the moment they¡¯re feeding you. I peeled potatoes and watched Rue. While fiddling with the cupboard, he took out a square pan I had never seen before, and then took out the seasoning storage box that I¡¯d also never seen before. ¡®Was there always something like that in this kitchen?¡¯ After wiping the dusty container clean, he cut the butter off the paper and slowly melted it on the fire. After buttering the pan, he skillfully held the kitchen knife and thinly sliced them. He piled the potatoes beautifully inside the pan, seasoned them with pepper and salt, and covered them with milk. While I was admiring his amazing cooking skills, ¡°Miss Maid.¡± Rue called me, breaking the dried herbs into small pieces. ¡°Do you see that mouse on the fence beyond the window?¡± So suddenly? I took my eyes off him and turned to the window. Like Rue said, there was a little gray mouse running about on the window sill. ¡°That mouse will peel potatoes better than you. Your potato peeling speed is so slow that it exploded.¡± ¡°¡­mm.¡± The opponent is a cook. At least right now, he¡¯s not a gardener, but a cook. He¡¯s the only way out of escaping from the Head maid¡¯s hell cuisine. Let¡¯s not get riled up into a mood. I peeled the potatoes faster. Rue waited silently while I finished peeling the remaining potatoes, repeating the same cooking process two more times in different pans. All that was left was waiting for it to be baked in the oven. And finally. ¡°Eat it.¡± The moment I put the potato gratin that smelled so good I was going out of my mind on my tongue. I had no choice but to settle into the strong ¡®taste¡¯ that penetrated my mind. ¡°How is it so delicious?¡±¡¯ It was true. Unbelievably, Rue was a skilled cook. He was fully aware of how to use good and bad ingredients. The potatoes that looked like they were dying were reborn into a perfect potato gratin dish from his hands. The taste was wonderful and could not be compared to the skills displayed by the head maid in the same kitchen. ¡°You eat well.¡± Rue, who was staring at me, left those words and went out to the garden. Are you not hungry? I even emptied Rue¡¯s share of potato gratin. A pleasant life and satisfying meals go hand in hand together. They¡¯re inseparable. The maid, wiping her mouth, muttered her admiration in a voice that sounded half-possessed. ¡°I haven¡¯t had such a satisfying breakfast in years, Mr. Rue¡¯s cooking skills are amazing. I feel bad for hiring him at half the usual wage.¡± When I saw the maid¡¯s eyes falling in love with the potato gratin, the sense of crisis that had subsided stood up. ¡®No, at this rate, the maid will fall for that swindler¡¯s deception!¡¯ Perhaps because the other person was my opponent, even this delicious dish felt like a great masterpiece meant to throw me off my game. ¡°You foxy little thing.¡± It doesn¡¯t suit my nature to work in the same house as someone whom I¡¯m concerned about. ¡®I hate it even more when you¡¯re emitting suspicion with your whole body.¡¯ That shows confidence. There are two assumptions about Rue¡¯s identity that I have in mind. One, he¡¯s here to spy on Viscount Weatherwoods, just like the assassin. Second, he knows my past and has chased me here. ¡®¡­what are the chances of it being the latter?¡¯ CH 7 I shook my head slowly. In fact, it would be no surprise if I, a survivor of Queen Island who appeared suddenly after four years, was under state surveillance. Weren¡¯t there people who followed me after I refused to go to a refugee shelter? But they didn¡¯t make any contact for a month, only watched from afar and then suddenly disappeared. To be exact, I didn¡¯t see anyone after I arrived in Midwinterre and interviewed at the human resources office. Maybe it¡¯s because they didn¡¯t find anything suspicious about me anymore; who¡¯d become a beggar at one point, getting money and bread by begging, and quietly arrived at Midwinterre to get a job as a maid. It doesn¡¯t matter much up to that point. ¡®But coincidentally, a man who got a job in the same mansion as mine even moved into the house in front.¡¯ Isn¡¯t it too perfect a timing to be a coincidence? The more I think about it, the more likely it is the latter. If Rue is following me, is the problem bigger than just targeting Viscount Weatherwoods? ¡®No, I may be able to solve the problem through personal communication.¡¯ The important thing here for me right now is to keep my job at the Weatherwoods mansion. I was willing to put up with a suspicious person as long as a request like, ¡°Die again.¡± or ¡°I¡¯m curious about the source of your resurrection, please allow me to conduct a living dissection.¡± ¡®Let¡¯s throw the bait first.¡¯ I decided to write down my business on a note in case my words get longer. I could run away from the head maid under the pretext of an excuse like yesterday, so it would be better to take the initiative in advance. Immediately after completing the day¡¯s work, I secretly called Rue to the backyard. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss maid.¡± But he came 5 minutes later than I did. ¡°I refuse your confession. I¡¯m not the type of person foolish enough to believe in fateful love to the point that I¡¯d start dating a woman I¡¯ve met two days ago.¡± There was nothing worthwhile for me to hear. Before Rue¡¯s impressively large wings of imagination flew to the endless sky, I handed over the note I¡¯d been holding from earlier. Here¡¯s what the note said; ¡º I am suspicious of your move in. If your objective is to monitor me, or keep surveillance on the Weatherwoods mansion, be honest. I am willing to cooperate in some cases. Grounds on which you are suspicious: ? Got a job at Weatherwood around the same time as me. ? You got a job as a gardener and a cook when you already have a lot of money. ? Even the salary is half the usual wages. You chose to work for the poor Weatherwoods family. ? Besides, as soon as you got the job, you moved into the house next door. Conclusion: the identity of ¡®Rue¡¯ is very doubtful. ¡» Rue¡¯s expression became stranger the more he read. ¡°Did you call me for this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rue burst into laughter as if he¡¯d heard a silly joke. ¡°I will keep an eye on you, eh¡­I have to say, you have an astounding level of self-esteem.¡± Who¡¯s talking about who now? Did you already forget your assumption that you were getting confessed to just because I called you to the backyard? ¡°You asked me about that yesterday. Why I got a job here. That¡¯s the point of that note, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned it before as well, but I¡¯ll repeat it once more for our forgetful maid. It¡¯s a hobby.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°Aha, I see. It¡¯s a shame, but it¡¯s not a hobby I have to gain your trust.¡± Just as he was about to turn his back and go back in without hesitation, I quickly moved my lips. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just tell me what you¡¯re thinking? I just don¡¯t like a suspicious person staying in the mansion. I¡¯m honestly blowing it because I want to kick you out if possible. What is your purpose? Is it Viscount Weatherwoods?¡± I almost bit my tongue because I talked for so long. I¡¯d worked so hard to write down my notes, but they¡¯ve become useless. I felt like my words got longer whenever I faced him, and it was very inconvenient. Rue, who listened to me silently, lowered his gaze and gently shook the note he held in his hand. ¡°Hm¡­I see, so it¡¯s uncomfortable for you. Well, that¡¯s unfortunately none of my business. Are you curious as to why I¡¯ve come to this mansion?¡± I nodded with all my heart, my eyes shining. ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Sincerely.¡± ¡°¡­I-¡± It was then. Ding, dong. The clock rang to show that it was 7 pm. Regardless of whether it rang or not, I kept staring at Rue. Rue, who looked at me and smiled, turned to walk as if nothing had happened and brushed past me. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting off work.¡± What? ¡°Getting off of work on time is the most basic of skills for an employee. Today was a fruitful day. Have a good night, miss maid.¡± Rue waved his hand and dispersed from the backyard. So, I was left alone under the sunset. At first, I laughed because I was dumbfounded. Thanks to this, my judgment, which had been a little sluggish, accelerated. ¡®Is the assassin still at Rue¡¯s house?¡¯ If you keep avoiding answering this way, I have no choice but to make my move. I¡¯ll sneak into the house in front of me and search the inside¡¯s every corner. That day, at midnight. As I did two days ago, I crossed the fence to the mansion in front of me. However, unlike then, the windows on the first and second floors were tightly locked today, so it seemed it would take a long time to get inside. ¡°Should I go through the chimney?¡± Around that time, a sign of activity came from the inside of the mansion. The person seemed to be moving through the backdoor that led to the kitchen, as if they¡¯d been waiting for someone to come. He moved carefully; did he notice? Just as I was about to kill the man hiding behind the back door, a familiar voice came from behind it. ¡°It¡¯s her.¡± It was the voice of the assassin who threatened me. The door opened, and an exposed assassin appeared before me. As soon as I checked his appearance, I couldn¡¯t say anything. ¡°No surprise, miss maidservant.¡± Why are you wearing a butler¡¯s clothes? ¡°My master told me you¡¯d be sneaking around at this time of the night, so I¡¯ve been waiting.¡± The brazen assassin seemed to think I¡¯d have no questions about his outfit. ¡°The master told me to tell you this when I meet you.¡± How long has it been since you met Rue? Is he your master already? ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°How about practicing peeling potatoes while you¡¯re wasting your time?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± My teeth were a little gnarled, but I held it in. Since I met Rue, I¡¯ve been getting used to putting up with him, otherwise my teeth would be chipped because of how many times I¡¯d have to clench them. ¡°Two of you?¡± Were you two in cahoots in the first place? When I asked the question, the assassin burst out laughing as if he were dumbfounded. ¡°Are we partners? You must have forgotten you locked me up here. Are you really as forgetful as the master says?¡± Is he telling his lame jokes to the assassin? ¡°I remain here of my own volition.¡± I answered, pointing to the assassin¡¯s sprawling butler costume. ¡°I can¡¯t trust you when I see you dressed like that.¡± ¡°I guess so, but I simply gave in. It is natural for the weak to yield to the strong. You don¡¯t know, but the master is a great, terrible¡­¡± Perhaps he recalled his bad memories, the assassin, who blurred the rest of his words, shook his shoulders with a firm expression. ¡°¡­Hoo. there¡¯s a high-level spell on this mansion. No one can survey the inside from the outside. During my stay here, I can be free from the guild¡¯s surveillance, so I plan to stay under the owner for a while and try to find a way to live in the future.¡± Was there such a spell on this mansion? ¡®You¡¯re saying that he¡¯s good enough to imprint fear on a skilled assassin, as well as a high-level magician.¡¯ I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t rush into a conversation with fists. I have never held a sword again after returning to a woman¡¯s body. In the first place, I¡¯m not used to my body. It would be very dangerous to deal with a powerful person like Rue with an unfamiliar body. ¡°Your master.¡± ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°Is it possible that he¡¯s the client who sent you to me?¡± The assassin sighed softly. ¡°I thought so at first too. But well, it¡¯s ambiguous. The master is obviously interested in the Weatherwoods. But it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s in his nature to ask an assassination guild to monitor the Viscount Weatherwood.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I think you will understand what I mean. The master¡­ is a little unusual.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not unusual.¡± ¡°Then?¡± ¡°He¡¯s strange.¡± For the first time, a smile hung around the assassin¡¯s mouth. ¡°Yes, as you said, the master is a strange person. He didn¡¯t even ask me anything aside from my name. It would be better to say that he is uninterested. I¡¯m still in the process of assessing my master. I¡¯m still too clueless to say anything for sure.¡± Assessing. It didn¡¯t seem like the assassin was even trying to deceive me. He showed great interest in his survival since I¡¯d informed him that I¡¯d removed the suicide pill, ¡°Bite of Mercy¡± from his possession. He even clung to me to ask for help. Therefore, the reason why the assassin remained in this mansion and the reason why he stuck with the unknown character, Rue, was understandable. ¡°Then make a deal with me.¡± ¡°A deal?¡± ¡°Share the results of each other¡¯s findings.¡± The assassin carefully examined my face with astonished eyes and spat out an answer a beat late. ¡°As I have already said, the master has already predicted that you will be here tonight. This conversation won¡¯t make be any different.¡± ¡°So are you going to do it or not?¡± ¡°¡­How do we do it?¡± ¡°Once a week. At this time, this place.¡± ¡°I see.¡± This was a pretty useful interaction. ¡®I want to see what kind of suspicious things Rue is doing after work.¡¯ It didn¡¯t matter if he knew about today. He knows I¡¯m watching him, so he won¡¯t act rashly. Right when I was about to return to Weatherwood¡¯s mansion with satisfactory results, ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The assassin suddenly called me. ¡°I want to ask you one thing.¡± As I turned, the assassin asked me with the most serious expression ever made. ¡°Do you have any tips for washing blankets?¡¯ ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very hard to do it alone. Is there a better way to do it instead of just pressing it with your hands?¡± You¡¯re a butler, and yet you¡¯re taking on the work of a maid. I returned to my room after leaving a written note to the assassin, saying ¡®Instead of applying force with your hands, use your feet.¡¯ I slept well that day. Name: Rue, also commonly known as menace to society and everyone in it. also to this story¡¯s #1 update stalker and reader on NU, we are glad to have you with us hehe CH 8 The next morning. When I came to the backyard to get the laundry, I was surprised by the view of the garden at first glance. In two days¡¯ time, the garden of Weatherwood¡¯s mansion was getting pretty decent. Except for that first time, no other worker has come since the first day, and yet all the dead grass has disappeared and the ground has been covered in soft soil. ¡°I thought he¡¯d taken up just any position for the purpose of entering the mansion.¡± And his cooking skills. Why are there so many things he¡¯s good at? It¡¯s more suspicious. When I tried to recall the beauty that shook my heart, I remembered last night¡¯s message about potatoes. At that moment, I made eye contact with Rue, who was passing by with a shovel. He beckoned to me just in time. ¡°Come here, miss maid.¡± I wish I could ignore it. ¡®We need to interact for me to find out what kind of guy he is.¡¯ I stopped putting the laundry in the basket and approached Rue. And when I was close enough, I said in a sullen voice. ¡°Daisy.¡± Rue, who¡¯d turned his back to the stairs at the front door, looked back at me with strange eyes. Then I opened my mouth again to his glittering face. ¡°My name.¡± ¡°¡­Ahh.¡± Rue stood in front of me with a gentle smile he seemed to do in habit. ¡°All right, Miss Daisy, the maid. We finally got a proper name in three days. The only way to describe the progress rate of our relationship is that it¡¯s excellent.¡± If everything sounds sarcastic, is it the speaker¡¯s problem or the listener¡¯s problem? ¡°I¡¯ll leave this pot to you.¡± I unconsciously accepted Rue¡¯s brown little flowerpot. It was a pot full of moist soil that looked good at a glance. ¡°Are you giving it to me?¡± ¡°Please try blooming something in the pot, anything is fine. Replanting a plant into this is forbidden. Instead, start with seeds, not seedlings.¡± ¡°Me? Why?¡± When I asked amidst my confusion, Rue replied back in a tone that sounded like I¡¯d asked the obvious. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were curious? About me.¡± What does that have to do with flowers? ¡°Unfortunately, my identity is a very great secret that many eyes want to know of. I don¡¯t want to let anyone know for free. In that sense, isn¡¯t blooming flowers a rather simple price to pay for it?¡± I crumpled my brows and looked at the pot in my arms. ¡®Why flowers?¡¯ It¡¯s not a kid¡¯s joke. Is he playing with me right now? ¡°Do I have to do it now?¡± This pot was Rue¡¯s first plausible answer to my doubts and distrust. This is first time he¡¯s given a response, by putting a condition on hearing the answer instead of just ignoring me like the first day. It might be foolish to say no just because I felt a bit offended. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, 500 gold.¡± ¡°¡­500 gold?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the price of hearing those secrets without flowers.¡± Is this con man crazy? Where the hell would I get 500 gold? Do you think that amount of money would just come out if you just start digging? I can¡¯t make that much even if I work 100 years as a maid! I answered, hugging the pot in my arms. ¡°I¡¯m going to grow.¡± ¡°Well thought.¡± ¡°Keep your word.¡± Rue, who smiled affectionately, tapped me on the head. It was the lightest and most natural smile he¡¯d ever shown. ¡°Yes, Miss Daisy, the maid. I look forward to seeing what kind of flowers you will bloom.¡± That aggravating guy. After glancing at Rue¡¯s wide back, I put the flowerpot down to its original spot and went back to collect the laundry. I decided to stop investigating Rue for now. I haven¡¯t given up on figuring out his identity. I¡¯m just taking a step back. In conclusion, as the maid said, it was the best way to observe him for the time being. I didn¡¯t have personnel nor money to investigate Rue, and the parties involved weren¡¯t the type to easily open their mouths, plus, I could no longer overpower them and force them to speak. ¡®Besides, being suspicious is just a feeling. He hasn¡¯t done anything yet.¡¯ It¡¯s a waste of mental strength and strength to care about Rue so much. For now, I¡¯ll be content with cooperating with the butler assassin. Now that I¡¯m used to doing a maid¡¯s job, I should focus on collecting information related to Diancecht¡¯s relics. Everything has a priority. ¡°Did you bring in the laundry, Daisy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll organize it, so go buy the groceries. I left the list of necessary ingredients and money in the kitchen.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I checked the ingredients to buy as I left the mansion. It was the same list as last time except for the addition of eggs. There was no meat this time, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. It was clear that Rue would fill the table with dishes even without meat. He can cook. That talent is the only advantage Rue has. Before entering the market, I stopped in a narrow alley and crouched down in front of a scrawny old man selling dull vegetables. ¡°Hmm.¡± I saw a potato in bad shape, but I decided to buy it. The poor condition of the elderly man bothered me, and I decided that it would be okay if the ingredients were a little slimy since the chef¡¯s skills are quite good. ¡°Seven potatoes.¡± The dozing old man looked up at me with his eyes wide open. ¡°Huh? Oh, we have a visitor.¡± This old man won¡¯t be able to go home until he sells some potatoes. ¡°Thank you, miss. Come again.¡± The old man bowed his head to thank me with his thin body. After I paid for the potatoes, I started counting them as I approached the market. ¡®One, two, three¡­eight.¡¯ It¡¯s not seven, it¡¯s eight. The old man seems to have miscounted the potatoes. I went back on my way to return a potato. When I went back, new people had gathered in the alley besides me and the elderly man. Somehow it was an eye-watering picture. ¡°Oh! This old man has finally made some money.¡± Three big men stood around the old man selling potatoes. The big man in the middle showed his palm to the old man. ¡°Give it to me.¡± ¡°Hey, look, please wait a month, a month¡­¡± ¡°The merchant association membership fee has been pushed back by more than a week. Did you think we wouldn¡¯t be able to get it from you if you hid in a place like this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just an old man who does small business¡­the association and the like, I¡¯ve said it several times I¡¯m not going to join.¡± At that moment, the man¡¯s legs violently kicked the body of the old man while keeping his hands in his pocket. The weak old man rolled on the floor without even screaming. The forehead that had been hit was torn from the heel of his shoe and was bleeding. Perhaps that was not enough, so the big man trampled on the old man¡¯s curved back mercilessly. ¡°This old bastard. If you can¡¯t afford to pay your dues, either close your shop or get the hell out of our area!¡± Thew! The man who with his hands in the pocket of his pants spit on the old man. ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ll be back at the same time tomorrow, so remember that.¡± So the small income of the old man disappeared into greedy clutches. I looked at the old man¡¯s unsightly potatoes. he had less than twenty. At least I took eight, and there were about ten left, and a couple were blue buds. The old man did not sell potatoes to enjoy wealth and prosperity. He sells potatoes so as to not starve to death. He¡¯s a man who gets through another day by selling potatoes all day long. Look at that skinny body. If he couldn¡¯t sell potatoes even for a day, it was clear that the old man would starve and get sick. If he couldn¡¯t sell for two days, it would be difficult for the elderly man to move, and if he wasn¡¯t able to sell for three days, he could reach the threshold of death. These men are killing that old man. They¡¯re claiming ownership on streets that no one could truly own. ¡°Hey.¡± The men looked back at me. ¡°What?¡± I asked them a question I put my heart into. ¡°What trashcan did you crawl from to here?¡± The captain of the garbage squad crumpled his brows and came waddling towards me. ¡°Where is this crazy girl from? With the way you¡¯re dressed, you look like a maid. What are you laughing at? Do you want me to ban you from walking this road? Huh?¡± I looked carefully at his high-spirited face and nodded. You were just in time, fellas. I¡¯ve been under a lot of stress lately. I raised my hand and patted the unrecyclable trash¡¯s face lightly. ¡°Cough!¡± The trash, which slammed right into the nearby wall, rolled his eyes and passed out. I made the second piece of dazed garbage look exactly like the captain garbage. ¡°Cough.¡± Only then did the third garbage come to its senses and ran away without looking back. Should I catch it or not? The dilemma was short. Instead of chasing him, I crouched next to the old man and rummaged hard through the chest of the garbage bag. ¡°Oh.¡± A bundle of bills popped out of his pocket. Is this the membership fee for the merchant association that you are forced to join? It seemed to be the same amount as someone¡¯s rent. ¡°Miss, get up. We need to get away before the others get here, okay? Come on.¡± The old man, who managed to recover somehow, was surprised that I had knocked down two men, but was busy getting me up and leading me out of the alley. Every time he wiped his bleeding forehead, his sleeve was dyed red. ¡°They are very scary men, so don¡¯t come out this way again. it won¡¯t be a big deal if an old man like me dies, but if you get involved in something bad, your parents will be very sad.¡± The wrinkled back of the hand holding my arm was still trembling. Fear imprinted directly on the flesh is not easily forgotten. I looked at the old man¡¯s nervous face and recalled how the garbage had stepped on him, rolled him on the ground and ruined his potatoes. If I just let it end like this, people like this old man will suffer again. The thought circuit of garbage has always been like this. They vent their anger on the weak. They do not reflect on the suffering they¡¯ve caused, instead they use violence to lift their status. The victim will suffer even more damage, and this old man will be forced to leave the city. ¡°Grandpa.¡± How can you expect me to run away? ¡°Do you know where these people live?¡± The old man, who looked at me with a confused gaze, pointed to a store on the first floor with a clean exterior over the pavement leading to the market. ¡®Pub, Piece of Land¡¯ The bar¡¯s sign had an atmosphere that seemed like it was the perfect place for bullies to play around. It¡¯s strange. As far as I know, pubs in the empire weren¡¯t such a space. They were a place of refuge for the people. Especially in the south of the Empire, which was under the influence of the great wizard Mephisto, pubs were the home of vigilante groups who voluntarily gathered to protect their hometowns. Those gathered in the pub took up arms to protect their hometowns, family and friends. Pubs close to the front line also joined forces in the village itself to play a role in supplying. Their appearance in my memory was full of pride and sorrow. ¡°But that¡¯s a merchant association.¡± Well, at least it might be useful to me, for collecting information. I returned the old man the price of potatoes lying on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t open your shop tomorrow. Stay strong.¡± Then, I removed some of the banknotes and crumpled them inside the old man¡¯s fist. ¡°Treat your forehead before it gets any worse. Stay strong.¡± After dumping the two fallen garbage deep inside the alley, I headed back to the market with a bundle of bills in my chest. One thing you guys should know is that the repetition of certain dialogues isn¡¯t a translation error or posting mistake. Daisy tends to repeat many of her lines like a normal person would. so its more casual. CH 9 The only things left on the errand list is carrots and onions. And seeds to bloom. Entering the market, I bought carrots and onions and asked the merchants about the merchant association. At first, they seemed to be evasive, but when I mentioned what the old man in the alley had suffered, they sighed deeply and clicked their tongue. ¡°They have no compassion. They started out as vigilantes during the Magic War, but changed after the war. After they¡¯d gotten a taste of money, the membership fee became a thing. They started bullying around people that didn¡¯t bother anyone. It¡¯s hard to make ends meet, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°There are 6 heads, and I think about 20 people below them go around collecting money. Everything is in their palms around here. If you refuse to join, it¡¯s a complete mess. It¡¯s no use reporting it to the police, they¡¯ve colluded with each other. Everyone is dirty as long as their pockets stay full.¡± As expected, the gangsters named the Merchants¡¯ Association seemed to move around the neighborhood like it was their own land. ¡®That would mean their information about the city is reliable.¡¯ It¡¯ll be useful for finding the relics. After finishing shopping, I hummed back to the house. There was no need to ponder anymore. I¡¯ll have to act from today. That night, close to midnight. I changed into my everyday attire and left the mansion secretly. This stealthy and secret sneaking out was something a maid shouldn¡¯t do, but that¡¯s not my concern. Sometimes there are tasks that cannot be achieved without deceiving people. It was even more necessary if you had to hide your real status as a maid. I entered the pub the potato-seller pointed me to. Rattle. When I opened the door and entered, the scarlet lamp that was lighting the inside shook lightly. The first thing I saw was a picture frame hanging in front of me. The faded black-and-white photos contained the faces of my dear friends, the heroes of the Magic War, released through the newspaper. The number of people inside the pub were; one middle-aged woman, four middle-aged men, and a bartender. Like I heard, there were six heads. ¡®It is a rule for these guys to gather at their base and have a countermeasure meeting on the night a problem came up in the district.¡¯ I looked around their waist, but I couldn¡¯t find a gun. That means I only need to be careful around the bartender. Inside, I settled down at the bar. Since no one spoke in the meantime, I threw out the card first. ¡°Receive your guest.¡± The bartender snorted. ¡°Hey, girl. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re from this city. We¡¯re not doing business right now, so go out nicely.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡± A big man who approached me amidst the harsh atmosphere took a seat next to me. Somehow, he looked familiar. ¡°Wait, wait. Wait a minute. I¡¯ll take care of it. Where are you from, miss?¡± The man thrust a grinning face at me. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He definitely looks familiar. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering me? You¡¯re that girl, aren¡¯t you? The crazy maid who smashed half of my brother¡¯s face?¡± He¡¯s trash¡¯s older brother. Should I call him senior trash? Click. In an instant, the bartended took out a shotgun from under the table and aimed it at my forehead, warning me; ¡°It was this girl? If you don¡¯t wanna die, quietly follow me. I¡¯ll finish this and send you to the slave ship.¡± This action betrayed even the lowest expectations I had for them. In the Empire, a pub is a home, for the people. But this place is not like that. At the bartender¡¯s warning, I obediently rose from my chair. The gun¡¯s muzzle followed my head as I walked across the bar. When I arrived at the front entrance of the bar, near the bartender, I instantly lowered my body and delivered a kick to the back of his knees, snapping his wrist in half in the process. Bang! When the bartender¡¯s body flew to the cup showcase, it shattered ¨C and pieces of glass rained on him like snowflakes. ¡°Hold!¡± Next, I slapped trash¡¯s brother across the face as he ran to me courageously, slamming him into the wall. Two of them gathered around the round table, and then I made their teeth meet it a little more closely. I fed the other two the chairs. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± It¡¯s quiet now. This is the pub I know. A space for people, not for trash. ¡°Do you have any hidden guns?¡± The middle-aged woman who was being punished by being forced to raise her hands looked at me as her shoulders trembled. ¡°Well, do you have any?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the warehouse! I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± I went back to the bartender. The courageous bartender, who aimed a gun at my head, was rolling on the floor as if one of his legs broke. I stretched my body and sat myself on top of him like a statue of death. ¡°So when do you answer my question?¡± ¡°A question¡­?¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you doing business? Is the sign that says ¡®pub¡¯ outside just a decoration?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do business.¡± ¡°Why did they set up a merchant association that doesn¡¯t even do business?¡± ¡°Hng, I¡¯ll do business.¡± ¡°Just answer the question. Why did you set up a merchant association?¡± ¡°To protect the interests of merchants in the city¡­¡± ¡°Who agreed to it?¡± ¡°All the merchants..¡± ¡°Are you sure they agreed? You didn¡¯t threaten them, did you? Shall we go around and ask them right now? I¡¯ll drag you like a dog and face every one of them. Every time a person who says they were forced to join shows up, all of you people¡¯s life expectancy will be cut short by 20 years. Shall we do that?¡± It¡¯s weird. I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable talking to these guys for a long time. My voice in my ear wasn¡¯t terrible. The corners of my mouth went up and down more easily because I felt as if I had returned to being Andert. Thanks to this, my tongue moved like a fish in water. ¡°Pardon me,¡± One of the men sitting at the table with both hands raised asked me in a dim voice, probably because of his newly-broken molars. ¡°But who the hell are you?¡± I looked through the frightened faces of the six and then pointed to the wall. ¡°There.¡± A frame proudly hung with black and white pictures that seemed to have been cut out from an article. In the photo, a total of seven heroes, including me and Raphael during my Andert era, and Natasha, the only princess of the empire, were smiling with their glasses facing the sky. It wasn¡¯t a picture with a big backstory. The photo was taken by the owner of the pub to boost the Allied forces¡¯ morale when the front line was pushed north because of the sudden attack by the Great Wizard Mephisto. I wonder how their morale would¡¯ve been raised by just pictures, but they seemed to have released it after the victory. ¡°I¡¯m him.¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­.¡± ¡°I worked hard and saved the world. But I didn¡¯t save the world so people like you could ruin it.¡± The bartender¡¯s eyes looking at me quickly turned to eyes that looked a crazy maid. I drew a chair from the table, sat down, and moistened my throat with water. ¡°Did you say you were curious about who I am? Then wait, let me tell you my story. Will you listen to it? Even if the words sound a little awkward, just laugh it off. I¡¯m not good at speaking.¡± ¡°What? Oh, yes.¡± ¡°I have an important goal that I must achieve in three years.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But, there¡¯s something. For me to achieve this goal, the areas surrounding all the houses here must be clean. Especially kids like you. You know what I¡¯m talking about, right? Thieves.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re not thieves¡­¡± ¡°Is that street yours?¡± I glanced at the thieves. Everyone seemed busy sneaking away from my eyes. ¡°Is that alley yours? Answer me.¡± ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not yours, but if you don¡¯t get paid, you rob them. My dinner tonight was bad because of you. The potatoes were in a bad condition. The reason why the potatoes were bad is because the merchant who sells them feared paying tax for a seat in the market, and hid in the alleys to do business. The alley is not noticeable, so things won¡¯t sell for a long time. That¡¯ll will make it easy to rot, right?¡± ¡°¡­yes.¡± ¡°So without the seat tax, the condition of the potatoes will improve. Fresh ingredients amplify the taste and quality of the food, but if you eat poor quality food, you can get sick. Do you know what happens when the sick is unlucky? They die soon after.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I turned my head to the thief bartender. ¡°In summary, if you receive tax for those seats, I will die.¡± ¡°Yes¡­.huh?¡± ¡°So I¡¯m going to kill you first before I die. It¡¯s called self-defense in other words.¡± I smiled at them. ¡°The end of story. Now, who¡¯s going to die first?¡± Naturally, the thieves¡¯ complexion paled. Someone took a harsh breath. Of course, I don¡¯t really mean to kill them. Violence and murder are different crimes on completely different levels. Although both are felonies. Then, the bartender who was lying around slowly rose. His frightened eyes slowly started to exhibit a powerful aura. ¡°We have Berithlet behind us.¡± Were there still people who believed in that? The bartender showed his canine fangs and pointed at me. ¡°Berithlet pays back twice as hard when hit once. If you cut off all our heads, you will become Berithlet¡¯s enemy, and you will never survive.¡± CH 10 A-ha. I turned my head towards the pub¡¯s door, asking a question. ¡°So they say.¡± It was in a direction where no one was standing. Shortly after the bartender questioned his eyes, the pub¡¯s quiet door opened, revealing a person that hadn¡¯t appeared yet. Entering silently like a shadow, he was dressed in a long robe from head to toe. ¡°What is Berithlet?¡± It was the butler-assassin, the assassin who¡¯d turned over a new leaf. It seemed like the robe he was wearing was one he¡¯d fashioned himself from unused blackout curtains. Considering the wearer¡¯s expertise, it was a very plausible guess. The butler-assassin kindly answered my question. ¡°It¡¯s an information guild that grew rapidly in the aftermath of the Magic war. They are big, dangerous, and down-right cruel to get what they want.¡± The unwavering voice did not contain an inch of dishonestly. I nodded. This was exactly the role I hoped for and demanded from him. Before coming to the pub, I visited the butler-assassin. As a former assassin, he immediately recognized my presence, so he came out of the back door and asked what I was doing. ¡°Today isn¡¯t the day we agreed upon. What happened?¡± ¡°You told me that you were going to find a new way of living.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s work together.¡± The butler-assassin looked at the simple yet mildly aggressive twist with suspicious eyes. ¡°Why should I do that?¡± ¡°Because I have to look for it, just like you.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°A way to live.¡± You have to show your cards first to get the other party¡¯s cooperation. I explained to him, ¡®I need to gather information to find what I need.¡¯ and briefly told him of my future plans. He remained expressionless throughout, until he got tempted by the word ¡®information.¡¯ It was only natural. Being chased by an assassination guild, it was important to keep Midwinterre in the palm of his hand in order to shake off protentional pursuers. Slowly taking control of the city, starting with the association of merchants dominating this neighborhood, would benefit both of us. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad offer. ¡­alright. But with regards to some of the merchants you mentioned, we¡¯d better make some changes to the plan.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°From what I hear, their expansion speed and systematic progression are unnecessarily good for just being neighborhood bullies. In these cases, there¡¯s usually a backer. If you move recklessly, they can topple you.¡± The butler-assassin asked to make our move after inspecting the backer. The judgement was based on the fact that it might be wise not to touch in depending on the background. But my thoughts were a little different. The reason is simple. If the current merchant association continues, the old potato-seller will have to disappear from the alley. ¡®It¡¯s good we promised to back out if the backer was unusual.¡¯ But I didn¡¯t know a big guild was connected. ¡° ? I¡¯ve never heard of them before.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a secret drug guild. Ordinary people do not know of it.¡± ¡°Ordinary people?¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m a normal person now. But what the butler-assassin said sounded terribly wrong anyway. I crumpled by brows at the thought. ¡°Of course, there are times when there¡¯s not the case. Berithlet has connections spread throughout all the 13 countries of the Magic Alliance, centering on Penrotta Empire. Guild masters are people whose names, let alone faces, aren¡¯t known to the public. They do everything to prevent being caught. The butler assassin, who was explaining, looked at the bartender with suspicious eyes. ¡°But why would they join hands with these wicked bastards?¡± The bartender hurriedly rummaged through the cabinet drawer. Soon a round, gold coin emerged from his hands. ¡°No! We are a federation protected by Berithlet! Here, take a look at this guild coin.¡± A Guild Coin is a guarantee that proves cooperation and affiliation with a specific guild. The assassin-butler, who inspected the coin¡¯s shape and appearance, bowed his head with a serious expression. ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯ve made many mistakes here. See, this man knows the horrors of Berithlet very well¡­¡± I snatched the gold coin from the hand of the bartender who seemed to be getting prouder and prouder. ¡°Really? Then this is mine from now on.¡± The bartender gritted his teeth. ¡°Are you fearless or simply out of your mind? Didn¡¯t you hear me?! If the fact that we were attacked reaches Berithlet¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t move your tongue lightly.¡± I tapped the bartender¡¯s lips with the guild coin and warned him. ¡°Be smart, bartender. Don¡¯t you know the saying, ¡®A cousin is farther than a neighbor.¡¯? You don¡¯t know? Well, what about ¡®the law is far, but the fist is close¡¯? Berithlet¡¯s law¡¯s reaches are far, but me, your neighbor¡¯s fist is really close. Remember that your lives depend on the mood of the corner in my heart.¡± The inside of the pub became quiet as if cold-water had been poured on its occupants. In the meantime, the assassin-butler, who¡¯d been working his head hard, lifted his lips with his characteristic serious face. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous if the opponent is Berithlet, it¡¯s no exaggeration to say they hit back twice as hard. Information guilds basically expand through trust and money. Even a small and unsightly place like this is a branch, so it¡¯s better to not touch it.¡± It seemed as if he was going to withdraw from today¡¯s work. Considering the other party was a large, secret drug-guild, it was an understandable attitude. ¡°Is it more dangerous than your master?¡± But I need the assassin-butler. This is because he is the right person to lead the new merchant association, considering he worked in a similar institution before. In the first place, intelligence and assassination are inseparable. The missions that assassins perform are on an equal-footing, or next-level of stealing or acquiring information. ¡°Those two are different. Master is an individual, and Berithlet is like a small country.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to get caught. We just have to make our move without them knowing.¡± I threw him a small glass bottle from the inside of my pocket. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s the I took from you. It is the world¡¯s most dangerous pill. It sends you to the grave with just one dose.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were keeping it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hard thing to get. I couldn¡¯t just throw it away. And of course, the most important thing is¡­¡± I tapped my earlobes and said, ¡°It¡¯s a magic tool that binds an oath.¡± The assassin-butler still had a magic device to bind an oath that he failed to use on me. We can use that thing to force their mouths shut. The assassin-butler¡¯s expression, who read my intentions, became even more serious. In the meantime, I made eye contact with each and every member of the merchant association. ¡°Kill anyone who gets in the way with the if none listen, just kill them all. Just like these thieves wish, Berithlet might take notice. Even if they noticed, though, they¡¯d just have dead bodies to clean up.¡± If you¡¯re going to inform your superiors, let me know. If they find out, I¡¯ll kill them too. Without a trace. The bartender¡¯s complexion, who had been revitalized by the comfort of Berithlet¡¯s protection suddenly darkened as if he¡¯d read my will at once. . ¡°¡­Did you really know how to speak that long?¡± ¡°I found out for the first time today, too.¡± I waited leisurely for the assassin-butler¡¯s decision. Fortunately, his thoughts didn¡¯t trouble him for long. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take care of this from now on. Instead, I have some conditions.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°This side will move my way. I accept your meddling only as far as I am convinced of its need. Do you agree?¡± It¡¯s rather good. I get rid of the hassle. Instead of answering, I tossed Berithlet¡¯s guild coin at him. ¡°Let¡¯s carry out our first mission to commemorate the formation of the new merchant association.¡± ¡°Mission¡­? Ah, that thing you needed.¡± I answered with a nod. ¡°We need to find Diancecht¡¯s legacy that is currently hidden in Midwinterre.¡± ¡°¡­Diancecht¡¯s legacy, the one passed down in urban legends¡­ do you mean the eyes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± For a moment, the butler-assassin¡¯s eyes changed. If not mistaken, he looked as if he was in a brief agony. I thought he knew something, so I approached him and whispered quietly. ¡°Why?¡± He, who was staring at the floor, soon answered, making eye contact with me. ¡°I think it¡¯s just a coincidence. If my guess is correct, I think my master is also looking for the item.¡± CH 11 Rue is looking for Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy. The assassin-butler¡¯s claims were made on reasonable evidence; ¡°A few days ago, my master asked me if I knew anything about Dian Cecht¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯. Besides, when I was cleaning his room a few days ago, I found a tourist guidebook for Midwinterre lying around ¨C and a bookmark was inside the urban legends section. It mentioned, albeit briefly, Dian Cecht¡¯s eyes.¡± Rue putting bookmarks on a book? That doesn¡¯t sound like him at all. ¡®that suspicious man¡¯s purpose is to find Dian Cecht¡¯s relic.¡¯ It w as a conclusion that made sense. However, there seemed to be the lack of reason for Rue¡¯s job as a gardener and cook at the Weatherwoods. He has such a serious objective, but is still working as an employee? Maybe that is why. Is there a connection between the Weatherwoods residence and the relics of Dian Cecht? Oh, that sounds pretty plausible. I left the assassin-butler to clean up the pub and handed him the thick paper envelope I¡¯d brought with me beforehand. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°This is the fees for the seats taken by the merchant council. I decided to pay back the money to the creditor with lots of interest. Don¡¯t you think the same, my friend?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Is that not correct?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± That¡¯s right. If you¡¯re in debt, you must pay back in double. I came out of the pub with a more comfortable mind. It looks dark under the lamp, but I feel there is a need to look more closely at the Weatherwoods mansion. The next day at noon. The sky is somehow cloudy today. It¡¯s so humid that it feels like it¡¯s going to pour when the sun goes down. As soon as lunch was over, I stepped up to the Weatherwoods room right next to the library on the first floor. A noble family with a deep history usually has a separate room to store the family¡¯s relics, their ancestry, family tree information and treasures. The Weatherwoods also had such a room inside the mansion. If something happens in this room, no employee except the head maid is allowed to enter it to look at the situation. Clink clink. In addition, it is locked, so no matter how many times I turn the door handle, it does not open. ¡®If I force my way in, it¡¯ll look obvious. So I have no choice but to find the location of the key and sneak in at dawn.¡¯ There is nothing I can do about it. I came back to the kitchen and made my own tea. A cup of tea with petals floating around in the gentle spring breeze is the best thing in the noon. ¡°Mr. Rue.¡± When I heard a familiar voice, I popped my head out of the window. The maid was seen approaching Rue, sitting in a garden chair, and instructing him about this and that. Rue, who smiled softly, nodded. ¡°All right.¡± ¡°Then, please.¡± Rue, who turned his eyes away, went back to reading. A cook and a gardener that reads without a care in the world? But Rue is always relaxed. The head maid doesn¡¯t particularly care about his leisure. It¡¯s the time he enjoys after performing his duties properly. His working speed is so fast I sometimes doubt if he secretly has four arms. ¡®As expected, Rue and books don¡¯t go together.¡¯ I stared silently at Rue, who was sitting in the middle of the green garden. His face, as elegant and gloomy as a shadow under the luster, suited being a drug addict more than a bookworm, and alcohol more than newspapers. Or a soldier suffering from severe post-traumatic stress syndrome. Perhaps even a reclusive hunter living in the woods. But Rue was a cook, a gardener and a rich man. The gap between prejudice and reality is very frightening. ¡®A gladiator who sells drugs, head of the black market and the underworld, the guild leader of the dark drug guild¡­¡¯ While listing the jobs that would fit with Rue, I discovered something about him that I hadn¡¯t noticed before. His messy ears. There were many fine holes in both the right and left ears. I couldn¡¯t see it properly, but the cartilage and earhole seemed to be in similar conditions. But he didn¡¯t wear any accessories on them, making them look smooth. The sight of his ears made me even more suspicious of him. This was because all the holes had been made at acupuncture points for smooth magic flow. He even pierced all the spots where ordinary wizards would usually pierce a couple at the most. ¡®How many magic tools are you wearing?¡¯ Magic tools are basically highly-scarce. Among them, magic tools that are large enough to wear on the body are especially valuable, no matter how trivial their functions may be. Of course, money itself wouldn¡¯t be a big deal for him considering he owned a mansion on the busiest street of Midwinterre. The problem was why he would wear so many magic tools. The holes in both ears were well over ten. Even the emperor of this country wouldn¡¯t need that many tools. Today again, I had to think. ¡®What the hell is Rue up to?¡¯ Flap. I heard the sound of turning pages in the wind. Rue¡¯s hands were beautiful when he turned the paper over. They were slender and clean hands, comparable to Daisy¡¯s, who had touched no sword yet. There were no calluses, let alone cuts or small scratches. Although his hands were large enough to cover my face, and his joints protruded in some places, it was natural considering Rue¡¯s unrivaled height. Such a hand does not hold a sword. Considering all this, Rue is most likely a wizard. It must mean he¡¯s made all those magic tools to wear for himself. I suspected it from the moment I heard from the assassin-butler that he¡¯d casted a spell on the Eachus mansion, but it was clear now that he was a very good wizard. ¡°So.¡± Look, even his voice is impressive. ¡°If you stare at someone¡¯s face like you want to rip it off for so long, shouldn¡¯t you at least leave a comment of appreciation?¡± The voice is as if it is deeply embedded with a steel seal heated by fire on a rock covered with mud. Should I pretend I didn¡¯t hear it? Still, since I¡¯ve decided to communicate with him properly, I shouldn¡¯t openly ignore him. I chose the easiest topic to talk about, leaving behind the questions I wanted to ask Rue ¨C which were piling up enough to come out of my throat at any moment. ¡°I planted flowers.¡± About the small, tiny pot that he¡¯d entrusted me with. Rue, who tilted his head, smiled as he narrowed his shaded eyes lightly. ¡°That¡¯s a weird answer. Does that mean flowers come to your mind whenever you look at my face?¡± Then he said with a picturesque smile. ¡°You must¡¯ve planted flowers like me.¡± Flowers like me? What do you mean flowers like you? And how do you know what flowers I planted? What I planted wasn¡¯t a seedling, but some random seeds that I picked up roughly from the market. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend to know something when you don¡¯t.¡± Rue couldn¡¯t possibly know what kind of flowers they if I didn¡¯t know either. ¡°Pretending when I don¡¯t know? Hmm. So, what did you plant?¡± I answered with the most serious expression I could make so the lie wouldn¡¯t be caught. ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± A laugh of absurdity burst out in his voice. ¡°There must be only so few things as pathetic as not knowing what kind of flowers you planted yourself.¡± Tak. When Rue closed the book he was reading so diligently, its name was revealed on its cover. ¡®Seven Mystery Treasures of the content for Children.¡¯ Why is that? Why am I so sure that book has a story about Dian Cecht? I remembered the reason I was inspecting Rue a beat late. Dian Cecht. It¡¯s ironic. Just as I¡¯d stopped paying attention to him and was trying to focus on my work, we were reconnected by the common name known as ¡°Dian Cecht.¡± Is Rue only after Dian Cecht¡¯s eyes? Or the other four relics too? If I just asked Rue if he was looking for Dian Cecht¡¯s relics himself, the suspicion between us might be resolved unexpectedly quickly. If only Rue and I were involved, I would have done it. However, the problem is that the person who handed over this information was the assassin-butler. The butler assassin was a valuable link that provided me information on Rue. If Rue suspected the assassin-butler for even a moment and eventually kicked him out, I would suffer a huge loss. ¡®Above everything, I can¡¯t ignore the possibility that this man intentionally let this piece of information slip to me.¡¯ This man, Rue. A man full of insidiousness, except for his shiny skin. ¡°Did you make some sort of mistake with Ms. Daisy, Mr. Rue?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Staring at my face in a stupor once or twice is understandable, but from now on, I¡¯m going to charge a sight-seeing fee.¡± And the most brazen guy in the world. ¡°Daisy¡­even if she doesn¡¯t look it, she¡¯s an honest person.¡± The maid who appeared from across the garden blocked my view of Rue. ¡°Did you see everything?¡± ¡°¡­yes.¡± ¡°Then go to work now.¡± This woman, the head maid. She¡¯s the most heartless woman in Midwinterre. Just as I was about to raise the body that¡¯d been sitting by the window for some time. Rue, who walked towards me leisurely on his long legs, handed me something. I subconsciously accepted the small wooden sign without thinking. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Name the flowers you planted and put this in the pot.¡± It was a name tag for a flowerpot. It was so ridiculous. ¡°Why?¡± He replied with a kind smile to my counter-question, which was unpleasant, troublesome, and uncomfortable to hear. ¡°Our Daisy is so insincere. Even if you don¡¯t know the breed, you should at least name it. Responsibility starts with something surprisingly small.¡± I stared at the broad shoulders that disappeared into the distance, and looked down at the wooden sign in my hand. It¡¯s not even an animal. Why would I name it? I snorted and threw it roughly into the trash can. Then I slowly turned around and picked up the wooden sign again. ¡°Well.¡± Rue has a bad personality, so he¡¯ll probably pay back in double if I throw this away. It¡¯s not even a difficult task, so it might be better to just listen to him. I pondered about the name of the pot for a long time before putting up the sign after sunset. The sign was empty. Eventually I gave up naming. And that evening, after a long time came a visitor. i was waiting for Rue to be like ¡°you should plant daisies¡± this whole chapter then I remembered Rue is Rue. CH 12 Two people, not one, visited after the first assassin had come. The behavior pattern was also a little different before, but it must have been because they must¡¯ve been asked to deal with a higher-level threat than previously. ¡°Gulp.¡± This was probably a real assassination. The sharp edge of the dagger flew at my neck. I rolled out of bed and trampled over the assassin who¡¯d fallen unconscious at my feet. Whoosh. Another thin dagger flew towards me at that moment. I reached out and grabbed the blade of the first one as I rushed to the second assassin. As the handle dug into the inside of his left eye, a painful breath burst out of the mouth of the skilled assassin. ¡°Agh¡­¡± I tried to be as quiet as possible, but it became a little noisy since there were two opponents. The second assassin, who staggered to his feet, took a sharp breath. ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°Shush¡­¡± I hit him on the head and knocked him out. I expected it, but it bothered me anyway. Did they send two people because they lost contact with the first one? ¡°Should I call this stupid or efficient?¡± From the mouths and sleeves of the two visitors, I took out the suicide pills that now felt friendly to the touch. Does this make a total of six ¡®Bite of Mercy¡¯? It happened to be the same number as the executives of the merchant association. As expected, this mess is piling up. I must inform the assassin-butler of this properly. ¡°¡­these guys.¡± What should I do? My agony was short-lived and I took swift action. I decided to send these two assassins to the assassin-butler. No matter how much I thought about it, that was the best move to make. ¡°But what about the next assassins?¡± I can¡¯t keep sending them to assassin-butler. Once I opened the window and dropped my two-pieces of baggage out of it, I stepped on the ground myself. It was raining outside. Suddenly, I remembered the flowerpot I¡¯d put on the porch¡¯s stairs. Contrary to what I¡¯d initially thought, I was getting a little worried since nothing had sprouted from the pot yet in these few days. I got a little excited at the thought of seeing little leaves grow because of the rain. Now, if we go over two fences¡­ ¡°What the hell are you doing, Ms. Daisy?¡± Oops. As soon as I turned around, I made eye contact with the head maid standing in front of the back door. She crumpled her cigarette butts and threw it in the can before looking at my baggage with her round eyes. ¡°Who are they?¡± This is too obvious. There¡¯s no way out! ¡°They¡¯re assassins, spies.¡± ¡°Did you handle them all by yourself?¡± I couldn¡¯t bear to answer the question. The maid, who had been tapping her chin several times as if confused, sighed. ¡°When are they going to get up¡± ¡°In about¡­3 to 4 hours¡­¡± ¡°I see. Follow me.¡± I followed the maid into the mansion obediently. I¡¯m doomed. ¡®What will happen to me now? Will I get fired?¡¯ I¡¯m finally getting used to working as a maid. Where would I go if I get kicked out of here? But why should I be fired? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Is it a crime to be strong? ¡°Miss Daisy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°To me, Miss Daisy means a lot.¡± I widened my eyes and looked at the head maid. The back of the maid¡¯s head, as we climbed the stairs leading to the second floor, was as calm and neat as when we met during the day. ¡°You¡¯re the first person to hold out at Weatherwood¡¯s mansion for more than a week. But I found out only today why you¡¯re the first one. I want to say thank you.¡± Ah. ¡°As I thought, the head maid wasn¡¯t aware of the threats that the maids here experienced?¡± However, it is somewhat strange to pass it over. Shouldn¡¯t the head maid be the most important target for the client who sent the assassins? Why didn¡¯t the assassin threaten the head maid? The maid stopped walking in front of a bedroom door on the second floor. I am unfamiliar with this door. it is because this is none other than the door of the bedroom of Viscount Weatherwoods. ¡°Will you see your master, Miss Daisy?¡± All of a sudden? The maid smiled a little bitterly when I tilted my head in surprise. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be fine with it. Of course, the choice is up to you. You may see your master, or you may not¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m watching.¡± I looked at the maid with the eyes of the most faithful maid ever. I¡¯ll meet Viscount Weatherwoods. Then I¡¯ll become closer to the Weatherwoods. I¡¯ll be appointed as a maid of the Weatherwoods for life. You can¡¯t fire me when it¡¯s for life! I can beat up spies, and I won¡¯t be cut off. ¡°I¡¯ll see him under any condition.¡± This was an opportunity given to me by heaven. No, the head maid. And I had no intention to shrug off the opportunity of being able to sleep comfortably in a bed without going hungry for three years. ¡°Answer politely.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll definitely see him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll say ¡®Nice to meet you.¡¯ there are some things you should be aware of. There are certain conditions to meeting the master. You must swear to me that you will not divulge information about your master to anyone.¡± Wait, do you mean an oath? Like the oath that makes sure that one carries out their promise or goal? A faint, precipitated gaze stared at me. The Head maid whispered to me in her characteristic quiet and calm voice. ¡°The oath here is a promise to each other¡¯s souls¡­it¡¯s part of magic. It is not recorded in speech or writing, but in both of the people¡¯s souls. Even if it sounds like nothing, should you break it, there will be a big penalty.¡± There is only one penalty for an oath imprinted on the soul. ¡°Death.¡± ¡°Yes, I thought you would know of it. It¡¯s a terrible condition, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Then who will bind the oath?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bind it to you myself.¡± She is right. It is very repugnant. Not the conditions set to meet Viscount Weatherwoods, but the head maid herself. ¡®You know how to bind an oath?¡¯ Magic is a kind of sport. There is a limit to the wall that can be climbed with effort and perseverance, and after reaching a certain level, it becomes a sport that you must compete in with natural talent and wit. However, magic was the rarest one to be possess of all the sports that required talent. In the first place, it was not common to be able to use magic, so even if you were average at it, it was possible to make a living that lasted through generations. The magic-treatment hospital and the magic tools workshops, which each neighborhood has at least one of, were usually life-long workplaces for them. The oath spell itself belongs to a low-level magic with small difficulty. But whether they are low-ranking or not, a wizard is still a wizard. All wizards are given special additional points in the process of hiring civil servants. It meant that even if you are incompetent as a bug, you can live well on the national treasury. ¡®A wizard is working as a mere maid. I wonder if that¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t killed by an assassin? She set a trap.¡¯ A family that is frequently visited by assassins. A family connected to the legacy of Dian Cecht. A family which hires wizards as maidservants. The Weatherwoods¡­certainly a suspicious place. ¡°Give me your arm.¡± I rolled up my sleeve and held out my arm as requested. A total of two lines were drawn on the underside of my forearm. All of them were traces of oaths carved from my days of living as Andert. ¡°¡­are these all from oaths?¡± An oath is imprinted on the soul, not on the body. So even if my body returned from a man¡¯s to a woman¡¯s, the traces of the oath engraved on my existence itself will not disappear. The traces of the oath cannot be erased by any transformation magic, and can only be covered. The easiest magic had the strongest power. ¡°Miss Daisy, what the hell have you been doing all this time?¡± ¡­a soldier? I turned my eyes away, as if not hearing her, and the maid just shook her head. Soon a line of oath appeared on the arm she held out. The two arms touched like one. A spirit-like feeling drifted between us. The maid whispered to me. ¡°I ask you to swear it. ¡®Do not reveal anything secret about the Weatherwoods family.¡¯ that is the condition, do you agree?¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± A long red-line drew in the air. The line, which raged like a flame, soon fell slowly over our arms. The touch to the skin was burning hot. The line, which burned the skin mercilessly, was soon engraved like a tattoo and permeated into the soul. I¡¯ve felt it every time I¡¯ve done this, but it is still an unpleasant situation. ¡°Phew.¡± Shortly after the maid gave a long sigh, the bedroom door opened. The bedroom was dark. Even a handful of moonlight rays hidden behind dark clouds were not allowed to enter the room with the densely covered blackout curtains over the windows. The maid who lit a lamp next to the bed beckoned me. ¡°Come up close and set the table, Miss Daisy.¡± Why is this room so dark and quiet? Why doesn¡¯t this room feel like a room where people live in? Why can¡¯t I feel the presence of someone else besides me and the maid in this room? Why doesn¡¯t Viscount Weatherwood even ask why the maids have come to visit him at such a late hour? Faced with so many questions I had to force myself to swallow, I turned to Viscount Weatherwoods on the bed. ¡°This is the head and master of our Weatherwoods family.¡± Viscount Weatherwoods, I mean¡­ ¡°The owner, Viscount Grey Weatherwoods.¡± It was an egg. CH 13 I am proud in saying that I¡¯ve met quite a variety of human figures throughout my life. In particular, while spending my youth on the battlefield, I experienced various relationships that I otherwise could have never experienced on the Island. But this was the first time that I¡­ ¡®A master made up of an egg¡­¡¯ I scrutinized the appearance of the egg sitting in the middle of the bed, it seemed to reach half of my height. It¡¯s pretty, but¡­ ¡®Is this, by chance, a Weatherwoods family joke?¡¯ While I¡¯m flustered, the real master of the Weatherwoods might appear from some hidden corner of the room. I pretended to be surprised by letting out an exaggerated gesture just in case. ¡°Oh, my god!¡± However, no matter how long I waited, nothing like the real Viscount Weatherwoods appeared. Hmm. Perhaps my reaction was too lame. I looked at the maid for advice, but I couldn¡¯t bear to open my mouth. The maid¡¯s face was very serious. Thanks to this, I was able to snap back into the reality that I¡¯d fled from. A white egg placed neatly on the bed. ¡®This egg is really Viscount Weatherwoods.¡¯ I straightened up and faced the egg. Isn¡¯t this my first time meeting my master as a maid? I have to make a good first impression. I greeted him, gently sweeping down the shell of the eg- I mean, the shell of Viscount Weatherwoods. ¡°Viscount.¡± You¡¯re so smooth. Of course, an answer didn¡¯t come. Only a soft beat like the sound of heartbeat transmitted from the inside of the eggshell. ¡°How do you feel, Ms. Daisy?¡± How is it? ¡°Soft. Warm.¡± The maid, who was looking dumbfounded for a moment, covered her mouth and burst into laughter. It was a little awkward because it was my first time seeing the head maid laugh so loudly. ¡°You are really¡­¡± Hmm. She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at the egg with a somewhat relieved eye. ¡°It was four years ago that I first met the current Viscount Weatherwood. He was really smaller than an egg at the time, but now he¡¯s grown so big so fast that I can barely hold him in one hand.¡± He¡¯s been growing for 4 years? ¡°It looks soft and even if you feel the heartbeat, the shell itself is very hard. You probably can¡¯t even pierce it with most swords.¡± Are you sure he¡¯s alive? The maid whispered quietly as she was looking at my expression. ¡°Don¡¯t doubt it, Ms. Daisy. This egg was left to me by the former master, who asked me to care of it as his successor.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The Viscount Grey Weatherwoods is the sole heir to my former master. My former master was killed in the Magic War. As a hero of mankind, a model citizen of the empire, the pride of his family. He devoted his entire fortune and himself to the cause for as long as 10 years. He was willing to give up four mansions to the medical corps, and he built nurseries throughout the empire to take care of the children who lost their parents and families in the war. I recall he received several medals throughout his life.¡± I slowly pulled my hand away from the egg while the maid smiled softly with her eyes that seemed to reminisce about the past. ¡®In the Magic War.¡¯ Midwinterre is a city far from the southern-front, and it had no significant connection with the war. That¡¯s what war is all about. Although it¡¯s impact may be clear and intelligible on the whole land, even that varies greatly depending on the region. The citizens of Midwinterre probably only realized the war through the forced conscription. The smell of death was faint in the landscape of Midwinterre, which was as clean and solid as a complete piece of a puzzle. There were no signs of collapsed buildings, or incinerators where the dead of the war were being burned. So ever since I settled here, the memories of living on the frontlines became much more distant. ¡®Did I run to the former Viscount Weatherwoods in the battlefield? At least once?¡¯ I heard the surname ¡®Weatherwoods¡¯ the first time when I came to Midwinterre, but it was possible that I might¡¯ve met him by chance during the war. If he was truly dedicated enough to generously share his own family¡¯s wealth, we must have encountered at least once. ¡®There was a reason why the interior of the mansion was so shabby, unlike a noble family.¡¯ Good people always leave early. That is the only truth that never changes. If the former Viscount Weatherwoods had survived, he would have been revered as a hero who made brilliant achievements and raised the prestige of the family. But when you die, you only have medals and honors left. Furthermore, his only successor is not even a person, but an egg¡­ ¡°My master even got married during the war. Wasn¡¯t he such a romantic?¡± The maid¡¯s eyes shifted to the wall opposite the bed. When she approached it with the lamp in her hands, the large portrait that had been hidden away in the darkness emerged. ¡°That is Enert Rosebell. The only daughter and heir of the countess Rosebell. She closed her eyes for eternity soon after my master died in battle, as if to follow him into the afterlife.¡± There were a man and woman standing in the portrait. The blonde man and woman looked relatively normal, except for the fact that they were noticeably young. The high-quality fabric of their attire and their soft expressions exuded the aura that was peculiar to the upper-class. ¡°If the current Earl of Rosebell dies, the title and property of the Rosebell family will all belong to the master.¡± The name Earl Rosebell was familiar even to me. He was an old swordsman who ran about the battlefield with Duke Berkley Grayton. ¡®I guess he¡¯s still alive.¡¯ We didn¡¯t have a very close relationship, but the fact that they survived makes me happy. ¡°In fact, quite a few of them already belong to the Weatherwoods family. The former Countess brought an exorbitant-level dowry. However, due to the pre-marriage contract that had been signed between the two, the Countess¡¯ dowry is tightly bound. No one can access it at the moment; not even the legal successor, Viscount Weatherwoods.¡± For the Weatherwood family, bad news seemed to overlap one after another. ¡°That¡¯s what the assassins are after. News about the Weatherwoods family is very diverse today¡­they¡¯re suffering from creatively malicious rumors. Well, it¡¯s only natural, considering that the new heir to a well-known family hasn¡¯t shown any activity.¡± ¡°The property of the former Viscountess.¡± She¡¯s not the only rich aristocrat in the world. You¡¯ve sent assassins multiple times for an inheritance that is restricted anyway? It¡¯s suspicious. I didn¡¯t tell the maid, but I think the reason for the assassins was not just property. ¡°Is there any secrets that I should know?¡± The maid who was staring up at the portrait looked at me. ¡°Is there any secret I can divulge despite your pledge? It¡¯s Ms. Daisy, not me, who should be careful with her words from now on. It feels good to just candidly reveal it all. How hard it has been to keep my silence all these years.¡± I turned my head and examined the egg sitting on the bed. Why do we know the heir to the former Viscount Weatherwoods? Of all things, why is it an egg? And what¡¯s in this egg? It would be fortunate if after some time passed, the egg broke and a person was born. But if something else were to be born¡­ ¡®No. Common sense doesn¡¯t suggest that.¡¯ Rather, the assumption that the successor was protected inside the shell of the egg was the most plausible. Worried about an emergency, the Weatherwoods couple hung a ¡°protective shield¡± over the baby that would¡¯ve been their heir. If the child can grow up safely inside an unbreakable egg, he will not be threatened by relatives who are blinded by wealth. In short, this egg was the real heir to the Weatherwoods family. ¡°Is the story of the Weatherwoods too much for you?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. I did think you¡¯d be fine, Daisy. You¡¯re¡­a little, uh, weird, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take any offense. Still, Rue is even stranger than you.¡± That¡¯s true. ¡°Daisy seems to be working hard every day, so it¡¯s always nice to see you. I wonder what drives you to live so vigorously, can you tell me?¡± It is an unexpected question that somehow feels philosophical. ¡®Motivation. Is Dian Cecht¡¯s relic the driving force of my life?¡¯ That¡¯s my goal in life, not its driving force. I¡¯m not living because of Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy. Even if I had no hope of healing my soul, I would have lived through the three years I was given. It¡¯s not like you can just decide to die just because you have no goal or driving force, can you? ¡°Do you happen to have something like that?¡± ¡°Nothing particularly comes to mind.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s why I chose you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Usually, people like Daisy don¡¯t betray others. People who are not interested in others or themselves. Come to think of it, it¡¯s sort of funny. You won¡¯t betray me because you¡¯re not interested enough.¡± I thought she was mocking me for living life without thinking. The maid¡¯s standard for the judgement of people seemed firm. As I stared silently, the maid, who smiled a little awkwardly, went back to the bedside and turned off the light. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I think I pointed it out too rudely. I hope you¡¯ll generously forgive me. Somehow, I¡¯m talking a lot to you today. Now, it¡¯s late, we should head back.¡± We left the bedroom and went back to the first floor. The maid was going to smoke again after her previous session was disrupted, so she overtook me and went out through the kitchen backdoor. I also followed her out into the backyard of the mansion. I had some errands to take care of. ¡°Ah, come to think of it, they¡¯re here too.¡± Before she could light the cigarette, I passed by the head maid and plopped my baggage on my shoulder. One of the assassins tossed and turned and tried to wake up, so I didn¡¯t forget to give him another blow. As I jumped up on the fence, the maid urgently asked a question. ¡°What are you going to do with them?¡± I¡¯m going to leave them with the assassin-butler for the time being, but I should discuss their punishment in detail with him at a later time. Considering the specificity of the Eachus mansion, that is, the house in front, it would be best to keep them there for the time being. The explanation seemed to become longer and longer, so I just answered briefly. ¡°Store.¡± Leaving the pale-faced maid behind, I headed to the Eachus Mansion. Fortunately, the assassin-butler seemed to readily welcome the existence of the two burdens on my back. Apparently, he was just getting short-handed or something. A few days after that, I punched Baron Fedegail, a friend of my former owner, and was accused of assault and intimidation. I was thinking of doing a mass update for this but can¡¯t really find the time¡­maybe some other time CH 14 I blinked quietly. The investigator seemed somewhat dissatisfied. It seemed that suspicions deepened in the gaze that was looking at me. ¡°What did you do before coming to this city?¡± I think I answered that question very well. Though I had no intention of cooperating with the investigation, considering the head maid¡¯s situation, I did it sincerely. The head maid must not be troubled. She¡¯s my boss, my cash cow. . ¡°So, to put it simply,¡± The finger of the investigator tapping the table gradually accelerated. ¡°Miss Daisy Fager is from Blue Ben, a port in the south of the Empire, you have a younger brother in your family, and you came up to Midwinterre to get a job?¡± I nodded. This is the fake identity I made up in order to work as a maid. ¡°The distance between Midwintree and the south coast is not small, so why did you choose this city?¡± ¡°Just because.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t have any reason?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡± As if contemplating something, the inspector folded his arms and closed his eyes. Originally, I¡¯d expected that I would go through this process after I was accused of assault. However, the investigation seems to be more focused on me rather than the assault itself. Come to think of it, the inspector said something as soon as he came in. ¡°I¡¯ll be straightforward, we found a singularity in your identity. It may be annoying, but we will have to get to this point.¡± A singularity in status? ¡®They must know I¡¯m a Queen Island survivor.¡¯ But something was wrong. If they already knew my identity, there was no reason to conduct the investigation this way. They could simply warn me, ¡®Miss Bertie, why are you using a fake identity?¡± ¡°Sigh, Miss Fager? You seem young and innocent, so I¡¯m going to say this as an older member of society.¡± This guy is trying to bait me. ¡°It would be better for you to be honest in this investigation without any lies. I¡¯m not trying to persuade you with some lip-service, but if that¡¯s what Miss Fager wants¡­¡± As if he wants to get confirmation from my own mouth, that means¡­ ¡®It means that the information about my identity is uncertain.¡¯ This person is not simply investigating the assault of Baron Fedegail.. Someone anonymous is digging into my identity through an investigator. Going through the lengths of extorting some military intelligence. ¡°So, just identify yourself.¡± Who could it be? There¡¯s no way to know. Then there¡¯s nothing we can do. Let¡¯s kill him. ¡®No, that¡¯s not it. You can¡¯t kill him, he¡¯s a civilian, not an assassin.¡¯ Let¡¯s threaten him. This option seemed much better. Threaten him to open his mouth, or shut it down altogether to make things easier. That way, the head maid won¡¯t be troubled either. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. You¡¯re still young, and you have a lot of possibilities ahead. But there are times when we¡¯re young that we can get caught up in useless things. If you try to hide anything further, things will get bigger. You may be treated unfairly.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I changed my mind a little. The investigator in front of me seemed sincerely concerned about me. I felt sorry for thinking to treat him like an associate of the merchant¡¯s association. ¡°Who?¡± Maybe I should hit him less and just threaten him. Whatever the method, there was an issue at hand that needed to be sorted. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s spying on me?¡± For a moment, it seemed that the investigator froze in his spot. I¡¯d hit the nail on the head, and he was left speechless. Thud. The door, which had been firmly closed, opened coolly. Beyond the door that swung open roughly enough to hit the wall, a tall presence stood tall. As if another wall had been made. The grandstander was a very tall, moderately slim, but somehow threatening man. The next thing I recognised after his outstanding height was a stiff, wobbly straw hat. Wait, a straw hat? In a big city interrogation centre like this? As soon as I was puzzled, my eyes met with the gloomy eyes that shimmered in gold. Subconsciously, the other person¡¯s name came to my lips. ¡°Rue?¡± As if he knew it now, his flowing, soft eyebrows rose up and then down. ¡°Daisy Fager.¡± Rue, who casually called out my name, stuck his chin out to me. ¡°Come out.¡± Holding a brown bag full of vegetables and dairy products in one hand. Before I could ask how he¡¯d come here, he began to walk away. ¡°Should I follow you?¡± My confusion was short-lived. I quickly got up before the investigator could stop me and pursued Rue. The investigator, who was sitting in a daze, finally came to his senses and followed us. ¡°Hey, wait! Who are you? This is not a place that outsiders can enter recklessly. Get out now!¡± His back, dressed in a neat shirt and a dark-gray vest, shook slowly in front of my eyes. Wearing a straw-hat on top of a classy suit. The noticeable imbalance seemed to further support Rue¡¯s brilliance. ¡°Senior!¡± A young man who suddenly popped out of nowhere stopped the investigator who was on our steps urgently. ¡°Whoa, whoa. Calm down for now. You don¡¯t have to be angry. The work of investigating is done now. It¡¯s no longer within our hands.¡± ¡°What? What does that mean?¡± ¡°If I could have your ears for a moment¡­¡± Their whispers were clearly audible to my ears. ¡°Baron Fedegail has dropped the charges.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A letter of withdrawal of complaint has just arrived through his secretary. Isn¡¯t it sort of funny? People are so impatient these days, if we don¡¯t catch the person instantly, they make a fuss¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Daisy Fager¡¯s identity check is separate from the incident ¨C it was ordered from higher authorities.¡± The scuffle between the two men only grew longer. I walked out of the police station pretending I didn¡¯t hear them . The warm spring sunset poured down, blessing the freedom I¡¯d gained after half-a-day. ¡®The higher authorities are watching me.¡¯ Power to keep the police at bay and extract military intelligence secretly. Few people own both. ¡®The boss must be an aristocrat.¡¯ The aristocrat I do not know is interested in me, and the police investigator wasn¡¯t sure of my identity. This meant that I wasn¡¯t investigated because I was a Queen Island survivor, rather, the fact that I was one was only information gained while I was already being investigated. The other party is someone who got to know me after I got a job at the Weatherwoods. When all of this information is put together, there can only be one person I can deduce to be the ¡®higher authority¡¯ that the investigator mentioned. ¡°The client.¡± The guy who keeps sending assassins to the Weatherwoods. He¡¯s trying to kill me now. As expected, the most plausible one is him. Rue was suspicious at first, but if it were Rue, he would torture me directly and hear the truth. That would be the easier way. But if the client is an aristocrat, then the suspects can be narrowed down. Flowy. I, who was lost in thought, raised my head suddenly to the turret heard right in front of my nose. There was a dirty wagon parked in front of the police station. It was a cart used to move fertiliser from farms. ¡°Get in.¡± Rue, who got on the wagon and sat on the straw, directed me with his head. Surprisingly, the assassin-butler was the one who was driving the wagon. It was funny to see him gently lower his hat in politeness and pretend to be only acquainted with me. Are you a horseman now? He really does play in all sorts of directions. A passing little child suddenly exclaimed. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s a country wagon! Dirty!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go near it. You¡¯lll get sick.¡± I jumped up on the wagon before the attention of the people around me increased. As I leaned my back at an angle, Rue held out the paper bag he was holding in his arms. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just kill him? Then you wouldn¡¯t have bothered me with my work.¡± Such deadly irritation. I buried my head quietly in the paper bag to admit my mistake. Quality potatoes and carrots came into view with a fresh smell of soil. I didn¡¯t see these this morning. Did he go out of town to get these crops? As I gently raised my head, I saw Rue¡¯s face with his eyes closed. ¡°What about the head maid?¡± ¡°Our precious boss let us leave work early. I heard she had a place to stop by, she¡¯s busy too.¡± I was convinced as I stared at Rue¡¯s angelically beautiful face. You used your hands. Baron Fedegaill would not have dropped the charges without him, nor would Rue have brought me back in time in person otherwise. But what did he do? ¡°If you continue looking at me like that, you¡¯ll burn a hole in my face.¡± I asked cautiously, ignoring his blunt nonsense. ¡°The baron, did you kill him?¡± The eyelids opened and the golden eyes were revealed. I looked into his eyes and whispered, ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that anywhere, Miss Daisy. It¡¯s a perfect way to be misunderstood.¡± Rue smiled with his back to the carriage. ¡°At times like this, when you¡¯re helped, you could say things like, ¡®I will not forget what happened today until I die,¡¯ or say, ¡®I will be your slave as a token of thanks,¡¯ or ¡®Let me lick your feet, my lord.¡¯¡± Do you really think I¡¯d say that? CH 15 This wretched fellow sometimes acts like a teacher in front of me. It¡¯s unlike when the maid teaches me something ¨C mostly because it seems he only does it to tease me. ¡°You learned how to say hello, didn¡¯t you? How about doing it again?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Even a dog can repay kindness, but it doesn¡¯t seem that Miss Daisy has the capacity of even a dog.¡± I clenched my teeth and glared at him, answering. ¡°Thank you.¡± Whatever, it was true that Rue helped me. Lou¡¯s smile deepened after receiving my greeting. ¡°¡®Thank you¡¯ ?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re grateful, you¡¯ll have to pay for it.¡± Pay for it? I glanced at him with a wary eye. ¡°Don¡¯t do such ignorant things when you¡¯re not capable of cleaning up properly from now on, don¡¯t pretend there¡¯s no tomorrow, always use your head before your body, and let me know first if you have to dispose of the body. Easy, right?¡± Does Rue want to be a teacher on top of being a gardener and a cook? ¡°What¡¯s your answer?¡± Why should I do that? As soon as I tried to answer, the deep smell of soil in the envelope penetrated the tip of my nose. In my head, I envisioned Rue coming and going out of town in just half a day. His back as he will return to the residence and start cooking with the fresh ingredients. Then my plans to talk back to him died down. ¡®As expected, Rue is strange.¡¯ He¡¯s passionate about the strangest things. I can¡¯t believe he went all the way out of town to get fresh ingredients. When I whispered quietly that I understood, Rue closed his eyes again with a satisfied face. ¡°By the way, are you an aristocrat?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Is Mr. Rue an aristocrat?¡± ¡°I wonder why you¡¯d think so.¡± With his eyes closed, he composed his words in a slow voice as if he were talking in his sleep. ¡°Although of course, I am elegant, dignified, rich, caring, handsome, fit, friendly, intelligent, and self-conscious. There¡¯s no reason for me to not look like an aristocrat.¡± You really are very self-conscious. ¡°I guess half of that is right. Plus you helped me and that maid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°..What? What did you say just now?¡± ¡°No, I mean speaking for a long time. Please continue to talk like that. Don¡¯t cut off in the middle of sentences like an idiot.¡± It was amazing. ¡®An idiot¡­¡¯ Yeah, well, it can¡¯t be helped if I look like that. But I guess it¡¯s since you don¡¯t know how terrible I feel about talking long because of you? Of course you don¡¯t know because I¡¯ve never said it. I don¡¯t want to tell you in the future either! ¡°Rejected.¡± ¡°You¡¯re like a frog.¡± Rue snorted as he shook his head coldly. ¡°Do you want to know how I got you two out?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re curious, bloom the flowers. It¡¯s easy enough. It¡¯s a cheap offer, isn¡¯t it?¡± What do you mean, ¡®easy¡¯ ? ¡°It¡¯s taking too long! It hasn¡¯t sprouted yet.¡± ¡°Did you think it¡¯ll sprout if you just stuck the seeds in the soil and never look at them again?¡± ¡°If they needed so much attention, how can weeds by the side of the road grow so fast?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you experiment with it yourself without asking me? You never know, maybe if you name the plant while passing by, leaves might sprout.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of weedling.¡± ¡°On the subject of not being able to give the plant a name, seriously, weedling? You can¡¯t name a plant that, alright, Miss Daisy?¡± Rue, who opened his eyes again, looked at me gently. ¡°If you fill up the wooden sign.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer that question. What was it, am I an aristocrat? It¡¯s not a difficult question to answer.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like even that, remove all the signs and pots. What¡¯s the point if you¡¯re being forced to raise it? There¡¯s nothing stupid than getting stressed out about just a few flowers. Right?¡± Rue seemed to be under some great illusion. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll just give up in a fit of anger if you say something like that?¡± As soon as I arrived at Weatherwoods mansion, I stormed off without looking back. After putting the ingredients in the kitchen, I grabbed a pen and went straight back to the front door. And I crouched down on the stairs with my flowerpot in my hand. Looking at the empty sign made my head feel empty. ¡®Don¡¯t be bothered. It¡¯s not a big deal to name it. You decided on the name Daisy in 10 seconds. You can do this the same way.¡¯ A name that would sound like a flowerpot¡¯s name to anyone. There is no such thing¡­. ¡®Then let¡¯s name it whatever.¡¯ But how can I make up a name so randomly? It¡¯s not like that. Names are not random. They have meanings, and they¡¯re a symbol of affection. In addition, from the moment the affection starts, responsibility becomes inevitable. What¡¯s more is that the owner of the name is a plant I would grow and care for myself. ¡®Can I be fully responsible for it if I live for only three years?¡¯ This plant dies if I don¡¯t take care of it. If I¡¯m lucky, another maid will continue to raise it, but even if it¡¯s just some grass, I can¡¯t leave behind a life that was raised by me. ¡°Sigh.¡± Naming, what an annoying price. After hesitating a dozen times in a sitting position, I finally filled the sign. ¡°Ru.¡± ¡®I¡¯m sure this name would be less burdensome.¡¯ When the name was decided at last, the moon had already set high in the sky. When I stood up blankly and went back to the kitchen, there was a delicious smell that stimulated my nose. As he was almost finished cooking, Rue, standing in front of the fire, was stirring the ladle in the stew with one hand on his waist. Perhaps because of his tall height, he kept his head deeply bent. Then came the hunger that I had forgotten. After putting the flowerpot on the kitchen table, I said to the back of his head. ¡°Say hi to my flowerpot.¡± Rue, who glanced at the flowerpot, smiled as if it were ridiculous and turned his eyes back to the stew. But I didn¡¯t shut up. ¡°Do you like it?¡± He replied, stroking the pot with a squeak. ¡°Name? Not bad. Ru must mean a lot to its master. You mustn¡¯t have listened to me properly. There¡¯s no news of a sprout yet, I don¡¯t like it. I just have to wait for you with a broad mind.¡± Sure, sure. I smiled pleasantly and looked at the back of the human Rue¡¯s head. And I realised something new. It wasn¡¯t hard to talk long when I was bothering human Rue. Rather, I wanted to bother him harder, so my tongue was itching to talk. Rue, who took off his apron after turning the ladle, looked at me and asked. ¡°Well, do you like hugging and kissing Rue?¡± What? ¡°When did I say such a thing?¡± Rue replied with a beautiful smile that made the viewer confused. ¡°You just licked your lips a little while ago after saying Ru.¡± ¡°This crazy¡­¡± I can¡¯t. Don¡¯t fall for his play with language. He was provoking me. I could tell from the faint smile on his face. His eyes were full of mischief and hoping that I would run wild. I folded my arms and smiled at ease to prove that I was not hit by his remark. At the same time, a pair of green eyes suddenly appeared. The maid was passing through the kitchen. She alternated between me and Rue with her narrowed open eyes. ¡°¡­In-house relationships are prohibited, Miss Daisy, Mr. Rue.¡± Goose-bumps rose on my back. ¡°Misunderstanding!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if it¡¯s a misunderstanding or not. Be careful in the future, Miss Daisy. If you get caught, you¡¯ll get a pay cut.¡± The maid grimly warned and disappeared into the darkness again. After the shrill sound of shoes went away, Rue, who had taken off his apron ignoring everything, whispered as he passed by me. His cool scent blew through the space filled with the smell of stew. ¡°I know how much you love Rue. You¡¯d better be careful though, Miss Daisy, as the person involved seems to be troubled. Just pet him for now. Otherwise it¡¯ll be a travesty.¡± Is this crazy man talking about himself? He¡¯s definitely talking about himself! ¡°How do you know what Ru thinks?¡± ¡°First of all, I¡¯m ¡®Ru¡¯ too. The two of us ¡®Ru¡¯s can communicate with each other.¡± A long finger snapped and touched the sign that said ¡®Ru.¡¯ ¡°But you didn¡¯t ignore my proposal this time. Good job. Do I have to keep throwing bait like this? Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re like a frog, but you¡¯re quite choosy.¡± ¡°Just keep your word.¡± Rue, who tilted his head with a face as if asking what the promise was, gave a belated exclamation. ¡°¡­Ah, you asked me if I was an aristocrat, didn¡¯t you? I don¡¯t have a title or anything, and I don¡¯t have any relatives who have a title. Of course, I have a lot of money. Even if someone has a lot of money, they¡¯re not all aristocrats..¡± You¡¯re not an aristocrat? ¡°Then how did you stop Baron Fedegail?¡¯ Even if he¡¯s a down-right greedy bastard, he¡¯s still an aristocrat. The pride of an aristocrat is generally sky-high. How pride-shattering must it be for such a man to be harmed by a maid? One or two words could never conciliate him. ¡®As expected, did he threaten him? Or shut his mouth with money?¡¯ Rue¡¯s advice came from the kitchen passageway. ¡°Boil it for another five minutes and then eat. If it¡¯s not seasoned enough, you can add more salt.¡± Five minutes. Salt. The chef¡¯s precautions should not be leaked through one ear to the other. I stopped my reflection and stood in front of the fire, looking at the simmering stew. ¡°It looks delicious.¡± Fresh stew made with fresh ingredients. The tiredness of the day felt washed away in an instant. CH 16 Whoosh. There was a ghastly sandstorm. I stood alone in the middle of an endless wasteland. [Help me¡­] I dazedly looked around. The scenery that was empty in all directions was more familiar than unfamiliar. ¡­Oh, this is the Southern Archipelago of the Empire. It¡¯s Queen Island. My hometown that had fallen. There was a hellish mountain created from pile of the bodies of my dead comrades. That¡¯s right. The land I currently stand on is a hill of corpses. Squeeze! As soon as I recognized it, a thin hand protruded from the floor and grabbed my ankle. [G, Help me, Andert¡­] The face that revealed itself from beneath the sand was one of melted flesh between the skull, it could not be called that of a living person. [Andert¡­] It was a voice I¡¯d heard before, but I couldn¡¯t think of a name or face. A familiar voice, an unfamiliar face. I have many people whose presences were like that to me. On the battlefield, we didn¡¯t ask each other¡¯s names. Remembering names meant there were more people to mourn. [It hurts. Help me. Help me-] [Sir Andert, Why didn¡¯t you help me? Why did you let me die!] These were soldiers who died in the war. Maybe that was why I couldn¡¯t bear to shake off this person. Soon after, the second arm reached out. And then the 3rd one, and the 4th one.. The tenth arm came out of the ground and snatched me down by my limbs. Having no more strength to resist, I fell down into the wasteland and bony hands stammered close to my face. [No, that¡¯s not it.] [You¡¯re not Andert!] Screaming hands roughly pushed my body away. They pointed at me with their fingers and pointed. [Who are you?] I answered, saying Andert, but the dead did not hear my voice. [Don¡¯t lie and use another¡¯s name.] [Take off Andert¡¯s skin.] [Who are you?] I am Andert. I¡¯m the real Andert Fager. I carried a sword and gun with you under this name! I went through hell for 10 years with this name! [Tell us your real name.] [How dare you use Andert¡¯s name?!] [You¡¯re not Andert!. Who the hell are you?] I, I am not Andert Fager.. Andert was my brother. So, who am I? I rose to my feet, my shoulders shivering and trembling like they were on fire. When I gasped for air, what filled my lungs was not the dryness of the wasteland, but fresh air that seemed to contain peace in it. Before I could figure out where I was, the voice that remained in my head confused me. [Who are you?] I wish to know, too. ¡°¡­who am I?¡± ¡°Who you are?¡± Oh. When I turned my head reflexively, I saw the head maid standing next to my bed. The maid, who looked at me with cold eyes, continued to speak in a chilling voice. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to answer that. You¡¯re a brave maid who slept in, Miss Daisy. You seem to be still wandering in your dreams because you overslept. Hurry to wake up before I have to pour cold water on your head to ensure that you do.¡± Oh, I overslept. ¡°It was a dream.¡± Even if it was, why did I have such a bad dream? It¡¯s not fair to say that I overslept, is it? A contract clause stating that my salary would be reducted if I was late to work twice came to mind. I became even more depressed when the effects of the nightmare were already making me gloomy. Besides, my throat hurts so much. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve truly been through the desert. Instead of changing into the maid uniform, I sat crouching. ¡°I¡¯m very thirsty.¡± The maid, who shook her head with an expression of bewilderment, turned toward the door. ¡°Sigh. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m raising a child or educating a maid. I¡¯ll bring it to you, so just change your clothes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tak. As soon as the maid left the room, I made my way to the window. A small note I noticed on my way out of bed was neatly stuck between the window frames. The contents of the note were as follows. [Pub. Time: whenever you¡¯re free.] There was nothing more, but the letter must¡¯ve been from the assassin butler. It meant to stop by the pub anytime because he had something to say. ¡°Did you already find Diancecht¡¯s relic?¡± I put the note in my personal drawer, got ready for work, and went down to the first floor. When I stepped foot outside of wide-open front door, I saw the maid, who¡¯d said she¡¯d bring me water, standing stiffly at the main gate. She was looking through a letter with very serious eyes. ¡°Is it a threat?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask about the contents of the letter because she looked so fierce. The maid, who turned to me rigidly, hurriedly shoved the letter in her pocket and answered, ¡°Oh, Miss Daisy. No, it¡¯s just something I was a little concerned about¡­ let¡¯s go in now. Did you drink water?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to.¡± I started my morning routine after drinking the water the maid watered the plants with. Sometimes I think that the maid really takes me for a working cow. After mopping the second floor¡¯s hallway, I came out to the garden before lunch and checked the flowerpot ¡®Ru¡¯ that was placed neatly on the stairs. ¡°¡­it seems fine.¡± Yesterday morning, it sprouted for the first time. The cotyledon of the seed I planted belonged to a dicotyledon. The leaves were small but plump, and a total of 22 seeds germinated. The irregularly huddled appearance was no small matter. ¡°So cute.¡± So grass can be cute, too. Ru, you have 22 bodies. I¡¯m glad I named it ¡®Ru¡¯, even if it has 20 different bodies. No matter what anyone says, you¡¯re Ru. ¡°Cut it.¡± From above my head, there came a dry tone that broke the sentimental scene. ¡°Or you can transplant it somewhere else ¨C but it¡¯s too much to just replant. There¡¯s no room in the garden. We¡¯d better just thin it out.¡± When I looked up, delicate features like that of a doll were staring at me. The noon sun glimmered behind the blue hair that reminded me of a pouring waterfall. But I couldn¡¯t focus on the sun. this guy¡¯s face flashes more. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Pull out the ones with thin leaves and weak stems.¡± ¡°but why?¡± ¡°it is hard for nutrition to be distributed properly in such a small flowerpot, so the plant won¡¯t grow properly. It¡¯s correct to keep the ones that are more likely to survive.¡± How dare you apply such barbaric logic to my plant! I looked at the flowerpot with mixed feelings. It is barbaric, but it is not wrong. Even if you huddle together in this small pot, it will only turn into a tragedy if you kill each other. ¡®Life is bitter. Even grass is competing with each other to survive.¡¯ However, I don¡¯t feel comfortable thinning out the leaves that I grew with my own hands. Looking around the garden, Rue warned in a callous tone. ¡°Like I said, there is no space in the garden.¡± ¡°What do you mean? There are so many empty spots. There is so much grass next to the fountain, and grass again in front of the flower bed.¡± There, there, there. Forgetting that my lips were parched, I pointed at the places in the garden and Rue clutched my fingers, replying with a friendly yet pitying expression, as if he were teaching a fool. ¡°The empty space is for aesthetics. The beauty is maximised by leaving it empty. The flowers planted in the garden are not refugees. There¡¯s no reason to blindly plant anything into the empty space.¡± So you don¡¯t want to die. ¡°You can¡¯t forcibly dig into the ground.¡± The Weatherwoods mansion basically shares all the household chores with all its employees (except for cooking). So when Rue was busy I would water the garden, and when I was busy Rue would clean the fireplace. However, the beauty of the garden was definitely in Rue¡¯s jurisdiction. This means that I needed his permission to transplant more than 10 pairs of dicotyledonous plants, which might harm the beauty of the garden. ¡°Let¡­¡± No, I can¡¯t bear to say it while looking at the face of my nemesis Rue. ¡°You..¡± I turned my head and closed my eyes tightly. ¡°Let me plant it.¡± The words were barely able to leave my mouth, but there was no response. When I opened my eyes and looked at him, he asked back with a face that looked like he didn¡¯t want to let me plant them at all, ¡°Do you want me to cut it for you?¡± He looked as if he were asking, ¡®Am I your slave?¡¯ ¡°Well, I¡­¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Please.¡± His amused face tilted at an angle. Rue jabbed at the pot full of cotyledon. ¡°What flower do you think it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be pretty.¡± ¡°With what confidence?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s name is Rue.¡± Rue¡¯s eyes narrowed. Perhaps due to the thinness of his eyelids and the sharpness of the eyelashes, even when he opens his eyes, he appears like someone in a portrait. ¡°Do you even know how to do flattery?¡± His voice sounded more like a laugh than a sentence. Rue, who was staring at me, raised his head and looked around, walking to the back of the fountain. He soon touched the grass under its fence. ¡°In a row, here. If it¡¯s messy, I¡¯ll cover it up with dirt. I¡¯ll be checking it later, so move steadily.¡± Oh, just like this? Before he could change his words, I moved to pick up my flower pot. When I turned my back to bring the shovel, he stood in my way and raised his chin, giving something that was somewhat like an order yet not an order. ¡°Thank you?¡± ¡°¡­Thank you, Mr. Rue.¡± After enjoying looking at my face as I chewed on my words, he stirred his long legs and disappeared. What a fastidious guy. I picked up a shovel and began digging up the hard grass. ..but if I transplant them in the garden, are these still Ru? Ru is the name of the flowerpot, and these cotypes have come out of the pot and will be newly established in the garden. ¡°Would it be okay to give them a new name? Like singular units?¡± How much time passed like that while I was transplanting each one of the plants? Children¡¯s quarrels could be heard over the fence. ¡°I¡¯ll be Raphael.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m Commander-in-Chief Raphael!¡± ¡°Hey, you idiot. You have brown hair. So just become Commander Andert, or do you prefer Natasha?.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t like Andert. Then I¡¯d have to die from the Great Wizard Mephisto. I¡¯m Raphael!¡± CH 17 Are you playing war? Children are naturally fond of war. I was not surprised because I encountered it several times during the expedition. ¡°What? I don¡¯t like Andert. Then I¡¯d have to die from the Great Wizard Mephisto. I¡¯m Raphael!¡± However, my arms stopped in the air while planting. ¡®I did die once, though it¡¯s strange to hear that with my own ears.¡¯ Yes, Andert is dead. But somehow I¡¯m alive. I¡¯m no longer Andert. But inside me, Andert still lives. The gap between the two sometimes came to me as creepy and strange. Not occasionally, but often. Even though the children disappeared, the neighbourhood remained noisy throughout the planting. ¡®Is there a festival going on?¡¯ The smell of savory bread came from the backyard. After I finished my work and moved to the wide-open kitchen window, I was handed tea by the head maid. ¡°It¡¯s noisy outside.¡± The maid, with her arms resting on the window-frame, looked at me with astonished eyes. ¡°Miss Daisy is really very indifferent to the world. Today is Peace Day.¡± ¡°Peace Day?¡± What¡¯s that? ¡°A day to celebrate the victory in the Magic War. Today marks the 4th anniversary. It¡¯s common knowledge here, so please keep it in mind.¡± The day of the end of the war Today was the day. ¡®That¡¯s why I had that gruesome nightmare in the morning.¡¯ Sipping my tea while leaning against the window¡¯s wall, I noticed a daily newspaper lying on the kitchen table. The headline on the front page of the newspaper was emblazoned with large letters. ¡ºPeace Day 4th Anniversary Celebration, Grand Duke Raphael was absent this year. This year, Grand Duke Raphael Zenail Perotta will be absent from the Fourth Anniversary of Peace Day. This is due to the delay in the Grand Duke¡¯s overseas schedule, which is jam packed¡­¡» Grand Duke Raphael. Entering the kitchen, I pulled a chair to sit in and opened the newspaper. It was a very impulsive action, and I regretted the impulsiveness when I saw the face of my old friend embedded in one side of the paper, in front of me. ¡°It¡¯s the same.¡± From head to toe. The image of him four years ago stuck like a nail in my memory, it¡¯s the same. ¡®Four years isn¡¯t such a long time.¡¯ Raphael. The name was bitter in my mouth. In truth, I have deliberately avoided the news regarding my old colleagues ever since I woke up in Queen Island. It was to avoid a situation in which I would fall into complex and negative feelings irrespective of one-dimensional concepts such as like and dislike. ¡®They do say clothes are like wings. You look like an aristocrat to the bone in such a nice suit.¡¯ In the newspaper, Raphael looked not much different than when we first met 14 years ago. This is one of the changes that people go through when they reach an outstanding level while doing magic. The rate of aging is slowed down rapidly. Blonde hair as bright as the sun. Dark red eyes that shimmer crimson whenever light falls on them. The straight eyebrows that have always been stiff, the eyes that laughter never reaches, the nose that is moderately big and high. In the middle of his cheekbones, dimble as deeply embedded as a well sometimes appear. Is it because of those dimples? During the rare times he burst into laughter, he gave off the soft and innocent aura of a young boy. Or was it the soft cheekbones? Really, his smile was the opposite of his serious, old-man like tone. ¡°I can¡¯t turn my back to anyone but you, Andert. You¡¯re the only one I can trust. It may sound funny, but often I find myself thinking that If I had a lost brother, it would be you.¡± On the nights we were covered with the blood of the demons we slaughtered, Raphael was soaked in such embarrassing feelings. Brother, best-friend, partner, family, better half. There were many loving names that he used to call me, but sometimes I found Raphael¡¯s affection to be too much. I thought that if I took off the mask of Andert, his affection would come off as well. ¡°Stop it right now, Andert. You can¡¯t die! I won¡¯t let you die this way!¡± That scream-like cry was our last exchange. I remember not being able to turn my back to him because I was afraid my heart would break. ¡®It¡¯s a terrible memory, no matter how much I think about it.¡¯ Looking back on the past, I did miss Raphael a little bit. In addition, I was curious. How did the war end after I died? Don¡¯t you resent me after leaving you without saying anything? If you resent a lot, do you have any intention to forgive? Do those days come back to haunt you as nightmares like they do to me? Is it enough to embarrassingly break out in cold sweat even after facing it through paper like this? Do you feel shortness of breath and illusions of having a suffocated and heavy heart¡­ Like this? I took a deep breath. A bowl of steaming stew landed itself on the newspaper. A shadow that rose long on the table from behind my back and disappeared as if just passing by, spoke, ¡°Only meals are allowed during mealtimes.¡± Has there ever been a time when Rue¡¯s voice sounded so pleasant? ¡®..It has meat in it.¡¯ I raised the spoon with that thought blankly. Before I knew it, the maid was sitting at the head of the table, and Rue was sitting across from me, dipping his bread into the stew and eating it. ¡°Ugh.¡± It¡¯s terribly hot. I looked at the maid, soothing the roof of my mouth burnt by the hot stew. ¡°What do you do on Peace Day?¡± ¡°Peace Day is a public holiday. At home, people eat bread to celebrate Peace Day, at temples, a public blessing prayer is held, and at the square, a flea market is held. All income generated goes to the Magic War Refugee shelter. Market merchants also donate some of their profits.¡± It¡¯s a good holiday. I should take this opportunity to go to the pub. After eating and washing the dishes, I ran to the head-maid who was smoking and held out my hand, ¡°Errand.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Let me do it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just looking to skip and go play. Although, we did just ran out of sewing thread.¡± Good. With this, I can sneak into the pub pretending to visit the market. The market was a little quieter than usual. Perhaps because it was a public holiday, the old potato seller was nowhere to be seen. I needed to check if the merchants got paid back for the seats they¡¯d paid for so far. I passed time for a while looking at this and that at the general store. ¡°One Please.¡± The merchant of the grocery store, who took out the goods as if he had been waiting, said while receiving the money. ¡°Is that all for the day? If you have time, stop by another store in advance, miss. All the stores in our market are having big discounts this week. They¡¯re selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat, all for cheap. It¡¯s better to buy it now.¡± ¡°Peace Day discount?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, it might as well be because of Peace Day. Actually, the guys that had been bothering us for years suddenly repented.¡± The owner of the western-style shop of the building in front of me, who was chatting with the general store, put in a few words. ¡°Yes. They paid back four years worth of seat rent at the market all at once.¡± ¡°There are more than one or two people who have closed their business because of them. I heard that a righteous man made a fuss at ¡®Pub: Peace Land¡¯ a few days ago. He must have scolded them harshly. Who could it be?¡± It¡¯s me. ¡°He¡¯s a hero who eradicates the cancer of society, of course! For people like us, a real hero is a righteous man. Who do you think it might be? Do you think he might be from our neighbourhood?¡± Me. ¡°I wish I could see his face just once. Everyone will come together to treat them to a meal.¡± ¡°I will tailor him a nice custom-made suit.¡± ¡°I heard that the brother at the photo studio takes pictures, too. Why don¡¯t we just save money and put him in a newspaper advertisement? Huh?¡± I left the general store pretending not to hear them, at this rate I might end up in a newspaper. I walked towards the pub and dropped a few words. ¡°I lost something in the pub. I forgot it here by accident.¡± All right, that was natural. ¡®But Don¡¯t pubs open in the evening?¡¯ As I was trying to retreat back, I checked the sign on the door and stopped. ¡®Lunch available.¡¯ What kind of pub sells lunch? Is this the assassin-butler¡¯s work? ¡®It¡¯s effective, though. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for a maid to come in and go out if it was open during the day. More information would come in, too.¡¯ rattle. The inside of the pub was so quiet that the colorless sign faded from my mind. It will be difficult to attract customers in just a day since it is the main camp of those who used violence to to collect seat taxes. ¡°Lost item.¡± I leaned against the bar and held out my hand. The bartender, who was cleaning the glasses, took out a chocolate from the cabinet and held it out to me along with a note from the pocket of his pants. ¡°Here¡¯s the note from butler-captain, miss maid-captain.¡± The whisper sounded quite serious. The butler assassin must have educated you thoroughly. As expected, it¡¯s best for experienced people to come forward in this kind of work. At that time, the former executives who were sweeping the floor gathered and naturally approached behind me and whispered. ¡°You¡¯ll be surprised. I¡¯ve got kids all over the place, and I¡¯ve got information.¡± ¡°We¡¯re a secret guild that acts secretly in the dark. Hihihihi¡­¡± I think something¡¯s fundamentally wrong with the people here. I warned them as I pulled myself away from the bar. ¡°Don¡¯t call me captain.¡± The executives bowed their heads. ¡°Your name¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name again?¡± You guys really fit in. CH 18 I¡¯ve seen it somewhere. Ignoring the tacky engravings on the back, I opened the note. The paper was dotted in a strange pattern that I could not read. What¡¯s this? ¡°It¡¯s a cryptograph. Here, he left a message saying that it would be better if you learn to interpret these in advance.¡± I opened the small notebook handed over by the bartender. There were various patterns that made me dizzy just by looking, but they seemed to consist mostly of phonetic characters. It¡¯s very hard, and there¡¯s so many of them. Is this how all assassins learn ciphers? I understand the intention behind it, but it¡¯s cumbersome. I would have to return to the mansion and apply the patterns one by one to interpret this. ¡°There we go, then.¡± The executives who¡¯d been cleaning around and washing the dishes stopped and began to bow together at once, ¡°Have a great day, brother!¡± ¡°Have a great day, sir!¡± Is this how a secret drug guild should act? I¡¯m only supposed to be here to pick up lost and found, these idiots. ¡°Hey.¡± Just as they opened the door for me to head out, I informed them of something important. ¡°I¡¯m a woman.¡± But before the executives could hear, the door closed with a bang. ¡®Well, we could talk about this later.¡¯ After returning to the mansion. I deciphered the note with the help of the notebook during the intervals of my afternoon routine (which, today, was washing the curtains.) From what I interpreted, the content of the note was as follows; ¡¸I obtained some information about the client from the new servants. It is said that the client changed the target mission due to repeated failures. The new mission is to eliminate all employees of the Weatherwoods mansion and investigate the inside of the mansion, and steal all items and information regarding Dian Cecht. Watch out for future assassins.¡» He must be referring to the two assassins who crawled in after him as the servants. I guess those two guys have really decided to play host at the Eachus Mansion. ¡®The client¡¯s objective is also Dian Cecht¡¯s relics. As expected, there is a definite connection between the Weatherwoods and Dian Cecht.¡¯ Me, Rue, and the client. There are a total of three people I know who are aiming for Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy. I was almost certain about Rue, and the testimony of the assassin-butler added to that. Dian Cecht¡¯s legacy is the only reason such a person would pick up a job at the Weatherwoods mansion. ¡®I need to get into the Weatherwoods room.¡¯ The problem is that I don¡¯t know where the key is. I searched her room while the head maid was away, but I couldn¡¯t find anything even remotely similar to a key. She must be carrying it around. Should I give her some sleeping pills? Life is never easy. Two days later, a morning overcast with gray clouds. The cotyledon named Rue grew slightly bigger today. The leaves that were moved to the garden became stronger than before, but considering that they were not lined up in a row but gathered in a circle, Rue seemed to have re-done the planting. ¡°It¡¯s good that they¡¯re not buried under dirt.¡± But there is a little problem today. The fireplace? Perfectly cleaned. Shopping? These days, simple cooking ingredients are brought from the farm by Rue himself, so I don¡¯t have to go out for the most part. Wouldn¡¯t I lose my bet with Rue? Actually, I¡¯d already given up halfway. Today¡¯s problem was with the maid. It¡¯s hard to affirm if you ask me if it¡¯s a big problem. But the maid-in-waiting, from the early morning till now, when Lou had prepared dinner and left the office, examined me. I couldn¡¯t help but be bothered. Did she catch the existence of the ¡®super-powerful sleeping pills¡¯ that I ordered through the pub? The maid¡¯s eyes, which were secretly searching, were not uncomfortable, but in the end, I decided to open my mouth first. ¡°Your business.¡± The maid¡¯s expression hardened. She had been watching me in the kitchen for ten minutes, resting while hanging out curtains in the backyard. ¡°Miss Daisy.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you have any thoughts on disguising yourself as a man?¡± A short word made me sweat cold behind my back. At the same time, numerous questions and assumptions passed through my head like the wind. ¡®You suddenly want me to disguise myself as a man? Do you know my past? Are you aware that I¡¯m Andert? How- who the hell told you? Or did you figure it out on your own¡­.¡¯ ¡°Sigh, did you get surprised? I apologise, let it leave through the other ear.¡± ¡­you didn¡¯t? ¡®But she¡¯s definitely acting different from usual.¡¯ Especially since that letter that arrived two days ago. The maid has been sighing while holding that letter ever since. What was going on? Judging from the luxurious quality of the paper used in the letter, it didn¡¯t seem like a letter for a maid ¨C instead, it seemed to have been addressed to the Weatherwods family. ¡°The reason.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right, you don¡¯t need to concern yourself.¡± ¡°I swore.¡± When I rolled up the sleeve on my arm and revealed the trace of the oath, the maid¡¯s expression turned slightly serious. ¡°Yes, you are now a member of the Weatherwoods Mansion ¨C it would be unfair to just hide it. Two days ago, I received a notice from the Aristocratic Council.¡± ¡°Aristocratic?¡± ¡°Yes. The aristocratic Council refers to the most iconic seventeen aristocratic families in the Penrotta Empire. It¡¯s kind of like a top-class social gathering, for friendship and cooperation. There¡¯s too much politics behind to just dismiss it as a meeting.¡± I think I roughly understand what that means. ¡°The historically rich and prestigious Weatherwoods family has long belonged to nobility. We used to participate in the meetings once a year and share practical solutions to the problems that surfaced. But as you know, Ms. Daisy, these past four years, the Weatherwoods family has¡­¡± The head-in-charge was an egg, not a human. Aha. because unlike humans, an egg can¡¯t move by itself. ¡°Long absence.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°We got expelled.¡± ¡°No, not yet. Although that may soon be the case.¡± Hah, the head-maid leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, heaving a long sigh. ¡°According to the rules, noble houses must not be absent to the meetings for three years consecutively. An exception was made until last year due to the special situation of the Magic War, but not this year. If the head does not attend, he will be kicked out of the nobility.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rather nice thing.¡± The maid opened her eyes and threw a glare at me. ¡°What do you mean nice? If we are kicked out of nobility, we will face bigger problems than just dishonour. There are many people who haven¡¯t touched us yet just because we are a member of the noble council.¡± ¡°And so.¡± Flap ¨C I asked as I hung the last curtain on the drying rack. ¡°Would you like me to attend in place of the master?¡± ¡°No. I just babbled it out like an old woman. Like I said, let it leave your mind.¡± ¡°I agree to it.¡± ¡°¡­what?¡± Pang, pang. I tapped the curtain several times with a club and approached the window. Attending a noble council meeting disguised as Viscount Weatherwoods. If I can disguise myself properly, there is more to gain than lose. In particular, I might be able to identify or find out a little about the client who has been monitoring me. ¡®Given his access to intelligence, military influence, and monetary power ¨C the client who sends assassins to the Weatherwoods mansion is likely to be a member of the noble council. If Viscount Weatherwoods himself makes a move, it will surely gain his interest.¡¯ The client, if he bites the bait, along with the other aristocrats can be used to find Dian Cecht¡¯s relics. This was a very generous opportunity for me, who could not get out of Midwinterre easily due to the nature of my job as a maid. I appealed my confidence by pointing my thumb to my chest. ¡°I¡¯m more manly than anyone else.¡± The maid¡¯s eyes shook slightly. ¡°Of course, you are tall and your gait is oddly dynamic for a woman, but¡­.¡± ¡°If you send the master as he is to the noble council, the Weatherwoods family will be destroyed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such things.He¡¯s smooth and handsome.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still an egg.¡± ¡°Who?¡± At that moment, I was interrupted by a voice that squeezed itself in from the side. I heard the sound of someone swallowing, and the maid and I both turned out heads at the same time. ¡°The faceless master of Weatherwoods?¡± A man with a smile close to arsenic was looking down at us leaning against the wall. ¡°This is pretty interesting.¡± No one else but Rue. ¡°It was a slip of tongue.¡± I¡¯d only said it because I knew no one else was around us! However, Rue¡¯s level of power and skill is on par with or higher than mine. Wouldn¡¯t he be able to hide his presence easily at any time? I had been obliviously overlooking such an important thing. ¡°What nonsense, Mr. Rue. How does an egg become a master? You read too many novels. Be careful to not confuse them with reality.¡± Pledges such as ¡°not reveal secrets recklessly¡± are powerless in contingencies like just now. The maid made an excuse with a brazen face, but Lu did not listen. Instead, he jabbed one of my arms and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I was wondering where you¡¯d gotten such a mark engraved. Hmm, were you both talking about secrets without me?¡± ¡°¡­when did you steal a look at my arm?¡± ¡°When you wash the dishes.¡± I don¡¯t roll up my sleeves high enough to show the oath when I wash the dishes. Ah. ¡®It¡¯s reflected in the water.¡¯ What a perceptive man. I can¡¯t believe he figured it out with the small piece of information called ¡®egg.¡¯ This makes it hard to lie and deceive him. Don¡¯t stare at me like that, head-maid. It¡¯s not my fault. Didn¡¯t you also relax and just spat it out? Rue tilted his head while keeping his hands in his pants¡¯ pocket as he looked at the maid. ¡°Do you have anything to say to me?¡± ¡°¡­what do you want?¡± Looking at the head-maid¡¯s hostile green eyes, Rue replied calmly. ¡°Please engrave it on me too ¨C the oath. The mansion only has three employees, so whether we live or die, shouldn¡¯t we do it together?¡± CH 19 Smiling, he rolled up his sleeve without giving the maid a chance to refuse. On the surface of his pale arm, lines of various colors were neatly engraved. At a rough estimate, there seemed to be around ten. The maid asked with astonished eyes. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± ¡°This side has the most available place, but there¡¯s more at the back of my body as well.¡± I knew that it wasn¡¯t the right atmosphere to ask such a question, but my curiosity couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°How many in total?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t counted since 70.¡± More than 70 vows. It was a ridiculous number to the ears even for me, who has been through all sorts of hardships, met all sorts of strong and powerful people from all sides of the continent. An exclamation of pure surprise came out. ¡®I knew he was extraordinary, but..¡¯ Once again, the question comes to me. ¡®Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?¡¯ Rue spoke as if consoling the head-maid who sat with her mouth agape. ¡°Don¡¯t be too surprised. It is proof that I am very good at keeping promises. If I¡¯d broken my oaths and spoke of any secret even once, I would not be here.¡± ¡°Mr. Rue, I understand what you mean, but¡­¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind taking a stronger oath, if necessary. If someone who wants to dig information from me appears, we can kill him or her, or torture them ¨C I don¡¯t care whatever conditions you want to apply,¡± said a soft but irresistibly coercive voice. ¡°Let me see that egg, too.¡± It seems that the head-maid has no other choice. ¡°After taking a look, I¡¯ll help you with Miss Daisy¡¯s disguise.¡± This is why I don¡¯t like quick-witted people. * * * Trudge. A man slowly moved along a long and quiet passageway, illuminating the space with a lamp in hand. The artificial fire was created by a refined magic stone and was bright and clearer than any candle. It was as if all the darkness in the manor would clear at it¡¯s behest. After slowly crossing the passage, the man stopped in front of his destination, the bedroom. He knocked lightly on the door, but heard no answer. After waiting for 20 seconds and not hearing a sound, he carefully opened the door. It was dark in the room. The man extinguished the lamp and stepped inside the bedroom. As the bed was empty, he turned to the sofa, and found a long and solid body leaning on a chair, eyes closed. This was his superior, the most powerful man in the Penrotta Empire, Archduke Raphael Zenail Penrotta. The man, Deshero, sighed quietly, as if relieved. ¡®You¡¯re finally asleep.¡¯ The rest that the Grand Duke currently enjoyed was too precious and rare for him to try to cover his body with a blanket and risk waking him up. It was the first time he slept in three days. Looking at his side profile, which was as precarious as a sheer cliff, DeShero silently closed the door and came out. A gust of wind and rain hit the window and embraced the darkness of the villa. He wished that the rain would act as a lullaby. Please. He hoped. Don¡¯t let our Hero have nightmares, at least for today. * * * But Deshero¡¯s wishes did not reach the wind. Tuk, tuk, ttuk. Raphael, who listened to the irregular beat, thought, looked at the dimly fluttering light hanging from the ceiling. He had that bloody dream again. His breathing had calmed down now from when it was too quick. As the red field cleared, the face on the edge of his vision also became recognizable. Deshero, his aide and also an outstanding warrior, breathed a sigh of relief with his bloodshot eyes. [Commander-in-Chief, I think the efficiency of is increasing. For two hours from now, your breathing and pulse will return to normal, and you will be in a state of sleep.] * a state of seeming dead but being alive due to a weakened physiological condition. This was a dream, then. It was the hell he went through 4 years ago. In his dream, he was only a bystander, so he had no choice but to look on helplessly, only able to move his mouth. Raphael took his breath and asked Deshero, who stood by his side. [How many pills are left?] His voice, which rested so terribly low, was unfamiliar even to him. [The dose I used just now was the last one.] Charity is a powerful hallucinogenic drug. It was treated as a valuable drug on the battlefield because it could be refined and used as a painkiller. He couldn¡¯t believe there was no more of it left. [Then it means that we have to solve all difficulties within the next two hours.] Deshero nodded with a brooding look. He was severely wounded in the process of destroying the enemy camp, and only woke up this morning after hanging between life and death for two days. Perhaps because it was a wound caused by magic, the recovery speed was particularly slow. It was difficult to get out of bed, let alone fight ¨C it was so hot that his sense weren¡¯t working properly. [What happened over the past 2 days?] [The supply ships have been wrecked one after another, and the supply route has been virtually cut off. There is no other major damage, and the morale of the soldiers is not bad. I¡¯ve called in all the commanders half-an-hour ago as ordered by you, commander.] The supply was cut off when he, the commander-in-chief, collapsed. Nothing could be any worse. They now had the enemy¡¯s base just around the corner. After overcoming numerous difficulties, they¡¯d at last reached Queen Island. If they cross the wave of those demon-distractions, they could reach the Great Wizard Mephisto, the war criminal and main enemy of mankind. If they crossed a mountain. They could reach him that way. While his hand, which was deeply struck by calluses, crumpled the cloth, tired discourse from the commanders was heard from the tent connected to the back. [The commander-in-chief¡¯s recovery is quite slow. Mephisto¡¯s magic attacks coming from his stronghold seems to have greatly reduced his self-resilience. Commander-in-Chief Raphael must devote at least a week to recovery.] [A week? Say something that makes sense! Do you think the devil will wait for him to recover? We don¡¯t have enough supplies for 100,000 soldiers to hold out here for a week!] [Did you say he needed a week¡¯s grace? Then we don¡¯t have to worry about the supply. The soldiers will continue to advance forward. The number of soldiers will decrease faster than the falling rate of the supply-] [Shut your damn mouth, you jerk! Are you going to sacrifice 100,000 lives like that?] He didn¡¯t feel good watching his comrades get upset. Raphael slowly rose from the cot, aided by Deshero. [Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s better to stay calm and move?] [You know better than anyone that we don¡¯t have time for that.] Ten years. It was a war that had lasted ten years. The never-ending war gave wings to a hero who was nothing but a chess piece. It¡¯s ironic. The more their troops were defeated and the more the frontline was pushed back, the more powerful his influence among the Magic Alliance became. Before he knew it, he was being called the commander-in-chief of the MagicUnion. Commander-in-Chief Raphael.. The hero of mankind. The king in command of the battle. The presence of Raphael has a strong influence on this army. Therefore, he had to wrap up the meeting quickly within two hours and show his face to the soldiers. Encouraging the people is one step closer to victory. Beyond the tent, which was gradually approaching, came a calming voice. [We have no choice but to use the cliff of the canyon.] [The cliff connected to Mephisto¡¯s holy ground? How can we use a path that only one person can get through? Moreover, crossing it is an absurd thought when those gargoyles are keeping watch over there!] [It¡¯s not like the whole army will be the one doing this. Only one person is needed.] [Huh! Do you mean to assassinate Mephisto?] [Who would be able to assassinate that devil? It¡¯s enough to just get Mephisto¡¯s attention. That army of demons only follows his orders. While the person who goes to the canyon stalls time for us, we advance to the bottom of the hill and the front line¡­.] Raphael quietly stepped into the tent. The first thing he saw was a wide back. A person holding a lantern in his hand was standing at the highest position at the table was listening to the serious conversation that was being exchanged over the table. Two soldiers standing on his sides gilded with pale, sunken faces It was the place where normally he should be standing. But when General Raphael failed to show up to his place, there was only one man who could replace him. Andert. Because he was Raphael¡¯s sword, his one and only partner. [It¡¯s worth trying.] Andert nodded. [But if you don¡¯t have enough power, you¡¯ll die on the cliff. The plan may be fruitless, to send someone so valuable is¡­.] [¡­Commander in Chief?] Twelve pairs of eyes gathered on Raphael. Some were relieved, some were worried, but Raphael¡¯s attention did not stay with them. Without hesitation, he continued his steps and stood before his partner. A man called the king¡¯s sword. A dear friend who is one of the commanders of the Magic Union and has endured 10 years in this hell with him. A brother, his family, a partner and his better half. [Andert.] Andert looked back at him. ¡ª Raphael¡¯s name was a source of agony for me. I liked the name Rafaello which is another way of writing Raphael but I¡¯d already written it as Raphael and didn¡¯t want to change it since it was also technically correct. The korean spelling seems to be Rafaello as well (Well, more like lapa-ello, but you know how the korean and japanese spell R and Ls and Ps.) so i thought, why not Rafaello when he¡¯s being called commander and general for a more serious tone and Raphael for when he¡¯s just, Raphael? I ended up just keeping it as Raphael though, better keep it simple. CH 20 From under the short brown hair, tired light green eyes looked at him. Andert, who smiled playfully as always, patted Raphael on the shoulder and said hello. [Are you sure you¡¯re alive, Raphael? The effect of ¡®Charity¡¯ sure is great. I almost thought that a body was crawling in.] Raphael didn¡¯t have the energy to laugh at Andert¡¯s joke. No, it was more like he couldn¡¯t bring himself to laugh. For he had found traces of agony in Andert¡¯s darkened, sunken eyes. [I¡¯ll tell you this just in case.] [What?] [Don¡¯t think about dying in vain. I don¡¯t allow your dogmatism. I¡¯m your superior. You have to stand by me until this war is over.] Andert looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. However, for some reason, the positive-affirmation he was waiting for did not arrive. He hadn¡¯t drank any alcohol, but his heart was beating fast.. Raphael grabbed Andert¡¯s hand on his shoulder, with the force to break it. [Answer me, Andert.] [¡­What¡¯s so hard about such a thing? I¡¯ll keep it in mind, so don¡¯t worry about unnecessary things and just focus on recovering.] Andert, who stepped back to the side, smiled coolly. [Because you¡¯re the only one who can command this army.] When he faced that unpretentious smile, Raphael felt like a rock that weighed on his heart disappeared. Andert does not lie. Knowing that, a sense of relief came over him despite the obviousness of the statement. Then, the space-time medium distorted again. Before he knew it, he was lying in bed again, gasping for air. [What?] His low-hearing gradually recovered. He¡¯d be able to go to the battlefield in the next five days. It was when he was wandering through the sand in the heat, his feet grabbing onto solid ground like a leech. From beyond the barracks, a voice ripped through Raphael¡¯s heart. Andert declared. [I¡¯ll go.] [No, Sir Andert. The commander-in-chief will never allow you to move.] [But no matter how much I think about it, I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s fit for the job. I am the only one who can deal with Gargoyle and climb the cliff, enter the castle of Mephisto and confuse their main ranks ¨C take advantage of the confusion to aim for Mephisto¡¯s neck. Does that not mean everything?] [But¡­the permission-] [I don¡¯t need permission. I¡¯m going to take the initiative for this myself. Tell him it was my dogmatism acting up.] A wasteland of sand. Soldiers waiting for their deaths. Andert, who was silently staring at the world surrounding him, was finally going to move alone. Towards the Great Wizard Mephisto, who would become his final destination and tomb. That won¡¯t do. Raphael, who trembled convulsively, fell from his bed and crawled on the ground. The commanders rushed to seize him urgently. [Won¡¯t you get these hands off of me?! Wait! Stop right now, Andert! You can¡¯t die! I won¡¯t let you die like this!] Andert did not look back at Raphael. Alas, his spirit gradually faded away. Andert¡¯s feet kicked into the black flames. Once you entered that hell, you won¡¯t be able to come back. Knowing that more than anyone else, Raphael was in despair. [Come back here right now, Andert Fager!] At some point, the world became dark. He didn¡¯t know how long it¡¯d been. From beyond the darkness came Andert¡¯s words of consolation. It was the nostalgic voice of his best friend. [It¡¯s not your fault, Raphael.] That can¡¯t be true. It¡¯s most definitely my fault, Andert. I killed you. I was sick, and a moron, and I drove you to your death. And yet you are still my sword. Whether you live or die, you must do it by my side. If you have to, you can¡¯t be dead. ¡°..ha,¡± Hurry and come back. There¡¯s no point in a peace attained by losing you ¨C you believe so as well, do you not? You do, right? ¡­ Answer me, Andert. ¡°¡­your highness,¡± Answer me, Andert Fager. ¡°¡­your highness!¡± Andert Fager! ¡°Your Highness!¡± The moment a clear call was lodged into his ears, his eyes fluttered open. His spirit that had been sunk in the dark deep sea rose at a very rapid pace. As his obstructed breathing space opened up, Raphael¡¯s world also shifted and returned to reality. It was all a dream. ¡°Your Highness, an urgent message has arrived.¡± ¡°¡­What time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s four o¡¯clock in the morning.¡± Raphael, who covered his eyes with the back of his hand, exhaled deeply. It was not easy to get his breathing together due to his fast heartbeat. His nightmare felt so real that it felt as if he was really wandering the battlefield until the very last minute. ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± The voice of the dead still rang in his ears. [It¡¯s not your fault, Raphael.] Does he want to be forgiven by him? Is this how the desire deep in his subconscious is being embodied through the medium of a dream? ¡°No.¡± There was a time when it was, but at least not now. Andert Fager is dead. He made a grand sacrifice in the showdown with the Great Wizard Mephisto, which left Raphael with a long, irrepressible wound. It was even more painful because Andert¡¯s body was never found. Four years. He¡¯s been frantically searching Queen Island for the last four years to find the body. He told him to die by his side, so he felt bitter resentment for him, who disappeared without a trace. When he closed his eyes, he saw Andert in a hallucination, and when he opened his eyes, he heard his voice. Even if a lover of his had died instead, it would not have been this painful. But now he knew. That the days of feeling resentment for the sin Andert had committed, feeling betrayed were a story long gone, never to come back. For his own sake, he must crush the image of Andert in his head and stand up properly. Raphael no longer wanted to be bound by Andert anymore. So slowly, but surely, he was letting him out of his head. He would try to bury the existence of Andert Fager as a moment of the past. ¡°A total of three tickets have arrived, including an urgent report from the capital.¡± Raphael replied, rubbing his stiff eyes with the back of his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but please check them for me.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The first correspondence was quickly scoured by Deshero. ¡°It is a letter pertaining that the emperor and five noble houses held a secret meeting in the capital, Regel. All the people present were members of the aristocracy, and the common characteristic among all of them was¡­¡± ¡°They must be supporters of the war for the northern conquest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± In the northern part of the Penrotta Empire, the Northern Deus Mountains, which are famous for rugged roads throughout the continent, are located. The North Deus Mountains are lined with magic stone mines, and the emperor was preparing for a war of conquest to get them in his hands. Of course, with none other than Grand Duke Raphael as vanguard. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t his Majesty just push me to the front lines and get it over with?¡± He asked himself, but the answer was clear. The Imperialists wanted to drive him out of the capital. As far as possible, and for a long time. Believing that this would restore the lost power of the emperor. Then what should he do? We¡¯d now have to respond accordingly. He had no choice but to attend the noble council even if it was a little too much for him; and showcase himself before the five aristocrats in question. ¡°May I read you the following letter?¡± When he nodded, Desherro opened a second letter. ¡°A month and a half ago, a new survivor was found on Queen Island. Her name is Bertie Lucian. 34 years old, 170cm tall, thin, white skin, long brown hair reaching her back¡­¡± Raphael¡¯s brow creased gradually. ¡°A month and 15 days ago? This report is too late.¡± ¡°It seems to have overlapped with your highness¡¯ overseas schedule. It seems that the messenger followed after you for a long time to get the news to you.¡± Deshero soon opened a third correspondence. Unlike before, his expression became stiff while reading the contents. ¡°¡­Oh, no. that wasn¡¯t it.. It is said that the messenger was attacked in the middle of delivering this. Two people went missing one after another during the process, and the third messenger is the only one who succeeded in handing over this letter.¡± Raphael, who had his hand folded over his eyes, slowly opened them. There was a strange uniqueness in his dark red eyes. An attack. It was not an unusual occurrence for Raphael, who had many enemies. But, twice in a row? Red, blood-stained-like eyes fell to the letter held by Deshero. ¡°Did they aim for that letter? How important is the content, then? Read on.¡± ¡°Yes. The new survivor is now said to have settled in Midwinterre. She¡¯s working as a maid. Should I secretly put someone on her?¡± Contrary to his expectations, it was not some special information. ¡°No, leave it alone. Slowly pull out of the work on Queen Island. There¡¯s no point in holding onto it anymore.¡± Deshero, who had hesitated unlike him, carefully took off his lips. ¡°But, your highness, this survivor of Queen Island. She has brown hair and light green eyes. This might just be my excitement or emotions talking, but in many ways¡­¡± ¡°She reminds you of Andert Fager¡¯s sister?¡± Brown hair. Light green eyes that remind you of the freshness of spring. Yes, those were all colors that belonged to Andert Fager. They were also the colors most familiar to Raphael than anyone else. Andert was his only sword, his family, and his friend. ¡°I remember. He told us that he had a sister on his side, didn¡¯t he? But she closed her eyes for eternity during the Queen Island crisis. He told me he even buried the body himself.¡± the Queen Island crisis. The Queen Island incident refers to the terribly horrific terror that the Great Wizard Mephisto brought down on Queen Island and how he turned it into the fiery pits of hell. The incident instantly killed the majority of the residents of Queen Island, and forced a small number of survivors to leave their homes and come up to land. The devastating Queen Island crisis thereafter led to the outbreak of the Great War. that was how the Magic War started. ¡°His parents passed away long before that, and He said that his cousins, whom he¡¯d heard about only through words, did not live on the island. His family is not alive.¡± Queen Island is the southernmost island of the Empire. Small islands generally form isolated societies, and have less interaction with land, so the blood that is mixed between them is close. Therefore, it was not surprising that the new survivor had the same hair and eye color as Andert. Because many of the other Queen Island refugees looked like that, too. ¡°And didn¡¯t you say she was already identified? Bertie Lucian¡­ then she can¡¯t be that person.¡± ¡°Yes, I think I thought too deeply about this.¡± ¡°I understand how you want to grab at straws. But.. You don¡¯t have to report this stuff to me from now on. Cut it off moderately in your way.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± After Deshero left the bedroom, Raphael lay down on the bed and closed his eyes again. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t have nightmares this time. * * * At the same time, in Midwinterre. A lively scream escaped from the Weatherwoods mansion again today. CH 21 A dark bedroom with three people and an egg huddled together. ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± The head-maid¡¯s cry sounded like a scream. Grabbing her forehead with a distorted face, she gritted her teeth in a voice of deep regret. ¡°What nonsense¡­I think I was too hasty, why did I show this room to Mr. Rue?¡± Whatever she muttered, Rue, the party that was being criticized, wasn¡¯t listening at all. Rue was busy examining the surface of Viscount Weatherwoods with clearly very intrigued eyes. I approached him and asked quietly. ¡°Is it true?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to ask something, tell me what you¡¯re asking about first.¡± What a bad guy. I asked again, looking at the maid¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m asking if this egg is really one of .¡± Dian Cecht¡¯s five relics. Five relics belonging to a legendary sorcerer which when gathered together, can treat any incurable disease. After the maid and Rue forged their oaths, only five minutes ago, the three of us came up together to Viscount Weatherwoods¡¯ bedroom. The suspicious Rue could not hide his expression of surprise when he found out the identity of his mysterious master. He strode up to the bed. Then, he said that we should carefully examine the surface of the egg. ¡°The maid. Did you say this is Viscount Weatherwoods?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°You may not believe it, but it is true. This egg, no, the Viscount Weatherwood, was entrusted to me by my former master, who repeatedly asked me to rear it-¡± ¡°There is no life inside this. This is a high-level magic device, made by an elaborate sorcerer. I would know.¡± ¡°¡­what?¡± ¡°Especially going by its appearance that suggests the maker¡¯s eccentric taste.¡± Rue, who skimmed the surface of the egg with his long, slender fingers, let out a weak laugh. ¡°It looks to be a work of Dian Cecht¡¯s.¡± Frightened by this sudden revelation, the maid accused Rue of being a liar. Considering her position, it was a natural reaction, but I couldn¡¯t support the maid¡¯s argument. ¡®Rue is an excellent wizard.¡¯ He was also a seeker of Dian Cecht¡¯s relics, like me. There was no reason to objectify the egg¡¯s true identity on no basis. ¡°¡­Hah, I apologise, Mr. Rue, I think I reacted too sensitively. Everyone must have doubts about the Viscount¡¯s identity.¡± The maid moved her lips with a calm expression. ¡°Your argument is wrong. That egg has been growing for four years. You can also feel it¡¯s pulse when you put your ears on it. It has life inside it.¡± ¡°Hmm. I guess the maid doesn¡¯t believe me.¡± Rue, who smiled brightly with a dark glint in his eyes, suddenly clenched his fist. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll check it out ourselves.¡± Kachik- There was no time to stop it. Rue¡¯s fist pierced the pearly-smooth surface of the egg. ¡®You¡­¡¯ He¡¯s always been crazy, but he¡¯s even crazier today! ¡°No way!¡± The moment the pale-faced maid rushed in and tried to push away Rue by the chest, brown pupils floated to the top of the surface of the pearly white egg. Like, an eyeball. ¨C Damage detected. I saw clearly. The inside of the shell is empty. ¨C Restoring the outer skin. With the command of the heterogeneous voice, the pieces of the shell that had fallen on the bed began to float in the air. As soon as the shells that rose up went back to their original places one by one, the egg also returned to its original form ¨C as if the hole that had been pierced never existed. The brown pupils also disappeared, of course. ¡°What is this¡­.¡± The maid who was watching the scene stepped back with vain eyes. ¡°No, that¡¯s ridiculous. Is this egg really a magic tool? Then what about me? What have I been guarding all this time? The Viscount..the Viscount asked me to¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s figure that out now.¡± With a light-hearted answer, Rue, who put his hand back on the surface of the egg, began to recite long spells that were difficult to interpret. [Shing-] The egg resonated. Soon a blue light emanated from its smooth surface. Bright letters emerged out of the light that gently swayed like curtains in the wind. The letters that came one by one, increased enough to fill the entire field of vision in an instant. A tear fell from the maid¡¯s eyes as she watched the phenomenon. ¡°It really was a magic tool¡­¡± A maid is the only person who can console another maid when she¡¯s in grief. I patted the maid on the shoulder to soothe her sorrow. ¡°It¡¯s not just a magic-tool, it¡¯s a high-quality magic-tool.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If you sell it, you¡¯ll be fishing in a pool filled with gold.¡± ¡°¡­ Miss Daisy needs to learn how to console people again.¡± The maid who slowly wiped away the tears raised her head and looked at the letters in the air. A faint admiration began to gather in her empty eyes. ¡°But isn¡¯t this a magical incantation? I¡¯ve never seen such a detailed interpretation.¡± ¡°You had no way to see it before. The only uncharted genius here is me, that is why.¡± Rue, who answered insincerely, slowly began to string the combinations in the incantation. No, it was more like he summarized it. ¡°I think this tool is for defense. There is a wide range of various attack-magic planted here. The purpose imprinted on its artificial ego is¡­¡± After a pause, in a strange tone of voice, he added, ¡°Guardian of the Weatherwoods.¡± ¡°Guardian?¡± ¡°Well. I can¡¯t think of a more accurate expression than Guardian.¡± ¡°It seems to be that way, Ms. Head-maid.¡± I could hear no answer. ¡®Are you crying?¡¯ I turned my head with concern. ¡®¡­I was worried for nothing.¡¯ Contrary to my expectations, the maid¡¯s eyes were wide open. The gaze looking up at Rue¡¯s magical interpretation was even sparkling. I couldn¡¯t believe she was the same person who was shedding tears just now. ¡®I¡¯ve never seen such a long and complicated interpretation of magic.¡¯ A magical interpretation. The act of a wizard developing specific magic-blueprints into a language based on their intuition, insight, and knowledge. It is such a high-form of magic that a beginner wizard can¡¯t even try. I, too, have often seen magical interpretations through the sorcerers of the Magic Union. However, all I¡¯d seen were a few blurry words or very short lines. ¡®I¡¯ve never seen such a systematic interpretation of magic in my life.¡¯ It would be the maid, not me, who can clearly feel its greatness with her skin. Because just like Rue, she is also a wizard. ¡°Oh, my God. Every description is made up of perfect sentences.¡± Respect and excitement were springing up in the eyes of the maid. A small trembling fingertip carefully scanned the inscription in the air. Perhaps because of Rue¡¯s phenomenal magic skills, the maid¡¯s frustration, which was driving her to call him to be a liar, also seemed to have been dampened. She must have reached some compromise beyond denial and anger. ¡®Since she¡¯s recognized the truth, will she soon be in depression?¡¯ The five stages of anger; denial, anger, compromise, depression, acceptance. The aftereffects must be quite great now that you have learned that the existence you have devoted yourself to for four years has been an illusion. Perhaps there is a possibility of losing the meaning of life and making a stupid decision- ¡°Mr. Rue, from where on earth did you appear? Who taught you magic? You can¡¯t be able to achieve this at the age you look like, but I wonder how old you are in reality. Everytime I try interpretative magic, my vision goes blank and I faint. Is this just a lack of practice? Or¡­.¡± She looks to be in very good condition. It seems I don¡¯t have to worry. But¡­ ¡®Especially going by its appearance that suggests the maker¡¯s eccentric taste.¡¯ ¡®It looks to be a work of Dian Cecht¡¯s.¡¯ There seems to be something strange in the way he talks. ¡°Rue.¡± ¡°Rue?¡± ¡°Mr. Rue.¡± He nodded as if to continue. ¡°Do you happen to know Dian Cecht?¡± Rue asked back without looking back at my face with his arms crossed. ¡°Are you curious?¡± That short sentence gave me a new conviction. ¡°You do know each other.¡± Dian Cecht is a character who died before I was born. If he was in a relationship where he could be called an acquaintance of Dian Cecht, that meant that Rue was at least 40 years old. But this is only the minimum age, and If I recall correctly, Dian Cecht lived for a 100 years before closing his eyes for good. Then really how old is Rue? ¡®I did think you were a little crazy.¡¯ It¡¯s because you¡¯re a long-lived wizard. It is said that no one is crazier than someone who studies magic even at an old age. Now I understand. This adds new information to my knowledge about Rue. One, he is not an aristocrat, but he has a lot of money. Two, he knew Dian Cecht. ¡°I¡¯m not curious.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s too bad. Then now¡­.¡± Rue shook his hand in the air, and the magical interpretation that was decorating the room instantly sputtered away like ink falling on paper. The head-maid sighed with regret. ¡°Now that we have confirmed the intriguing identity of our mysterious master, let us move on to the next move.¡± ¡°Next move?¡± ¡°The aristocratic party.¡± At that, the maid looked at the egg with a deep sigh. The complexity in her subtle expression was indescribable. ¡°Certainly, if the magic is as good as Mr. Rue¡¯s¡­it would be possible to deceive those hawk-eyed, shrewd nobles.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°The Viscount Weatherwoods that is known to the outside world is the nephew of the former Viscount. To be precise, he is the son of his younger brother, who was two years younger than him. He got married early, and thus also had a child earlier than the viscount. The whole family was killed in battle, but¡­¡­.¡± The nephew survived and inherited the Weatherwoods family. Since the branch of the family isn¡¯t distant, there can be no dispute over legitimacy. ¡°He¡¯s just turning 20 this year, so he¡¯s at an age where he¡¯s eligible to participate in outside activities. But I¡¯m worried. I don¡¯t feel comfortable letting Miss Daisy go alone. But it doesn¡¯t look good for you to be followed after by maids or servants..¡± Yeah, that¡¯s how it is. It is not strange to be accompanied by a maid if you¡¯re a woman, because you may need help with makeup or changing, but it is easy to be misunderstood as a man. Especially if you¡¯re an unmarried young man, there might be a rumor that you have a mistress among your servants. A successor to the Weatherwoods family, who has appeared after four years, will surely attract considerable attention. It¡¯s better to go as quietly as possible. ¡°Then we¡¯ll get you married. If we put a wife next to him, you¡¯ll be able to control him properly.¡± Control? Am I a dog with a loose leash? It was not a very bad suggestion, but the maid¡¯s expression was still dark. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, but I¡¯m not in a position where I can vacate the mansion easily.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I had no intention of leaving it for me.¡± ¡°Who else is going to play the role if it¡¯s not me?¡± Rue looked at the maid with eyes suggesting that she was asking the obvious. ¡®Wait a minute.¡¯ ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± I have a bad feeling about this. ¡ª I would¡¯ve preferred to leave it at chap 20 since it¡¯s an even number but then that would be leaving you on a cliffhanger and I¡¯m not so cruel ^^ CH 22 The day after that absurd incident. The fact that Viscount Weatherwood¡¯s identity was actually ¡®A relic of Dian Cecht¡¯ put me in quite an agonizing position as well. ¡®It would have been better if it were a real egg.¡¯ Viscount Weatherwood, whom the maid had been raising dearly¡­no, the egg, I didn¡¯t expect it to be a relic. ¡®If that¡¯s the case, won¡¯t it be difficult to steal or borrow it secretly?¡¯ According to Rue¡¯s magical interpretation, , one of his five relics, has a clear sense of purpose. That is the patronage of the Weatherwoods. To be honest, I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of guardian this thing means. What are you protecting if you allow assassins to come inside so obediently? But one benefit was evident. ¡®The relics exist. It¡¯s a great harvest for me just to find out.¡¯ Hmm. won¡¯t collecting five of those things give me hope to heal my broken soul? ¡®But, isn¡¯t it too¡­difficult?¡¯ Didn¡¯t Rue mention that Dian Cecht¡¯s ¡®eyes¡¯ had various wide range attack magic planted in its core? How can a dying person be cured with such an object? It doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re gonna kill them and then make them reborn, does it? ¡®I heard that genius wizards are generally crazy. Dian Cecht was a Demi-God, so it must have its own profound meaning.¡¯ At least two artefacts must be collected. Only then did it seem possible to guess how Dian Cecht¡¯¡¯s relics would work and be used. ¡°Sigh.¡± I stretched my knees and moved side by side. When you spray the heads of flowerbeds with water in a row, peace envelops your body and mind. When I saw a small leaf moistening with water droplets, all mortal desires in the world faded from my mind and everything seemed to become light. ¡®Yes, you might not be able to collect all of Dian Cecht¡¯s relics in the end.¡¯ Let¡¯s just die if we can¡¯t collect them in the end. What can I achieve anyway by living long? But when I die, the pot and theflower bed¡­ ¡°Are you going to drown the the plant in water?¡± A long shadow covered the leaves and me. Tok Tok, I looked up at the touch of tapping on the top of my head, and for some reason, I saw Rue, without his usual apron, pressing deeply on the brown fedora he wore. With the way he was wearing a dark jacket over his vest, he seemed to be going out. ¡°Too much moisture makes the leaves rot. If you understand, get up, change, and come out.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There is a place we need to drop by. I already told the head-maid, so go and be quick.¡± The maid allowed us to skip work and fool around? She won¡¯t do that. It was obvious that she was trying to make me do more troublesome errands than usual. ¡®Then I¡¯ll pretend to be running errands more often.¡¯ When I changed into the precious, one and only outside clothing I owned, Rue handed me a long brim hat for women from his side. What is this for? Are we really not running errands, but going out? ¡°Is this the maid¡¯s?¡± ¡°No. It is a woman¡¯s hat, the only one in this mansion.¡± It belongs to the late Viscountess.. It must be quite an old item, but perhaps it¡¯d been managed well ¨C the ends were not faded, and it was usable in many ways. I put on the hat awkwardly. All the hats I¡¯ve worn so far are military caps, uniform hats, and straw hats. ¡°Even though the hole is really small, the head goes right in.¡±¡¯ Most women have small heads. It was an astonishing fact that I noticed a month and a half after waking up. I walked one step behind Rue. He was headed to the square opposite the market, which was a similar high street but lined with quieter and more luxurious shops. While walking for nearly ten minutes, Rue turned his head to see if I was following him well since I wasn¡¯t talking to him. It was so natural that I couldn¡¯t feel any awkwardness. ¡°Do you usually walk like this?¡± A habit of walking without a wavering step. A leisurely pace. Even if it helps lighten the atmosphere, not opening one¡¯s mouth first. You can tell a person¡¯s life by the way they walk. Rue was a person who was more accustomed to being supported rather than supporting someone. ¡®One thing is certain, he¡¯s of high-standing. He¡¯s not an aristocrat ¨C a wizard powerful enough to know Dian Cecht¡­¡¯ Who is there? ¡°The Imperial Wizard?¡± Wait, isn¡¯t this pretty plausible? If you become an imperial wizard, you are knighted, but a knight is not a noble. However, high-ranking imperial wizards are followed by a servant or secretary, and they¡¯re able to raise their fortune as high as the aristocracy¡¯s by accepting the requests that come to them from all sides. ¡®He¡¯s at least the head of the department. Considering his abilities, he is most likely no less than a superio-¡¯ Whoops. My forehead hit his back. When I looked up, Rue¡¯s tall stature blocked my view. Fortunately, thanks to him stepping aside by himself, I was able to confirm my destination. This was the front door of a shop selling women¡¯s clothing. ¡°Why here?¡± ¡°We have to get clothing fitted for you. The Weatherwoods family does not have proper clothing for the Viscount couple.All proper items and jewellery were disposed of and donated to help refugees.¡± ¡°Oh¡­because of the noble council.¡± At last, the head of a prestigious family and his wife cannot walk around in modest clothes. In addition, I heard from the Head-maid that this noble council association will be held with the upper-class. It is said that they enjoy a luxurious trip on a super-large airship full of conglomerates. It was clear that the nobles would also come dressed up more splendidly than ever. ¡°But the Weatherwoods are poor.¡± It¡¯s a family on the verge of selling its manor. Wouldn¡¯t our salaries be cut if we splurge on some clothing? Rue opened the door without an inch of concern on his face. ¡°But I am rich. Let¡¯s go in.¡± As expected of Rue. He has only two good qualities; his face and his wealth. The best in the world.When we stepped inside the store with antiquely decorated interior, a beautifully dressed young woman greeted us. The friendly smile of the staff immediately became a little sour as soon as she scanned my gritty outfit, and when she checked Rue¡¯s slender jawline and fantastic nose bridge, she flinched. ¡°Welcome, sir.¡± However, her demeanour was none of my business, so I proudly spoke. ¡°Order.¡± But what should I order? When I stepped back, Rue, who had been standing next to me, spoke as if he¡¯d been waiting for the chance. ¡°We¡¯re going to get some clothing tailored for her. A Ball dress, an evening dinner dress, two sets of daily attire, a spring coat, two sets of hats and gloves, two sets of pyjamas, four sets of socks and underwear. Ah, tea party clothes, too.¡± I looked at Rue in confusion. It¡¯s only a one-time attendance, is it alright to get that much clothing? ¡°Is this the basics for ladies?¡± Or is this some sort of secret twisted thing he gets pleasure from? The employee, who quickly took out her notebook and recorded the order, smiled with a very polite expression unlike before. ¡°They¡¯re all bridal items ¨C are you getting married? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen someone come with their husband in person here ever since I started working.¡± They mistook Rue for my husband. Wow. it was sickening just to imagine it. Rue said what he had to say. ¡°Please complete it within 15 days.¡± ¡°What? 15 days? I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s an order that can never be completed within the period you told me. You must give it at least two or three months.¡± Rue replied, ¡°Why did you open a western-style clothing boutique if you can¡¯t even cater to this?¡± he looked down at the staff with an expression displaying their incompetence. The employee, who was secretly peeking at him, got restless and reiterated. ¡°However, there is a shop nearby that is run by the boss¡¯ cousin. If we divide the order and make it separately, then we¡¯d be able to complete it in a month and a half-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if Viscountess Weatherwoods can wait that long.¡± ¡®¡­is it okay to say that?¡¯ Pause. The stiffened employee asked with her eyes wide open. ¡°Weatherwoods¡­you mean this is for the Viscountess? Of the Weatherwoods?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s another Weatherwood family besides that one. Her destination is the capital city of Regel. If you can¡¯t do it, we¡¯d better go to another store.¡± ¡°W-wait a moment, please!¡± The employee hurriedly turned around and disappeared into the store. Soon after, she brought with her a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup, who seemed to be the owner of this Western-like store. The boss seemed speechless at Rue¡¯s good-looks for a while, and opened her mouth belatedly. ¡°I¡¯ll finish it in 15 days. Leave it to me.¡± Rue shrugged his shoulders lightly. ¡°If possible, then I will.¡± There was blatant joy and excitement evident on the owner¡¯s face. Viscount Weatherwoods was a long held mystery. It is said that the existence of his wife is also unclear, and if his wife¡¯s outer-wear for the capital are found out to be her work, this could be a new turning point for the owner¡¯s business. ¡°Then I¡¯ll record the measurements right away. The Viscountess¡­¡± ¡°The wife is busy. However, her measurements are the same from head to toe as my companion, and the skin colour is also similar, so she left a message asking me to have it produced with the help of my companion.¡± Who said that? ¡°I see. Come this way, miss.¡± But this veto does not exist for poor maids. If Rue gets the job done with money, then I should at least do the same with my body. I quietly followed the owner. CH 23 Obedience comes with a price. Whether the price will be joy or sorrow is usually only known after. The price I paid today for my obedience was the height of hardships. This is because I had to try on and check the fabric of 9 outfits one by one, including gloves, hats, and so on. ¡°That¡¯s much better.¡± Also, the main orchestrator of this dress-up doll play was Rue, not me. He played with my body at will ¨C which, I know, sounds like a weird thing to say, but I am not exaggerating. Rue, who checked the color, brightness, pattern, and combination of the fabrics one by one while lying on the long sofa, was nastily demanding and meticulous. ¡°This is good, too.¡± ¡°Right? It¡¯s a popular colour these days. It will go well with her fair skin. I usually recommend monochromatic fabrics for the young ladies who come here, but I think this pastel turquoise colour would suit you a lot¡± Even in the eyes of me, who had absolutely no experience with designs or art, I could feel his aesthetic excellence. ¡°With that fabric.¡± In addition, he didn¡¯t even bother to consider the fabrics that the owner suggested, instead chose only ones that he liked. ¡°If you¡¯re just going to choose it according to your liking, why even bother putting it on me?¡± My legs hurt because I¡¯d been standing for nearly two hours. It took only a few minutes to glare at him with irritation. ¡°This time, choose the fabric you like, Miss Daisy.¡± He gave me the decision on the pretext of being generous. Wow, thank you so much. But what is the point of this anyway? These aren¡¯t clothes that I¡¯ll be wearing anyway, no? ¡°That and that.¡± I chose two of the most striking fabrics out of the ones scattered across the place along with different types of laces. A Zebra-pattern running on a green fabric and spring flowers embroidered on lace. ¡°Do you mean¡­these fabrics?¡± A nod. Contrary to my expectations, instead of seeming confused, the owner seemed to have a new glint in her eyes. ¡°I see. Well, indeed, women are sometimes attracted to underwear with bold-patterns.¡± Wait, it¡¯s for underwear? I turned my eyes to Rue, who was smiling with an expression that clearly said ¡®what a bad combination and a tacky eye.¡¯ You little brat. On the contrary, the owner, who had been holding her chin for some time as if impressed by something, leaned close and whispered in my ear, ¡°The perfect combination for an impressive night. You have a good eye.¡± At that moment, I realised something. ¡®This woman sees Rue and me as the Viscount Couple who¡¯ve gone out together in disguise.¡¯ It¡¯s not surprising, actually. Even to me, Rue¡¯s wicked appearance and laid back attitude didn¡¯t seem like that of a commoner. In addition, he was getting the clothes of the Viscountess tailored to his taste, which would be impossible unless the actual couple was already involved in the process. ¡°This is the end of both design and fabric checks.¡± What a liberating feeling! I rushed into the dressing room, put on my clothes, and came out. My old, shabby clothes had never felt as lovely as now. Rue smiled as he looked back at me while I was preparing to dash as I put my hat on. ¡°Was it that terrible?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be cleaning the manor.¡± At least I wouldn¡¯t tremble with boredom. It was after Rue, who paid for everything, approached me. The employee who greeted us at the entrance of the store earlier asked him a question with a nervous expression. ¡°Well, sir, do you happen to work in the Weatherwoods mansion?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind¡­I¡¯d like to know your name..¡± The employee¡¯s cheeks were dyed a cherry red. Lu, who smiled softly, answered in an easy going tone. ¡°When the clothing is ready, you can contact the Weatherwoods mansion.¡± ¡°Oh, no. that¡¯s not what I was say-¡± ¡°Why are you just standing there, Miss Daisy? You said you were having a terrible time.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± The employee urgently grabbed Rue¡¯s sleeve, but he smoothly shook it off. Unlike the boss who doubted our identity, the employee seemed to believe in Rue¡¯s status. Well, he¡¯s the real thing. Rue, who passed me, opened the heavy door and supported it with his back. He pointed to the street with his chin and I gently followed in the direction. Walking along the street casually, after reaching a point not far from the western-style boutique, Rue patted off the end of his sleeve. It was the area that the employee had grabbed for a moment. Did he just simply have a preference for neatness, or was his personality just twisted? It could be both since the other party is Rue. ¡°I brought you to practise speaking, then you bought a weird underwear that looks like something is running across the meadow on it. I can¡¯t believe coming out myself was still so worthless.¡± It¡¯s definitely both. ¡°If you want me to practise speaking, you should tell me in advance.¡± But I wasn¡¯t too worried about my speech. I was confident that once in a man¡¯s body, I would spit out anything required of me with ease. ¡°Rue.¡± ¡°Rue?¡± ¡°Mr. Rue, have you changed the plan? Am I going to be the Viscountess, and you the Viscount?¡± ¡°The Viscountess will be me.¡± He answered with such pride that it looked like he was born a viscountess from birth. ¡°Then why did you measure my body for the fitting?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s more efficient. And follow me this way, not that way. It¡¯s too early to go back to the mansion. You need men¡¯s clothing and shoes.¡± ¡°Would men¡¯s clothes fit my height?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Rue, who answered lightly, looked back at me. They¡¯ll be tailored according to Rue, so that means I¡¯ll have to turn into a long, slim, and solid-bodied man with a height of at least 190 cm. ¡®My body right now is not all that comfortable to begin with, and you want me to be a man who is 20 cm taller?¡¯ That¡¯s not very efficient. If you¡¯re going to change your body to fit in anyway, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to fit in one that you¡¯re already familiar with? I dimly recalled Andert¡¯s structure and spoke, ¡°Can you do another height?¡± ¡°For example?¡± ¡°He is 180cm tall, his chest, biceps, and triceps are more developed than yours, and his neck is slightly shorter. The waist is a little thinner, but the hips¡­.¡± ¡°Is that your type?¡± What? I shook my head in surprise. ¡°No? No way? All that doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± Rue tilted his head toward me with a suspicious gaze. ¡°You say no, but then how are you giving such a detailed description? How fascinating.¡± Well, it was my body, so¡­ ¡°Well, I¡¯m only saying that because it sounds like a more comfortable alternative.¡± Come to think of it, I must¡¯ve sounded like a pervert because of going into such detail. Luckily, Rue didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Instead, he turned and entered a narrow dark alley between the townhouses. I saw a startled gray mouse scurrying to hide. ¡®Why are we going here? Is he going to beat me up since he thinks I am a pervert?¡¯ when the steps that followed him faltered, Rue turned his back to me. ¡°This much?¡± I felt like something had changed somehow. His view of looking down at me seemed closer than before. ¡®You used transformation magic without uttering a spell?¡¯ Silent magic. It is by no means an easy thing to acquire. It is only one step behind sword master, which is the highest degree a knight can reach. The speculation that Rue was the Imperial Wizard weighed on me even more. ¡°¡­these shoulders are too broad. Make it more human.¡± Fsh. Rue¡¯s body changed again with a creepy sound of skeletal alignment. The shoulder length became a little smaller as required. ¡°You need to be more tanned, too. The wrists are thicker, the hands are, too.¡± Rue¡¯s skin color darkened as if a shadow fell over him. ¡°Hmm, the shape of the skeleton is a bit different..¡± Tsk, Rue clicked his tongue and asked in a rather unpleasant tone. ¡°Who are you imagining to be like that?¡± I thought about it for a second. I can¡¯t say ¡®me from the past.¡¯ should I just tell him that it¡¯s my younger brother? But if you think about it, isn¡¯t it weird to match the skeleton shape with your brother? Rue urged in a cold voice. ¡°Well, answer me. Should the national treasury be bigger or smaller?¡± ¡°What do you mean by national treasury?¡± Rue, who was staring at me, suddenly laughed with a happy face. ¡°Where is it?¡± Yeah, where could it be? Let¡¯s not lower our head. I¡¯ll stare right at Rue¡¯s face and pretend I don¡¯t understand what he means. I mustn¡¯t answer ¡®of course it¡¯s bigger!¡¯ with useless pride. Rue was embarrassed by the long silence. ¡°If you can¡¯t say it, let¡¯s just go like this.¡± ¡°¡­yes, that¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s enough, I feel like I¡¯m walking around stuck in the ground.¡± At 180cm, my height must definitely feel like walking around stuck in the ground for him. CH 24 KindapitiedMielle9-11 minutes 17.06.2023 By the time we finished matching the men¡¯s shoes to the clothes, the sun was setting behind the mountain. It was the first time since I¡¯d begun my job as a maid that I got a spend an afternoon in which I wasn¡¯t doing any labour ¨C and yet strangely, this felt more tiresome than quietly cleaning. Perhaps I¡¯d gotten more used to the life of a maid than I realised. ¡°Do you want some?¡± We were on the way to the park right behind the busy street, with me half-dragging my tired body. Rue suddenly opened his mouth and pointed somewhere. My eyes followed the direction he was pointing at and found a colorful ice-cream cart. ¡°¡­will you be buying it for me?¡± You¡¯re suddenly doing me a favor? That sounds suspicious. ¡°It is most effective when the carrot and the stick are given together. Traditionally, while training dogs, they learn rather quickly if you give them snacks in between.¡± Are you saying I¡¯m a dog? But for the sake of the free favor, maybe it wasn¡¯t bad to become a dog for a very short while. When I nodded cautiously, Rue pointed with his chin to a bench at the entrance of the park. ¡°Sit quietly and wait.¡± Following that, Rue headed directly to the ice-cream cart. It¡¯d be my first time eating this. This was an unexpected development. ¡®Come to think of it, there¡¯s a manpower office near here.¡¯ Hmm, it¡¯s already been a long time since I was homeless and living here in this park. Looking through the inside of the park, my gaze stopped at a spacious cemetery. ¡®Was there a cemetery here? I didn¡¯t notice since I only came here at night.¡¯ It¡¯s a cemetery in the middle of such a big city, so it must be a national cemetery. The landscape and grass were neatly trimmed, and colorful flowers were blooming everywhere, so the dreariness that usually accompanied a cemetery was nowhere to be found. I examined the hat resting on the nearest grave. It was a hat belonging to the Magic Union. The name of the area was engraved on the stone plate in front of the bridge connecting the park and the national cemetery in neat handwriting. Midwinterre National Peace Cemetery. I walked there like I was possessed. When I got to the bridge, hundreds and thousands of graves appeared in front of me. On the tombstones, which stood upright like a block, the names of those who died in the war, and even those who were unnamed, were etched. So many people used to live in Midwinter. And died. This city in the north was far from the front-lines, which is why I thought they would be ignorant of the war. I couldn¡¯t say anything at the sight of my arrogance being pointed out. ¡°Is there a grave here for the people whose names I wasn¡¯t able to get during the war?¡± The moment I crossed the bridge engulfed in strange sentiment and took my first step into the national peace cemetery, [Hey!] A shrill sound of waves passed by. The smell of blood filled my nose. I was so familiar with the scent that I reflexively turned my back. I couldn¡¯t see anything. There was no longer a large park here ¨C nor the ice-cream cart beyond it, or Rue¡¯s back as he was supposed to be paying for the ice cream in front of it. All there was in its place were burned ruins, corpses, the trembling ground and soldiers running forward with clenched teeth. What is this? [Hey, where are you looking?] Someone roughly shook my shoulder, as if in a hurry. A man¡¯s face came into my shaky view. There was fear and anger towards death on his face, stained with blood and dust. [What are you doing? Pull yourself together, you punk! You¡¯ll die if you lose focus!] Oh yes. This is the battlefield. We¡¯re at war. I stirred my head to come to my senses. Was it because I hadn¡¯t slept properly in the past few days? I think I¡¯d fallen into a fleeting dream while standing for a moment. Until just now, it felt like the dream belonged to a different world, but now I can¡¯t even remember what it was. What an interesting experience. [Mefisto¡¯s devil army stormed inside from the east. There¡¯s too many of them ¨C we have to give up on this town. Evacuate the residents!] ¡°And you?¡± [I¡¯m going to the castle. I heard that elderly people having trouble moving are being treated there.] ¡°All right, you take the lead. I¡¯ll cover you.¡± The ground shook greatly. It was a sign that the enemy was fastly approaching. We ran to the castle on the higher plains of the the town. ¡°Find a cart! If there are too many old people there, we can¡¯t afford to take them one by one.¡± [the castle lord was managing quite a large farmland, so there must be a cart around somewhere here¡­] At that moment, a wave of dust hit us. Whoo! It was a long-range wave attack by a formative devil. Dust was everywhere when the indiscriminate attack hit the ground. I felt a sharp pain in the back, but that was it. Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t injured too bad. [Cough!] But that wasn¡¯t the case for the soldier I was moving with. ¡°Hey, you¡­.¡± [Ahh! My legs, my legs¡­!] One of his legs had been cut off, and the other was in poor condition. ¡°For God¡¯s sake.¡± Coincidentally, I couldn¡¯t afford to stop the bleeding right now. I hurriedly supported the man¡¯s arm and shouted. ¡°Wake up! This is no time to lose consciousness ¨C grab hold of my neck, I¡¯ll help you.¡± [No¡­] A breath soaked in fear befell my ears. He pushed my arm away and spoke, [It¡¯s okay¡­just leave me behind. Instead, just deliver my last words to my mother-] ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! Tell her yourself when the war is over.¡± [Stop it. I can¡¯t even feel my left leg anymore¡­I can¡¯t move, I¡¯ll just be a burden. Now listen, my name and my hometown is¡­] ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? Tell her yourself when the war is over!¡± Amidst the confusion came a cold voice. ¡°No, Daisy. The war is over.¡± What do you mean Daisy? Is it this man¡¯s name? Though I believed it was a pretty unbecoming name, I struggled as I raised him up. ¡°Yes, one day, it will be over! But that day is not today. Stand up, my friend. First, let¡¯s find the cart. You wait here-¡± ¡°There is no cart here. There is no sanctuary, there is no demon legion, and there are no old people you must save.¡± Something¡¯s wrong. I looked back at the man. The man had stopped. There was no dust that hovered around us, no shaking ground, no screaming, no wailing ¨C nothing to be heard. In a space where time had seemed to stop, someone told me. ¡°The war is over. Now come back.¡± ¡°¡­is it over?¡± ¡°Yes, no one is going to die. See? The only thing dying right now is your ice cream that I¡¯m holding.¡± I looked everywhere, but I couldn¡¯t see the owner of the voice. I wondered what had happened. ¡°That¡¯s a relief, she¡¯s a little stable now. I think you talking to her has been effective. This young girl¡­was she a part of the allied forces?¡± What I heard this time was a relatively older voice. I looked at the man I was supporting. His body was breaking down very slowly and gradually. Like a sand castle collapsing in the waves. ¡°I¡¯ve often seen war veterans like this lady. Phew, it is sad. It is a tragedy that is irreversible. I can¡¯t bring myself to believe that the very heroes who brought about peace have to suffer even after they achieved it.¡± An invisible force gently lowered my arm. Standing blankly, I could feel the warmth of the hand patting my head. ¡°Let¡¯s go back now. It¡¯s better for you to take a good rest.¡± Who is the owner of this voice? The question did not last long. The world flashed as my body got heavier and I felt a thud. When I opened my eyes again, what I saw in front of me was an unfamiliar landscape. It was already dark outside. However, the moon outside the window was so big and bright that I could see the whole of the illuminated room. My whole body was tired. ¡®¡­the last thing I heard was Rue¡¯s voice. This is not some strange place, is it?¡¯ The moment I looked over to the window with such thoughts, a familiar panorama view caught my eyes. The Weatherwoods mansion was visible right under the bright full moon. That means, ¡°The water is over there.¡± This is the Eachus mansion. And it was Rue, the new owner of this mansion, who sat on a chair in a dark corner of the room, reading. ¡°Isn¡¯t it uncomfortable to read in such a dark place?¡± Even though all of my five senses are extremely sharp and developed, I was still reluctant to do it. However, it was not the first time that Rue did something strange, so I drank water first. I recognised that I felt dehydrated only after water entered my mouth. As my head cleared up, I remembered the moments until right before I fainted. The horrifically realistic hallucinations that I had at the national peace cemetery. ¡®I wasn¡¯t just dreaming. I couldn¡¯t tell the difference between illusion and reality.¡¯ I slowly put down the glass. My hands were shaking so much that I thought I would drop it. Just by looking back on it, my palms were soaked with cold sweat and I felt chills. I felt completely vulnerable. This feeling of not being able to control one¡¯s own body is deeply unpleasant. In the latter part of the war, I hadn¡¯t experienced an instinctive fear like this. Why is this happening now? ¡°¡­thank you for your help.¡± Translator¡¯s note; Hey guys, Ami here. Sorry for the late update. My laptop has been down for more than a month and I borrowed one from someone to translate this chapter. It¡¯s hopefully only a matter of a few days before mine gets fixed, I¡¯m still trying. For now please bear with me, and I will try to make it up to you when I can. On another note, this chapter made me cry. CH 25 The more you dig into negative emotions, the more likely it is to be buried in them. I sat down in the chair opposite Rue¡¯s to erase the painful afterimages that disturbed my mind still. ¡°Thanks to you, I was saved.¡± Fortunately, my voice wasn¡¯t shaking. Rue, who glanced at me, answered indifferently. ¡°The melted ice cream would¡¯ve been happy to hear that.¡± ¡°¡­did you throw it away?¡± ¡°I gave them to the manager of the National Peace Park. Both of them.¡± The other voice I heard before I fainted must¡¯ve belonged to the manager then. ¡°Mr. Rue could have eaten.¡± ¡°It would have been nice, but I had to move a certain someone home.¡± That was very patronising. But I only nodded calmly, since I had nothing to say. Thak! ¨C Rue closed the book shut and threw it onto the table before making eye contact with me, with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure I told you to take a seat on a bench and wait quietly, do you not think so too?¡± The grimly drawn smile in the dark was more eerie than I could imagine. The smile was completely fused with the unique dark and gorgeous aura that Rue¡¯s features accompanied, and it seemed like he would grab a tool out of nowhere in an instant and hit me on the back of my head, saying ¡®I don¡¯t need a dog that doesn¡¯t listen!¡¯ So I answered more modestly. ¡°I owe you.¡± ¡°There are a lot of people who owe me. There are few who pay me back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t leech off you.¡± ¡°I have to expect it to worry about it.¡± What an unyielding guy. Should I say thank you for not leaving me on the side of the road? huh? ¡°I thought you might need someone to watch you while you were down, so I brought you to my house. Get back to your place yourself at the right time.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in this room all this time because of me?¡± ¡°Not me, my servants.¡± From the beginning¡­ The line drawn by Rue¡¯s lips became thicker. ¡°Yes, the garbage that our lovely Miss Daisy has dumped on me to handle.¡± I pretended not to hear him. ¡°The maid doesn¡¯t know what happened today, so don¡¯t make a slip of tongue in front of her.¡± I couldn¡¯t pretend not to hear this time. ¡°What lie did you tell her?¡± ¡°Miss Daisy wanted to reflect on what happened the other day for trying to bury a person, so she¡¯s taking special education classes.¡± ¡°Mr. Rue¡­ listening to you talk makes my gratitude lessen and my anger rise.¡± Shrugging his shoulders with a look, he picked up the book again. While I was waiting for him to say something more, he fell quietly into reading again. This was an unexpected attitude. ¡°I thought you¡¯d ask about my past.¡± So as soon as I understood the situation I was in, I¡¯d gotten ready to answer that I served briefly as a foot soldier. But Rue didn¡¯t seem very interested in it. ¡®Or are you being considerate of me?¡¯ A warm-hearted Rue who cares about others. It really doesn¡¯t suit him. Let¡¯s just assume he¡¯s purely not interested. There¡¯s only one thing he¡¯s interested in. Seven Mystery Treasures in the Continent for Children. I stared quietly at the cover of the book Rue was busy reading. Perhaps, Rue was looking for the relics of Dian Cecht. It was none of my business what he wanted to use them for. The important thing was that Rue had the ability to distinguish the relics of Dian Cecht, and that he had already discovered the relic hidden in the Weatherwoods mansion. ¡°Mr. Rue came to the Weatherwoods mansion for the relic of Dian Cecht, didn¡¯t you?¡± He made no comment either way. ¡°Are you going to steal it?¡± A cold line was drawn around Rue¡¯s mouth. ¡°I believe I told you that I¡¯d let you know when you were done blooming the flowers. Are you going to ignore my words and pester me about it anyway?¡± Was it because of the atmosphere of this particular night, or was it because Rue had helped me again this time? For some reason, I expressed my honest feelings. ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡± I was half worried this interest would get in the way of my plans. The other half was questioning the character, Rue, himself. He raised his head again. Unlike before, he looked a little serious. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you just in case. Don¡¯t fall for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fall in love. You¡¯d only get hurt.¡± ¡°When are you going to stop saying that crazy thing?¡± Rue laughed softly. It was a much warmer smile than before. ¡°I have a question, too. Do things like today happen often?¡± My lips closed automatically. I didn¡¯t know the conversation would take this turn. ¡®¡­ is it often?¡¯ It was a difficult question to answer with ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯. It has been four years since the war ended for the world, but it¡¯s been only two months since I opened my eyes. Therefore, the hallucinations I experienced today could be one that I might experience once every two months, once a year, two years, or the first and last I experience. ¡°This is the first time.¡± ¡°What about nightmares?¡± ¡°I also had that for the first time recently.¡± ¡°Have you recently gone through an incident that was painful enough to evoke hallucinations and nightmares?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°Or, on the contrary, was there a pleasant incident that made you forget about your nightmares and hallucinations for a short while?¡± ¡°Well.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to answer anything properly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that happened exactly.¡± ¡°The initiative in life begins with knowing oneself. Look back on what has happened to you lately, and how it has affected you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°A life without worries. A life without any insight. On the outside, it seems comfortable and happy, but in reality it is tantamount to throwing one¡¯s soul into the dump. A soul that is neither empty nor full is no different than non-existent.¡± The flat voice caused a not-so-low wave to raise in my heart. ¡®The initiative in life begins with knowing oneself.¡¯ The words were particularly difficult for me, who was always hard on learning. It was the same when I first learned the sword. I didn¡¯t have a proper swordsmanship teacher. I took up arms only with because of my determination to punish my brother¡¯s enemies, the Great Wizard Mephisto and the demon legion. I sharpened my sword to cut flesh and blood. ¡°Dive into the most essential elements first. If you do that, there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t achieve.¡± Fortunately, there were numerous heroes on the battlefield, and the advice they left me was consistent. Without needing to learn, I crossed the barrier with just that fact. Therefore, knowing the essence is what I am most confident about. So let¡¯s start by digging into the essence. ¡®The initiative in life begins with knowing oneself. Knowing me.¡¯ Who am I? My name is Daisy Fager. I was once a man called Andert Fager, and long before that ¡ª a woman called Fager. But can I say that I know my existence just by knowing my name? ¡°Daisy.¡± A very common name in the empire. In the first place, I¡¯d chosen this name because I did not want to attach any special meaning to it. In fact, when you name something, it is bound to contain meaning and affection. The affection made me feel responsible for my existence. But even with this insincere fake name, I was fine for well over a month. No nightmares, no hallucinations. Then why did that happen? What instigated that in me? It wasn¡¯t that hard to find an answer. I was becoming happy to be a maid. I enjoyed cleaning up the mansion. I enjoyed my days not being full of killing devils. I enjoyed becoming a member of society, meeting people, running errands. I liked it when my work was recognised as I finished washing the curtains and sweeping the floor. And most of all, what entertained me most was myself living as Daisy, not Andert. But that peace was short-lived. Ten days after settling in Weatherwoods mansion, I had a nightmare. In the nightmare dead soldiers clung to me and denied my name being Andert. In just 10 days, an incident that caused a stir in my peace occurred. ¡®The cause was probably¡­¡¯ I think it was because I wielded my fists at the pub. No, it was clear. Every time I used violence, hot blood pumped all over my body. The reason I first opened my mouth in a while was solely because of the liberation that dominated my head at that moment. I felt myself intact when I weighed on the existence that I defined as evil. I felt that the time I spent 14 years over wasn¡¯t denied. It is only now I realised, I was a person who was awfully double-standard. I hoped to live as Daisy, not Andert ¨C and yet I still wanted to be recognised for my past as Andert. I had trouble staying a low-key maid. The second wave was then a little rougher. This time it was not just a nightmare, but hallucinations. ¡®The cause is certain.¡¯ The national peace cemetery. The moment I saw an unnamed graveyard there. A wave of regret engulfed me. The faces of comrades whose names I didn¡¯t hear came to mind. The names I didn¡¯t ask because I was afraid of remembering them after losing them, and the faces I¡¯d forgotten because I didn¡¯t know their names bloomed one after another in my head. Why didn¡¯t I ask their names? If I had asked for their names, wouldn¡¯t those gravestones be filled with the names of the people they belonged to? Only today, after 14 years, did I feel terrible regret. Guilt drove me to nightmares, and walked me through hallucinations. So I¡­ Suddenly, I recalled a small petal blooming in that flower pot. I remembered the moment when I wandered around the market searching for the cotyledon. CH 26 ¡°Flowers? You need seeds, not seedlings? Since the weather is getting warmer, more people are buying flowers, but it¡¯s been a while since someone bought seeds. Very well, choose a picture that suits your heart from this album, young miss, and I¡¯ll give you the seeds of that flower.¡± I also recalled the name of the first flower I¡¯d ever planted in my life ¨C one that I thought I¡¯d completely forgotten about. ¡°Did you choose this one? It¡¯s the perfect flower for spring. It looks good and pretty, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, the name is.¡± ¡°The name?¡± ¡°I like the name.¡± ¡°Alas¡­it¡¯s beautiful. The name, Daisy.¡± The name of the flower was Daisy. I planted daisies. How could the name hold no value when Daisy had planted Daisies? I realised it only now. I thought I didn¡¯t hold any affection for the name ¡®Daisy¡¯, but that wasn¡¯t true. It is not a name that defines me. It defines the moments that have led up to here. My choices, my hypocrisy, my regrets. All of them were mine. The more of these moments pile up, the more solid I become. I might be something more tomorrow. But today¡¯s ¡®me¡¯ was the best I could try to understand right now. ¡®The initiative in life begins with knowing me.¡¯ I know myself. Therefore, I will take the initiative in my life! . . . Power seemed to dwell in the cracked soul. . . . I opened my eyes without remembering when I had closed them. ¡°Just now¡­¡± While I calmly took my breath without panicking, a great warmth came over my head. ¡°Good job.¡± Rue, who spoke suddenly, gently stroked my head. An uncharacteristically caring look closely observed my condition. I also looked at my body quietly. My palms were soaked with cold sweat. It wasn¡¯t just the palm of my head. Sweat dripped down my chin and stuck between my knees. Even my clothes were damp, so it was like I¡¯d played with water in the river. However, there was something separate from that which held importance. ¡®My soul that was in danger of breaking¡­it¡¯s more solid now.¡¯ The life expectancy, which I¡¯d predicted to be 3 years, also seemed to have doubled. ¡®How on earth?¡¯ I knew I¡¯d just been enlightened about something. If I was a simple knight like in the past, I would have screamed in joy at my newfound way of thinking. But, enlightenment may heal the body, but it could not heal the soul. The soul was hard to break, and impossible to heal. At least as far as I knew. Rue took his hand off my head and said. ¡°Your eyes hold confusion. Is this the first time you¡¯ve experienced your mind and body becoming one?¡± ¡°¡­body and mind?¡± ¡°To put it in simple terms, it is the process of attaining perfect control over the body, and becoming a demigod. You¡¯ve just entered the first of the stages.¡± What? Perfect control? I was so surprised I almost choked up. A demigod. The status held by the great wizard Mephisto and Dian Cecht. Those who have reached the level of demigod are historically recorded. Neither the founding emperor of the great wizard, the Penrotta Empire, nor the numerous sod masters who have been called heroes, had the tinnitus of God. I have heard that there are only two people like that in the current generation, including a religious leader who is revered as a god in the United States of North America. A level that neither Raphael nor the saint could reach. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Rue¡¯s forehead crumpled when he heard my question. However, the gaze that seemed to be ready to criticize me soon regained it¡¯s composure. ¡°Miss Daisy, you body seems to have reached a pretty useful level. Didn¡¯t your teacher teach you about the body and the soul when you first attained this?¡± Although I got a bit angry at just defining my skills as ¡®a pretty useful level¡¯, I decided to stick to the important bits since the atmosphere seemed to command it. ¡°I don¡¯t have that.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have one?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t have a teacher.¡± It¡¯s not like there¡¯s no one at all ¨C rather, it¡¯s more like they¡¯re all over the place. Anyone who gave me a single word of advice or counsel could be called my teacher, if I think about it, so I have no single teacher. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty unbelievable. Does that mean Miss Daisy learned the sword on her own and survived the battlefield with those skills alone?¡± With a wry smile, Rue swept his chin, He was looking at me with very funny eyes, and I, the person involved, was not at all amused. ¡°¡­How did you know I was a knight?¡± Because I never told him I could use a sword. When I glared at him with a wary eye, Rue lightly flicked the tip of my nose as if telling me not to think of anything ridiculous. ¡°Our cute Miss Daisy has the air of a knight, who wouldn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to turn this into a joke, I know nothing about you.¡± Rue answered, shrugging his shoulders lightly. ¡°Those who hold the sword for a long time are bound to acquire a habit in their lives. When you are on alert, you pull your right shoulder back and change your posture as if ready to draw your sword.¡± Then he playfully tapped the back of my left hand. ¡°You habitually touch your right hip as if to check your sword.¡± I couldn¡¯t give any answer. Rue¡¯s points were true ¨C I knew it because he¡¯d noticed I was a left-handed swordsman. ¡°The way you clench your teeth when you¡¯re in a disadvantageous situation,¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a kid, so it¡¯s very funny.¡± ¡°Hmm. Hmm.¡± I raised my head reverently, mind and body. Rue¡¯s eyes, which looked at me, held a rare mixture of emotions in them that was not usually visible. Benevolence. There is a sense of mercy in his eyes! For no reason, Rue was in a very benevolent state. This is a rare opportunity. I moved my lips in earnest so as to not miss the timing. ¡°Mr. Rue, I have a question. It¡¯s very important, so I want you to answer it without joking around.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°You said that the state of mind and body is divided into four stages.¡± ¡°And you just ignored my refusal.¡± ¡°I heard that when you become a demigod, not only do your scars and injuries all heal, but you can¡¯t get hurt by most weapons.¡± Fortunately, Rue seemed to be listening to me. ¡°¡­does that go for the soul as well?¡± If the body is reborn as the vessel of a God, wouldn¡¯t it only be correct for the soul to be reborn as one befitting one as well? Rue¡¯s dismal eyes deepened. ¡°Are you curious?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re curious, kneel down and say, ¡®Please tell me, master.¡¯¡° If he thought I couldn¡¯t do it, he was wrong. I went straight to my knees and said with my teeth clenched. ¡°Please tell me, master. My lord.¡± He answered with a disheartened face. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Then he continued his remarks with strange eyes. ¡°But it¡¯s impossible if you¡¯re half-hearted. At least in terms of probability. Why? does Miss Daisy want to be a demigod? Do you own a bad soul?¡± His acrimonious voice shot an arrow into my heart. ¡°Do you feel that the other three walls will be easy if you accidentally crossed the first wall? Do you think you¡¯ll naturally climb up, living half-heartedly as you do now? Do you wish to be granted the body of a demigod and be the luckiest maid in the world, enjoying both heaven and earth at the same time, with both body and soul?¡± What an irritating man. ¡®I can¡¯t refute it.¡¯ But apart from my wounded pride, his mockery was right a hundred times over. The unexpected revelation had felt so sweet. ¡®If it was easy to complete all four stages, the world would be full of demigods.¡¯ Besides, I have a short life span. Even if I had an advantage of being more ahead than others, it still wasn¡¯t enough time to master both my body and mind. ¡®I almost turned to vain hope.¡¯ Rue has a fierce tongue, but he doesn¡¯t say anything untrue. That¡¯s why it¡¯s even worse. When I got up from my seat, I made eye contact with him and said. ¡°Thanks to you, I realized a lot, Mr. Rue. I¡¯m going back now. Thank you for your help today, and good night.¡± While I was walking toward the door, Rue called me. ¡°Miss Daisy.¡± I stopped with the bedroom door wide open. ¡®You¡¯re surprisingly weak-hearted. You¡¯re trying to apologize for being rude, aren¡¯t you?¡¯ I turned to look at Rue with such warm thoughts. ¡°The sun is up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°We are late to work. Because of you.¡± You¡¯re lying, right? I came home at the fastest speed I could manage. In front of the entrance, the head maid, dressed neatly from head to toe was waiting for us with a fierce smile. ¡°Miss Daisy? You¡¯ve been late twice now. Your pay will be cut.¡± And I got a pay cut. Damn it! But today¡¯s bad luck didn¡¯t end with just a pay cut. The lies told to her by Rue are the derivation of another hell. ¡°From today, we will start a short training session for 20 minutes a day. To live with people in a city, you need to be ordinary, not special. I will develop Miss Daisy¡¯s lack of sociality and ethical awareness.¡± I lost 20 minutes of my noon break like that. Damn it! This is not a life of initiative. I hate the maid. After that, time passed quickly, and the morning of the day we were to leave for the capital dawned. CH 27 Transformation magic is not very difficult. However, the perfection of the magic was greatly influenced by the viewer¡¯s detailed observation and intuition. All trained wizards could use transformation magic, but only highly skilled wizards could transform themselves into perfect human or animal figures. From that perspective, Rue was a genius. ¡°There¡¯s no other word to explain it besides beautiful. This is such perfect wizardry.¡± The maid, who admired his excellent magical abilities, could not take her hand off my face. I glanced at the mirror next to me without being let go of. ¡°This is nice.¡± As the maid said, the skin of the Viscount Weatherwoods, which was overlaid on me was perfect. A very aristocratic bright blonde and blue eyes. Lively skin and well above average height. Even the straight teeth and slightly cut dimples. This level of meticulousness was truly astonishing. His fine hands were clean without a single callus, his shoulders and chest were balanced and wide, and the relatively thin waist was strong. Like Weatherwoods¡¯ bloodline, slightly small ears compared to his height. Big but sweet eyes and a light double eyelid on one side. Indeed, it was a perfect combination of the man¡¯s body that I wanted and the characteristics of the Viscount Weatherwoods that the maid wanted. I considered Rue again today. ¡®What the hell can¡¯t you do?¡¯ The maid¡¯s gaze, while she took a step back, watered little by little. ¡°It would be uncanny no matter who looks at you, though you still can¡¯t compare to the previous master.¡± At least I look better than a egg. ¡°Yet the one inside is a maid. A maid whose salary has been cut.¡± ¡°Yes, I know, but Miss Daisy seems to be very familiar with this. Usually when the gender is reversed, there are many awkward oddities.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m generous. Men like me aren¡¯t common in the world, are they?¡± The maid looked at me with a strange expression and then smiled awkwardly. ¡°But don¡¯t be too bold there in the Aristocratic council! Sigh, I¡¯m so worried about whether Miss Daisy will be able to perform well ¨C whether she will cause trouble or make a slip of the tongue¡­¡± I patted the worried maid on the shoulder and gave her a reliable smile. The smiling face in the mirror was quite nice. Not as good as my brother¡¯s, but it was the perfect look to make a good first impression. ¡°You must have a lot of worries. Just give up. It¡¯s no use crying over spilt milk. If there is a problem, Rue will take care of it on his own, as always.¡± Then I pressed down the slightly protruding bangs. This body¡¯s hair was especially uncomfortable because three or four strands of hair kept falling to my forehead even though it was not too curly. ¡°Well,¡± I pinned my bangs to the back more precisely and turned to the maid again. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be better to have shorter hair? I don¡¯t want to have long bangs.¡± The maid, who was staring blankly at me, turned her eyes subtly and replied, ¡°Really?¡± I pressed my face closer to the maid and demanded. ¡°Or just pull them out. These are very annoying.¡± The maid¡¯s eyes went round. She pushed me away with a flushed face. ¡°Well, that. Say it from a little further.¡± ¡­aha, look at this. ¡°Stop.¡± ¡®I like this.¡¯ Thum. I felt a slight blow to the back of my head. Reflexively, I turned my back and saw facial features that were blindingly beautiful. A spotless, jade-like fair face, big eyes and a cute nose, red lips like cherries¡­ It was like a woman from books had been translated into real life. Every time she blinked open her fluttering eyelashes, her hazy, golden eyes revealed themselves. Rue had turned perfectly into a woman from head to toe, but his eyes remained the same. ¡°Uh.¡± And yet by knowing how he looked in real life, I still had the feeling that I was dealing with a tall man with a brazen face. In fact, this feeling of illusion felt so real that it overshadowed the fake for me. It¡¯s Morian Serenier. The identity that Rue stole to become the wife of the Viscount Weatherwoods was the third daughter of Count Serenier from the Northern United Nations. The expression the maid made when she first heard the story was astonishment itself. ¡°A Aristocratic-woman of a country! How could you steal such a person¡¯s identity? No, I¡¯m not going to take such a dangerous path for the sake of our house¡¯s honour. A woman of ordinary station, not aristocracy, is enough.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no problem using this status, so don¡¯t worry about it, headmaid. They¡¯ll buy it.¡± ¡°What do you mean no problem?! Miss Daisy! You don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have a problem, either?¡± How did I react at the time? Of course, I focused on washing the dishes as hard as I could. I did not want to be caught as a shrimp between the fight of whales. Anyway, the winner of the argument was Rue. The last resort he took to persuade the maid was very simple. He took an oath on the condition that he would never do anything that would harm the Weatherwoods family. Since then, he has quelled all of the maid¡¯s consistent worries with oaths. Thus four new oaths had been engraved on Rue¡¯s forearm. ¡®There was a reason why so many traces of oaths were imprinted on his whole body.¡¯ I guess he just swore an oath whenever he didn¡¯t want to bother to persuade anyone. It was quite his thinking circuit. It was also a very plausible situation, considering Rue was a man of his own mind. In any case, Rue had the ability to uphold an oath. Rue, who was staring at my face, warned as if asking. ¡°For the time being, you are my woman. Stop flirting with her and be modest.¡± He was spewing nonsense early in the morning. What are you saying all of a sudden? I don¡¯t know where to even start to talk. ¡°It¡¯s not my woman, it¡¯s my man.¡± When I corrected his wrong term, Rue covered his mouth and smiled hatefully. It was a terribly lovely smile. ¡°Darling, feel it. There¡¯s nothing down there.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re neither a man nor a woman right now. Which means you can seduce both men and women. Be twice as careful ¨C do you understand?¡± I was once again thrown into confusion by the imposing distance. ¡®No wonder it felt like I was missing something.¡¯ Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter to me either way. But hearing all this talk about seducing men and women without saying anything made me frustrated. ¡°Why do you have to¡­ No, can¡¯t you just make it into an ordinary man¡¯s body instead of arguing about this and that?¡±¡± Rue, smiling brightly, answered, clinging to my arm. ¡°Yes, but Morian wouldn¡¯t like it. I wouldn¡¯t want to be cheated on.¡± Oh my god. I felt somewhat ill. I was already starting to regret taking the initiative to attend the Aristocratic council.How could he talk about such vulgar things with that pretty face? Turning a person inside out was definitely a scary ability. ¡°Oh, where do you keep looking? My darling isn¡¯t supposed to be a beast, with eyes looking for prey, despite what you may be like, Miss Daisy.¡± I didn¡¯t answer. Playing along would make Rue happy. Instead, I warned the maid with very serious eyes. ¡°The Aristocratic council is a big deal for the Weatherwoods family. Is it okay for a woman like this to be the wife of the Viscount Weatherwoods?¡± Say it¡¯s not okay. Say you can¡¯t allow it unless he becomes a decent Mrs. Weatherwoods. Contrary to my wishes, the maid gave a wrong answer. ¡°Hm, it definitely is¡­more natural when you¡¯re a man. It feels like you¡¯re a different person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I asked, is it?¡± ¡°Why have you been acting like you didn¡¯t know how to when you can talk like that?¡± My main speciality was pretending not to hear her. Only then did the maid, who had returned to her original comfortable face, expressing a slightly awkward expression, open her lips with a serious expression. ¡°I¡¯m still worried, however.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Miss Daisy, make sure to not have an affair. Things become complicated when there¡¯s an illegitimate child.¡± ¡°Aha. Is the maid as crazy as my wife?¡± The maid burst into a loud laugh after a long time. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just a joke! I¡¯m kidding. What complaints are there to even make about you two? I just hope you get back safely, without any major problems. Please take care of our Weatherwoods family.¡± At the request of the maid, we left the mansion. In front of the door stood two luxurious carriages. I didn¡¯t know where they¡¯d gotten the carriages from. One was full of Morian¡¯s glamorous, colourful clothes. It¡¯s early in the morning. Fortunately, there are few people coming and going on the road. I stood at the door of the carriage and reached for Rue. ¡°Let¡¯s go, madam.¡± ¡°What do you mean madam? Call me ¡®my dear Morian¡¯. We are the hottest newlyweds in the country.¡± Rue, who approached with a smile, took my hand. A red wedding ring stuck out between his white fingers. Rue¡¯s was a normal fake wedding ring, but mine is a little special. This was because it was a magic tool that immediately ended the transformation magic and returned me to my original form. I hope I won¡¯t have to use this function. ¡°I think this will be a very eventful and fun trip. Isn¡¯t that right, darling?¡± In the eyes right above that sweet smile was vivid mockery. This week during the Aristocratic council meeting, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a hard time. CH 28 The carriage headed for Midwinterre High Speed Airship Station. Even in the Penrotta Empire, which had excellent magic-education and technology, few cities had a high speed airship station. A high-speed craft is a kind of mobile magic tool that was operated with more than three wizard captains and a large number of magic refining stones. Of course, ticket prices were too high for ordinary citizens to even think about. And even more than being expensive, the tickets were scarce and hard to get by ¨C since the distance that was travelled by 4 days in train could be reached in 6 hours. ¡®It used to be more expensive. The price has dropped a lot.¡¯ It means that technology has advanced significantly in just four years. ¡°¡­wait.¡± Staring blankly out of the window, I asked the coachman (who was of course, the assassin-butler) to stop. I stepped out while Rue was focused on ¡®the seven mystery treasures of the continent for children¡¯ again. The old potato seller who was previously selling in the alley was setting up his seat in the market at dawn. I stood tall in front of the old man who was busy organising potatoes in the basket. And demanded. ¡°I wish to buy all the potatoes here at the highest price.¡± Because today was the day my first salary was paid, and I received a huge amount of money to maintain the dignity of Viscount Weatherwoods. I didn¡¯t know how such a huge sum came out of a house that seemed to be stingier than a flea¡¯s liver, but¡­ ¡®Since you¡¯ve given me the money anyway, it¡¯s alright to use it however I want.¡¯ The old man, who was looking at my face with his eyes open, welcomed me with a bright smile. ¡°Huh? Oh, is the Miss here again? The potato quality is good these days.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh! Is that your real face? Either way, you¡¯re both handsome and pretty. People are so mean nowadays, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re popular!¡± ¡°¡­how did you know?¡± To be honest, I was very embarrassed. I touched my face and hair just in case, but I was definitely wearing the face of Viscount Weatherwoods. I wasn¡¯t Daisy Fager right now. ¡°How did you know? That I¡¯m me. I look different.¡± But why did the old man recognize me? The old man, who laughed in vain, answered with warm eyes. ¡°I always sit here and watch people¡¯s backs. You don¡¯t know how many people walk down this road. And people walk differently. It varies by gender, by occupation, by personality, by disease.¡± Did you recognize me just by the way I walked? It was very shocking. ¡®Come to think of it, Rue pointed my habits out and correlated them to being a knight earlier as well.¡¯ Were habits engraved in the soul, not the body? I was really lucky. Thanks to these two, I realised what to watch out for at the aristocratic council. ¡®My habits of walking and posture of being a left-handed knight. If I watch out for these two, they won¡¯t recognize me, no matter how sharp the Duke of Berkley Gratten is.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t attending the aristocratic society without thinking. It was clear good news that Raphael was absent from this year¡¯s aristocratic council meeting, But with the presence of the Duke of Sword, Berkley Gratten, you can never relax. He was a swordmaster. When you reach the level of a sword master, the sensitivity of the sixth sense exceeds the five senses, so you can see through the soul, not the body. The sixth sense was basically a sense that was disciplined by experience and insight. Therefore, no matter how carefully I acted, a swordmaster would surely feel ¡®unfamiliar familiarity¡¯ with me. This also meant that my identity could be revealed. ¡°So, even if it¡¯s a small habit, I must hide it.¡± Left-handed knights are rare. Since all the swordsmanship of the famous knight families is right-handed play, all left-handed knights have been corrected to be right-handed. However, I did not correct myself as a right-handed person because I had no teacher and had not been taught the swordsmanship of a famous family. ¡°Let¡¯s be careful.¡± With a firm mind, I looked at the old potato seller again. At first, I intended to buy all of the old man¡¯s potatoes, but I changed my mind. Few people have eyes that distinguish people by their walking. If you make the right use of this sharpness¡­ ¡°Grandpa, do you have any thoughts about running a side job?¡± Our conversation was not long. I came back to the carriage after discussing the side job with the old potato seller. I didn¡¯t buy all the potatoes. If the old man wants to continue his ¡°side job¡± of monitoring the Midwinterre market, his basket will always have to be filled with potatoes. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Just before we got off at the station, I handed over a note from the carriage to the assassin butler. The blue-gray eyes under his hat shone sharply. I didn¡¯t forget the matter he had asked me to get done secretly. In addition, he will now be able to use the old potato seller¡¯s sharpness in the right place and pay the right price. Soon after, a high-speed aircraft carrying me and Rue floated over Midwinterrd. It was then that rumors began to spread throughout the Penrotta Empire that the Viscount Weatherwoods, with his wife, had broken out of confinement and was starting to work. The Imperial City of Ragel. Located in the middle of the Penrotta Empire, it is a large city with the Pen River to its north and the Rotta Plain to its south. As can be inferred from the names of the place, the name of the Penrotta Empire originated from the Pen River and the Rotta Plains. Ragel, located on flat land, was magnificent when viewed from the sky. The scenery of the large city spread out like wings around the Royal Place Fortress and resembled a maze. I was immersed in old sentiment, staring at the castle like a pearl in the center of Ragel. ¡®The first and last day I came here¡­was it 9 years ago?¡¯ It was also the day that the royal family of Penrotta first introduced a mobile high-speed aircraft. I flew 12 hours from the front and arrived at the Imperial City. It was to participate in the ceremony of the crown princess, my comrade, Natasha. Natasha Mili Penrotta As a member of the royal family of Penrotta, known for their bloodline of magicians, Natasha was a great mage who made a great name in the Magic War. As the timing demanded, the ceremony for the crown princess was held simply. I grew up in the countryside and even that felt so splendid that my eyes ached. However, this day was not remembered by people as the ¡®The successor crowning ceremony of Princess Natasha.¡¯ ¡°Andert.¡± It was still clear. It had snowed that day and the surroundings were all white. Natasha, who had been handed a small token of being the successor by the emperor at the end of the long red carpet, came up to me as soon as she stepped back and asked. ¡°You said you would offer me anything I wanted if I became the crown princess, right?¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes were on me. I wondered if this was okay, but I was convinced Natasha had something planned in her mind. I answered, kneeling on one knee in front of Natasha, who had the high dignity and honour of being the heir to the throne, not dust rolling around in the battlefield. ¡°Of course, your highness. As long as the task is not as difficult as picking the stars from the night sky, I would get anything for you.¡± ¡°Then marry me.¡± Wait a minute. ¡°¡­what?¡± ¡°Andert Fager.¡± She knelt down in front of me, confessing. ¡°If you tell me to pick a star, I will. Be my rain and the treasure of the Penrotta Empire, the future father of the empire. I will spend my whole life protecting and cherishing you.¡± That day. Natasha was not remembered as the crown princess who had become the successor to the throne. It had been imprinted in the people¡¯s eyes as the day when the heir to the throne desperately announced her courtship of a common man. Hah, hah, hah. Ha ha. ¡®Natasha¡­ was a very interesting friend.¡¯ But two months ago, when I opened my eyes again on Queen Island, the heir to the throne was no longer Natasha. ¡®I wonder where she is and what she¡¯s doing.¡¯ Sometimes Natasha¡¯s beautiful face came to my mind, but I could not find any trace of feeling rather than wanting confirmation of life and death. If you¡¯re alive, that¡¯s enough. ¡°Darling.¡± Cold, soft fingers came between my own. My body stiffened in surprise, but I turned my head as if nothing had happened. Rue, who leaned his face on my arm with his fingers folded with mine, looked up at me with languid eyes. ¡°What are you thinking so deeply about? You don¡¯t look good.¡± ¡°¡­? Did I get nervous without knowing it?¡± ¡°Nervous?¡± Rue, who let out a small chuckle, closed his eyes slowly as if he were sleeping. ¡°That is such a cute lie.¡± I pretended not to hear him and turned to the window again. As the high-speed craft slowly descended, the scenery of Regal quickly approached. Soon after, we stepped on the ground. As the capital of the empire, Regal was crowded right from the high-speed aircraft stop. When we left the gate after a simple procedure, two men standing nearby approached us. Surprised to see Rue¡¯s beauty up close, they gulped down their dry saliva. ¡°Ah, are you two Viscount Weatherwoods and his wife? We¡¯re here to pick you up on the orders of Black Ragel.¡± I made it as Viscount Weatherwoods! They looked at me and took me for him! CH 29 As I followed the two men who didn¡¯t seem to know how to read the atmosphere, the road to the super-large private airfield appeared. We re-loaded ourselves in the carriage prepared there. As soon as I sat down inside, Rue asked what was so funny that I¡¯d kept staring at the back of his head in the streets back there. ¡°What is so unsatisfactory, my Viscount?¡± I answered immediately, as I had been waiting for him to ask. ¡°I¡¯m unhappy that you¡¯re so pretty.¡± One of Rue¡¯s eyebrows, looking up obliquely, moved up and down. For a moment, I almost couldn¡¯t breathe. This is because it totally felt like I was dealing with Rue, the gardener-cum-chef who was 190cm tall, brazen, cheeky, bad-tempered, and greedy ¨C not Morian, who he¡¯d turned into. I wanted to sew up my lips and just gawk while I was talking about how pretty he was. Nevertheless, I was very dissatisfied. It¡¯s always better to say what you want to say if you want to feel better. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be so pretty.¡± I can¡¯t help but keep my eyes on him. The servant closed his ears and immersed himself in driving, but it was not hidden in his eyes that he was thinking all sorts of silly things. Rue, who had been silent for a while, warned grimly. ¡°I told you not to fall for me.¡± ¡°I told you not to talk nonsense to me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right to seduce me. But don¡¯t do it to other women. I know how to keep my eyes open. Don¡¯t stick out your lips. Actually, try to keep your eyes closed as much as you can.¡± ¡°Should I just not breathe?¡± Meanwhile, our carriage arrived at the private airfield. After getting out of the car, I couldn¡¯t help but burst into admiration for a short time. ¡°This is¡­¡± It seemed like an evening dinner party. The tables were lined on the green grass, with sweet desserts and champagne on each one, waiting for their owners to come. The throngs of people seemed busy having conversations, enjoying the relaxing free time they had just before they got on the airship. And beyond all that, a large, picturesque airship. ¡®Did he say it was called Black Ragel?¡¯ First and foremost, it was black. It resembled a crow mid-flying as it stretched it¡¯s wings and soared in the sky. The super large modifier made me understand at once how massive the oval body really was. ¡°The aristocrats are waiting over there. Follow me, we¡¯ll carry your luggage to the cabin.¡± I¡¯m not used to this kind of treatment. But Rue looked very familiar with this. He even waved his hand at the men who stared at us stupidly. He was definitely really into the role. ¡®I can easily bury myself between these people.¡¯ Rue could have also easily blended in if he wasn¡¯t so unnecessarily beautiful. ¡°Please, please! Come back after having a great time! It would be so well and peaceful for the Weatherwoods mansion if no incident occurs. Please try your best to ensure that it doesn¡¯t.¡± I, Daisy. A brave soldier on the front lines on behalf of a master who doesn¡¯t even exist. I carefully checked the dozens of influential people who filled the airfield one by one, reflecting on the request of the headmaid who¡¯d been about to beg me when we were leaving on both her knees. ¡°Hm.¡± ¡®I have no idea who¡¯s who!¡¯ I was sure that I¡¯d memorised ¡®members of the aristocratic society¡¯, the list that the maid had given me the past few days¡­but it seemed you can never memorise stuff like that in just theory. ¡®In addition, there are several people in the aristocratic council who are not actually aristocrats.¡¯ Several wealthy commoners were also visible. While it may be called the aristocratic council, at this scale, it was nothing more than a large-scale social gathering for the upper class. The stairs leading up to the airship entrance were long and unstable. I climbed the stairs first, carefully assisting Rue in his high-heeled shoes. Dozens of heads were watching us under the sky. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°They¡¯re young. Has the aristocratic association recently accepted a new family?¡± ¡°I know right? If they were from a famous family, how would we not know them?¡± On arriving at the entrance, the man who was guiding us said to the flight attendant. ¡°This is Viscount Weatherwoods, and his wife, Viscountess.¡± It was when we¡¯d been identified. ¡°¡­the Viscount Weatherwoods?¡± The man who was passing through the aisle ahead of us turned his back. A familiar face with the weight of the years asked me, ¡°Are you really the son of the Weatherwoods?¡± I couldn¡¯t not recognize that imposing middle-aged face. The father of Viscountess Weatherwoods, And a comrade who fought through the battlefield with me together as part of the allied forces, and taught me how to sharpen my skills in swordsmanship. He was the Earl of Rosebell. My heart was pounding because I wanted to approach him and say hello right away. ¡®Put up with it. You have to put up with it. You¡¯re not here as Andert, there¡¯s no reason to be so excited about meeting him.¡¯ The joy blooming from the heart is dangerous. I answered, slowly lowering the corners of my mouth, which had slightly risen just below the cheekbone. ¡°Yes, I am Gray Weatherwoods. Would you happen to be Count Rosebell?¡± ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t expect you to¡­yes, I¡¯m the Count of Rosebell.¡± There remained a long scar on the forehead of the Earl Rosbel, which I¡¯d once gotten to see up-close. It was so clear that it seemed like it would never go away, but it had thinned and faded quite a lot now. ¡°I¡¯m truly happy to meet you like this. Haha, I remember my late mother often talking about the Count. To me, Count Rosebell was like a fairy tale hero.¡± Count Rosebell accepted my request for a handshake with uncomfortable eyes. ¡°Thank you for the compliment, Viscount Weatherwoods. But have we met before? It feels as though you¡¯re somewhat familiar.¡± I hadn¡¯t spoken more than a few words, but he was still so sharp. They say that a swordmaster is envious of nothing except the sixth sense and instincts of a war veteran. The old saying holds no lie. ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve ever met. I apologise if I upset you by acting too familiar.¡± ¡°¡­no, that¡¯s fine. The connection might have been cut off, but the Weatherwoods and Rosebell are still close relatives.¡± Count Rosebell¡¯s words were stiff. His face seemed colder and more distant than when I¡¯d first met him as Andert. ¡®It¡¯s understandable. Imagine how he must feel seeing my face, the one who practically ate up his daughter¡¯s fortune without ever meeting him.¡¯ I understood how he felt, but it was none of my business. I¡¯m not Viscount Weatherwoods. ¡°It¡¯s nice to be able to meet you like this. The beautiful lady next to you is¡­¡± ¡°My wife, Morian Serenier.¡± ¡°Were you married? Oh, I didn¡¯t know that until today. The fact that I described our families¡¯ relationship as close now seems comedic.¡± ¡°I apologise. There were some unexpected circumstances.¡± Yep, there were definitely some circumstances, so please let go of that icy expression. The successor was an egg, an egg! What were we supposed to do? How would someone get married publicly to an egg which was in reality nothing more than a magic tool?! ¡°Count Rosebell.¡± Fortunately, Count Rosebel was not a man who would threaten a woman. He was called ¡®the gentle swordsman¡¯ even in that rough battlefield. At least the Earl of Rosebell was much softer when he talked with Rue. Rue responded with a bright and girly smile. ¡°This is Morian Serenier. It¡¯s a pleasure to be able to meet the great commander of the allied forces.¡± ¡°Serenier, you say¡­¡± ¡°From the Kingdom of Astrosa. My father is known as Count Serenier.¡± ¡°Astrosa? One of the Union of the North? You¡¯ve come from a rather long distance.¡± ¡°I can go further for my beloved husband.¡± The eyes of Count Rosebell, who smiled softly, were bitter. Perhaps his dead daughter had come to mind. With a short sigh, he soon turned to my face. ¡°Situation happens to everyone. But not everyone understands. Anyway, I¡¯m glad the Weatherwoods haven¡¯t lost their prestige. But as I said earlier, not everyone will be as kind and understanding, so you¡¯d better be careful.¡± ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡± Count Rosebel turned his back and went away. ¡®I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t make enemies.¡¯ That was enough. Our cabin, which we were guided to by the crew, was spacious and comfortable. It was equipped with a bedroom, a reception room, and an office, so it was like coming to a small villa. I was taken by euphoria and admiration because of being in a aircruise after having just rode a mobile aircraft. knock, knock. ¡°Ah! I am so glad to meet you, Viscount Weatherwoods.¡± ¡°I apologise for just barging in, Viscount Weatherwoods, but I was much obliged to meet you.¡± Why were there so many people coming to meet me to give me their full name? ¡°Is this the power of a noble family?¡± As the Viscount Weatherwoods, I tried my best to respond and see them off, but I wasn¡¯t sure how I was doing. Around that time, the airship began to fly. The cruise would fly through three cities for a week before returning to Ragel. It felt strange to see Ragel moving away through the white clouds of spring. How did I end up becoming Viscount Weatherwoods? ¡®The life of a maid is truly unpredictable.¡¯ knock, knock. It was the ninth time someone had knocked on this day. I opened the door with a hospitable smile on my face. Fortunately, it was a flight attendant who¡¯d visited me this time. ¡°Good evening, Viscount Weatherwoods. There¡¯s a dinner arranged for the aristocratic council this evening. Would you like to attend?¡± The aristocratic council¡¯s dinner party! ¡®This is the first time Viscount Weatherwoods has come to fill the vacancy at his seat. It would not be bad to make a good first impression.¡± I nodded straight away. ¡°Of course, we should.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick you up in four hour¡¯s time. Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon.¡± I stretched for a while after the attendant left. Perhaps it was because I¡¯d been travelling all day, but my body was sore. I think I need to get some sleep. I moved towards the bedroom and asked Rue. ¡°Wake me up for dinner.¡± Rue, who was silently looking out the window, nodded. All right, why don¡¯t I forget about a maid¡¯s duties for a while and take a nap? When I awoke from my deep slumber, It was already the next morning. CH 30 Perhaps it was because we were close to the sky, the sunlight was especially strong. I stared blankly at the ceiling in the middle of the bright bedroom, as if it had been lit by dozens of lanterns. ¡®It¡¯s been a long time since I woke up feeling so refreshed.¡¯ For me, who suffered from insomnia, it had been a long time since I¡¯d felt this sensation. I guess you could say it was quite refreshing to skip the aristocratic dinner. ¡®Last night¡¯s dinner¡­it would have been an important occasion for Viscount Weatherwoods.¡¯ You didn¡¯t participate in the first dinner of your return after four years of absence? ¡®I messed up right from the start.¡¯ Now that this had happened, we would have to revise the plan. I could go with the concept of a nerd who has no sense of social cues. Perhaps this could be a more convenient route for the Weatherwoods family. ¡®If rumors spread that the master is stupid and arrogant, there will be no one who wants to get close to him. He¡¯ll be isolated by himself, and he won¡¯t have enemies.¡¯ The quiet Weatherwoods mansion. Oh, is this what the headmaid wanted from me afterall¡­? ¡°Ah,¡± My languid mind was struck with thunder. Come to think of it, one of my arm felt heavy. It felt like something soft was lying on my arm and using it as a pillow. I turned my head just in case. ¡°Did you wake up?¡± A breathtaking beauty was looking at me with a sleepy face. Eww. ¡°Argh!¡± Oh my god! I lifted myself up, shaking off my arms like a bug, and turned around only after getting as far away from the bed as possible. Rue, who¡¯d fallen to the floor, raised his chin and smiled eerily. ¡°You know, honey, you don¡¯t need to wake me up so roughly. I¡¯m very immersed into the role of the viscountess, so if you keep interrupting me, I might leave you here all alone.¡± I had suddenly lost the energy to even scream ¡®madman¡¯ at him. I replied, clutching my throbbing forehead, ¡°There are separate beds!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with newlyweds using one bed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a disguise.¡± ¡°Is that so? By the way, are you embarrassed?¡± Serk. a soft cloth swayed across Rue¡¯s thin legs as he sat up. Was he wearing the pajamas he bought at the tailor¡¯s? He seemed to have slept soundly next to the husband who was asleep in her outdoor clothes. Rue, who approached me lightly, rang the bell next to the bed to announce the servants of our waking up, ¡°Our Miss Daisy is speaking like a fool again because she¡¯s embarrassed. But, with a boy¡¯s face, you look quite annoying. Oh well, it is nothing to get too angry about.¡± I thought about it again today. ¡®Rue isn¡¯t a man. He¡¯s a dog. There¡¯s no way to reason with him.¡¯ all right, I¡¯d somewhat regained my composure. Sitting in the chair across from him, I slowly untied my crumpled tie and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up yesterday?¡± ¡°How could I wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly? Morian wants her beloved Viscount to rest well. Now, check this out. It¡¯s the Black Ragel¡¯s schedule.¡± I checked the pamphlet-like paper that Rue handed me. [ Welcome aboard the Black Ragel. We are sailing according to the schedule below for the next 7 days. We hope you have a comfortable and enjoyable trip. ] The schedule that followed was brilliant. ¡®Operas, concerts, invitations to lectures, fairs¡­¡¯ At the bottom, it said that the members of the aristocratic council would be contacted separately for some events. ¡°Everyone is busy playing and eating.¡± Rue laughed as he drank the warm tea that had arrived before I knew it. ¡°That¡¯s what friendship is all about. Building relationships with time and effort. For aristocrats, that¡¯s their job. That way, you can have more without letting go of what you have.¡± Playing is their job? The way that aristocrats live is truly amazing. Then I can¡¯t stay still either. ¡®Whether it¡¯s Dian Cecht or the client, to gain something, you have to go out and talk.¡¯ You aristocrats who are impatient to play, Just wait, the master of work, the maid is coming. ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Rue asked as he watched me prepare to go out. I pondered for a moment and informed my honest purpose. ¡°The client who sends assassins to the Weatherwoods mansion. I think he¡¯s a member of the aristocratic council.¡± I¡¯d been troubled the last few days. This was because, despite the butler¡¯s warning that all employees of the weatherwoods mansion might become a target and be exterminated, all had been peaceful in Midwinterre and the Weatherwoods. Unexpected peace causes greater anxiety than before. Speculating on my client¡¯s psychology, I came to a pretty good guess. ¡®If the client is a member of the aristocratic society, not just a common aristocrat¡­I understand the quietness that has been of late.¡¯ In other words, there is no reason to attack the Weatherwoods mansion. They would now be able to face Viscount Weatherwoods, who expressed his intention to attend the council meeting this year, face to face. ¡°Hmm?¡± Rue, who raised his eyebrows with a suspicious expression, stood up from the chair that was in full swing. ¡°Hm, that is true. Your reasoning is pretty good. I was a little surprised just now.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Rue, who was just around the corner, came over and kissed my cheek. ¡°This means, have a safe trip, he-he. I need to rest for a bit more.¡± Bang! I closed the door and left the cabin before Rue could finish talking. ¡®He¡¯s gone mad! How could he just put his lips on a woman¡¯s face so easily?!¡¯ I continued my steps, eagerly wiping my chin. I feel strange. Is it because Rue¡¯s behaviour has subtly changed lately? Talking about poetry, god, being newlyweds¡­ (Argh!!!) I opened my eyes, reflecting on the warmth of my cheeks. ¡°Let¡¯s get a hold of ourselves. A man like that is a conman! He takes people¡¯s hearts and bodies for evil!¡± Thinking of Rue as a pseudo-religious leader who steals money, my anguish disappeared and my mind and body became at peace. Walking with a made-up mind, I stopped in the middle of a flight of stairs leading above. The voices and steps of two men who were walking up before me were filled with weak expectation. I ran up three or four stairs and stood next to them. ¡°Hey, guys. Did something interesting happen? What are you guys talking about? Let¡¯s get to know each other.¡± They looked a little over 20. The two friends asked me with perplexity and discomfort. ¡°You are¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before? Hmm. Who are you?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m just a casual passenger. It¡¯s my first time visiting the aristocratic council. Maybe that¡¯s why I don¡¯t have any friends. I¡¯m very bored.¡± The two scanned my appearance with suspicious eyes. Then they checked the watch on my wrist and let go of their vigilance. It was a watch that Rue had given me, but it must have been expensive and enough to meet their standards. ¡°It¡¯s your first time attending? Alas, it¡¯s understandable that it¡¯s boring. The people who come here are like vultures, always ready to look for prey to eat. And if they pretend to, they don¡¯t actually hang out a lot with each other. It¡¯s hard to mix in with them if it¡¯s your first time here.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll warn you about one thing, my friend, since you¡¯re a handsome man. Watch out for ladies whose eyes light up when they see you. You might be targeted as a sweetheart son-in-law for some people without your knowledge. Capitalists who have a little bit of money are all eager to get in on the banquets here to make personal connections through marriages.¡± The blonde introduced himself as the son of a newspaper company¡¯s president, while the black haired boy introduced himself as the son of the president of a bank. They were more accessible because I hadn¡¯t introduced myself as a member of the aristocratic council. As if they had waited until they finished their introductions, they opened up their mouths to ask about me, and I cut them off and jabbed up the stairs. ¡°All right, seniors. So where are we going now?¡± Perhaps he appreciated the term ¡®senior¡¯, for the son of the newspaper company¡¯s president laughed, ¡°Haha, if you¡¯re looking for something interesting, it¡¯s definitely the aristocratic council. Something fun happens everywhere, no matter if it¡¯s unlucky.¡± The son of the bank president took over, ¡°Yes. There is no spectacle so interesting as the battles of successions among them, especially that of Duke Berkley Gratten.¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go before it¡¯s too late.¡± I think I just heard something very interesting. Without further delay, we climbed to the deck at the top of the airship. The wind was relaxing. I closed my eyes for a moment in the wind, which blew at the right height, at the right speed, and at the right temperature. This is what I liked about a super-large airship. Perhaps because of the high structural stability of the aircraft, there was a deck to enjoy outdoor relaxation like there would be in a cruise ship at sea. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t let your eyes wander. Follow us, it¡¯s that way.¡± However, it seemed that the children of the upper class, whose only job was to play, had no intention to enjoy the relaxing wind. I followed them with a little regret. The deck of the Black Ragel was a little unusual in its structure. The square located in the center was the lowest, and the area surrounding it was a structure in which layers were raised like stairs. ¡°It¡¯s like the Colosseum.¡± ¡°Is this your first time on board the Black Ragel? This ship belongs to the family of Duke Berkley Gratten. It is said that this space was designed for training purposes, and it is very popular among men and women of all ages because of its unique atmosphere. ¡° ¡°Indeed. The other large-airships that have recently been ordered to be made are modeled after this circular colosseum type design.¡± Super-large airships cost astronomical amounts to design and maintain. I couldn¡¯t believe they put a training ground on top of such a vehicle. It was truly sacred. The son of the newspaper owner whose main specialty was slowly explaining today¡¯s events for me, spoke, ¡°Look! fortunately, it hasn¡¯t started yet. Look, you see the two men and women standing opposite to each other in the center? The woman on the left is Jean, second in line to the Duchy of Duke Berkley Gratten, and on the right is Oster, fifth in line.¡± Jean. It was a familiar name. With my eyes narrowed, I looked closely at the face of the woman called Jean. ¡°Ah, yes. It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re on good terms. So why are they standing opposite each other like that? Are they going to do a poetry recitation competition or something like that?¡± ¡°Poetry? The successors of Berkley Gratten? Phew, what a joke.¡± ¡°The two of them are fighting a duel. Didn¡¯t you hear about the duel that was announced at the aristocratic dinner last night? They declared that they would not be responsible if anyone got into the middle of the fight.¡± Ah, Sorry, I was sleeping back then. CH 31 This was the first time I¡¯d heard of the duel between the two successors, but the surrounding circumstances seemed to be easily understandable. The duties and rights of the Guardian families were famously known in the Magic Alliance. The Duke¡¯s family, Berkeley. ¡®Guardians of the empire, protectors of the royal family of Penrotta.¡¯ Their power comes from their duty and sacrifice for the kingdom. Only the strongest in the empire could become the head of the Berkley Gratten¡¯s family ¨C and thus, the doors to the family were open to anyone with strength. Age, gender and origin were not considered in this at all. Anyone with extraordinary talent in military strength could aim to become the successor of the Duchy. The successor had to be recognized by the emperor, just like their predecessors, so for generations, the Berkeley-Gratten family was called the emperor¡¯s sword. This was also the reason why the aristocratic society, who valued tradition and dignity above all, respected and recognized them. ¡°The current Grand Duke is a sword master. Is there really anyone who could truly succeed such a man?¡± I slung my arms around the shoulders of the newspaper son, casually asking him, ¡°So ¨C is the duel over when one of them dies?¡± ¡°Who fights so barbarically in this day and age? Have you been stuck in the countryside for 4 years? It seems like you have a hard time reading the news.¡± There was a faint expression of doubt in the two young men¡¯s eyes. I used the ultimate lie to fool the two quick-witted upperclassmen. ¡°My friend, so you understand! Actually, I¡¯d been sick for a long time, and spent most of my days in bed, struggling between life and death, so I¡¯m not up-to-date with a lot of things. Haha, maybe I should have just stayed at home¡­isn¡¯t that so?¡± The effect was immediate. ¡°Oh goodness, such a sad situation¡­¡± ¡°Ha? I didn¡¯t know you were sick! All right, I¡¯m in a pleasant mood. Ask me anything you¡¯re curious about. I¡¯ll answer as long as I don¡¯t lose any money. By the way, my intel usually requires a very expensive price.¡± That was a very sweet favor. The moment I was about to ask, ¡®then, do you think Dian Cecht¡¯s relics all truly exist?¡¯ From the center of the deck, a powerful wave came out and hit our bodies. ¡°Oh, my!¡± I grasped the arms of two men who were about to be thrown in the air like dust and identified the source of the sudden gust of wind. It seemed that in the meantime, the duel had started. ¡°Did you say that her name was Jean?¡± It was clear that the wave had come from the sword of the woman with the flowing silver hair. Faint energy still laid scattered on the thin edge of the blade. That level of swordsmanship was truly impressive. ¡®At that age? You¡¯re a genius. Definitely a genius.¡¯ Fortunately, the deck was equipped with a transparent partition wall just in case. The son of the newspaper owner shuddered when he saw people being flicked in the air and then sliding down the invisible wall in the air. ¡°Oh no. You saved me from almost getting trauma. Thank you for your help.¡± ¡°My God, you managed that so well there. My body still feels numb¡­but, how did you do that?¡± I roughly answered his question filled with slight awe. ¡°With grit.¡± It is said that the two most interesting things to watch in the world are fires and fights. I turned my focus to the duel, ignoring the chaos of the bystanders. In fact, there was nothing to focus on. The momentum was so one-sided. Not even seven blows had been exchanged, but Oster, fifth-in-line to the Duke, had already been backed into a corner. ¡°My, oh my.¡± I concentrated my whole mind on Jean¡¯s sword. ¡°I thought I was just hearing things earlier.¡± If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, there was some sort of sound coming from her sword. It wasn¡¯t an illusion. The sword seemed to be crying out. ¨C [I¡¯ll end you the next time you come near. I¡¯m not going to go easy, so come on!] But how could a sword speak? And also, unlike Jean¡¯s rather noisy sword, there was no voice coming from Oster¡¯s sword. No matter how much I tried, I couldn¡¯t hear any resonance. I could vaguely figure out the reason. ¡®Oster has not yet reached the point at which he can carry along his will to his sword.¡¯ The difference between the two swords surprised me. ¡®But the Duke, Berkeley Gratten, had surely said something about this to me.¡¯ Sir Andert, don¡¯t put your ego on the sword. Leave the sword alone. It¡¯s a sword, not a person. Remember, you must wield the sword, not let the sword wield you. Weren¡¯t those who were putting their egos on their swords achieving better results? But what mattered to me at that moment wasn¡¯t the relation between a sword¡¯s given ego and achievements. I could read the emotions of the sword. How was that possible? ¡®¡­the state of mind and body.¡¯ Was that a turning point after all? This amazing insight seemed to be a new ability that I¡¯d gained a few days ago when I went past the first wall of having total control over body and mind. Thanks to that, I suddenly became curious. ¡®Would my sword resonate as well?¡¯ If it did, how would it sound? While I was contemplating this, Oster fell and the tip of Jean¡¯s sword aimed for right below his chin. As soon as the winner was decided, the son of the newspaper president clicked his tongue. ¡°Until two years ago, the level of those two didn¡¯t seem to be much different. When did the gap between them become so big?¡± ¡°The opponent is Jean Berkeley Gratten, after all. It is more than possible.¡± ¡°The outcome of this week¡¯s duel is clear. Since the first-in-line heir did not participate this time, it¡¯s Jean Berkeley¡¯s win.¡± Apparently, the duel for the Berkeley Gratten family continued throughout the noble council meetings. ¡®Is it some kind of annual event?¡¯ There were many things to see around here, and just as I was about to get up with something stupid forming in my mind. The two men¡¯s chatter, which had been continuing nonstop, came to a sudden end. And before I knew it, there was a knight in front of me who¡¯d dragged their still hot-from-the-fight up. ¡°Excuse me, I think we¡¯re meeting for the first time.¡± It was Jean Berkeley. ¡°I¡¯m Jean Berkeley Gratten. If you don¡¯t mind, could you spare me a moment?¡± Faced with Jean¡¯s eyes that were seething with unhidden triumph, I remembered a conversation I had with the assassin-butler in a secret meeting two days ago. ¡°Did you say you were going to attend the noble council meeting? If that¡¯s so, I have a favor to ask.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I request for you to dispose of a certain person among the members of the aristocratic society who board the ship.¡± The butler assassin took out a black-and-white photo and some thin sheet of paper from the envelope he¡¯d brought and showed it to me. ¡°The target is Jean Berkeley Gratten. One of the successors to the Berkeley Gratten family, and a patron the assassin guild called .¡± I took the picture from his hand. The woman in the picture looked at best in her mid to late twenties. Her clear features and sharp eyes instantly gave the impression that she wasn¡¯t an easy person. A successor to the duke¡¯s family. The assassin-butler, whose main goal was to survive, wouldn¡¯t have thought to touch such a person carelessly. That meant¡­ ¡°Did you happen to work for this woman?¡± The assassin-butler¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Yes, the real owner of the assassination guild is this woman. When Jean Berkeley Gratten dies, Clone collapses. Then the envoy who is aiming to kill me disappears as well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hard to kill, but if a member of aristocratic society dies in a space as isolated as a flying ship, it is bound to get troublesome.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Because what I want is not the death of Jean Berkeley Gratten. I just hope her right to succeed is revoked.¡± The deprivation of succession in the Berkeley Gratten family means a complete alienation from the family. ¡°Clone, to be precise, is a secret guild owned by the Berkeley Gratten family, not an individual. If Jean¡¯s succession is revoked and she loses her position, then it will be a considerable amount of time before a new master is appointed to the guild and a new system is established. That gap will be an opportunity for me.¡± ¡°¡­how do I do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave me by myself to organize this pub, too? I just trust you, too. If this plan succeeds, the trust between us will be further strengthened. Furthermore, I am not just asking this out of the blue.¡± The butler assassin then waved a bait in front of me that I couldn¡¯t refuse. ¡°I¡¯ve got some useful intel. If you come back successfully, I will give you the clues and information I learned about Dian Cecht¡¯s relics and their creator.¡± This was my first meeting with Jean. In a word, Jean was someone who was highly questionable. ¡°This woman is the owner of ?¡± Jean Berkeley Gratten. I never sent her any signs to follow, but she instinctively came up to me to possibly feel me out. I¡¯d seen people like this woman a few times on the battlefield. A demon in swordsmanship. Jean seemed to be much like a vessel who is possessed by her sword, lives by it, and dies by it. She did not seem to be the type of person who would run a guild that did dirty and crafty work everyday. ¡®I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what the duke must¡¯ve seen as well. Then why did he leave the guild to her out of all his many successors?¡¯ Well, whatever the inside story was, the answer I was going to give her was already decided. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be easy. You see, I¡¯m already married, Haha. I hope you find another good match, Miss Jean Berkeley Gratten.¡± ¡°¡­a good match? Wait, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­ ¡°Oh, my God! Is it already this late? I¡¯m late for my appointment, so I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± I said a quick goodbye to the son of the bank owner and the son of the newspaper president and returned to the cabin. This outing was worth it, since I got to confirm who Jean was. ¡®I¡¯ll meet her again when I have a plan.¡¯ Then for the rest of the day, I stayed in the cabin and enjoyed playing cards with Rue. Time had passed safely and calmly at least until the second day. CH 32 On the third day, I watched the opera, which wasn¡¯t fun at all. On the fourth day, I attended a concert, which was insanely boring. On the fifth day¡­ ¡®No, get your wits together. You can¡¯t afford to be idle like this, or your relationship with the assassin butler will be ruined ¨C and you won¡¯t get that intel about Dian Cecht¡¯s relics. No matter how troublesome this may seem, the outcome was more threatening.¡¯ Let¡¯s stop fooling around. I had to get everything I could from my position as Viscount Weatherwoods, right? Let¡¯s look back on the third day. The third day- ¡°Darling, wake up. There are people here to see you.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± When I woke up from dozing off while watching the opera, familiar faces were waiting for me. They looked at me like they were a little embarrassed and then laughed awkwardly. ¡°The play is a little¡­ You must have been bored. Do you remember us? We watched the Berkeley Gratten duel together yesterday.¡± ¡°I was very surprised to hear that you were Viscount Weatherwoods.¡± They were the sons of the newspaper president and bank owner who¡¯d explained the Berkeley Gratten¡¯s succession situation to me. Their boisterous attitudes from yesterday were gone and had been replaced with stiff expressions and words. It seemed that my status as Viscount had weighed on their mind. Well, if the person they were being so careless with was the known Viscount, then it seemed deserved for them to be a little more conscious. I yawned and tapped them on the shoulder. ¡°How could I forget my friends? Yes, the gentleman with the blonde hair is the son of a newspaper president¡­Sesh, and the black haired one here is Kwin, the son of a bank owner.¡± ¡°Well¡­ our names are actually Yeager and Volkwin.¡± ¡°Ahaha, I was just pretending to forget.¡± Mhm, those names sound about right. ¡°Pardon me for not being able to make my introduction yesterday, I¡¯m Viscount Gray Weatherwoods. This is my wife, Morian Serenier. Take it easy, my friends. Oh, or are we not close enough to be called friends?¡± Yeager¡¯s eyes widened as he waved his hands. ¡°What? No, of course we are, how could you say that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad, then. I don¡¯t want it to be awkward. If you make me feel awkward from now on, I¡¯ll leave immediately, haha.¡± ¡°¡­Do you really wish for us to speak freely?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pretend your question just now was a mistake and move on.¡± Yeager and Volkwin looked at each other with evident surprise. Then, they made a careful suggestion. ¡°If you say so¡­then, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?¡± ¡°I do not.¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you come with us then? We reserved some seats on the deck outdoors for a few drinks, and there are some empty spots left. Ah, with Mrs. Weatherwoods, of course.¡± It¡¯s good enough to take me, but you want to take Rue with us? ¡®If I take Rue¡­¡¯ I hadn¡¯t forgotten the result of the game I¡¯d played with him last night. Rue hadn¡¯t been bitten even once while I lost to him 23 times in a row. Everytime I got angry and frustrated, his smile seemed to get happier and happier. It won¡¯t be much different in front of people. I could just imagine Rue¡¯s slyness and me suffering from it in public as these two people watched. It would be awful. ¡°No way.¡± ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t?¡± I answered with a serious expression and turned to face Rue. ¡°My wife is so pretty that it¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Oh¡­is that so?¡± Rue, who smiled coyly as he covered his mouth with his hand, tapped me on the shoulder with his other. ¡°Aw, she¡¯s embarrassed.¡± I felt shivers down my spine since he really did look shy. Rue, imitating a lady perfectly without missing a beat, spoke to Yeager and Volkwin. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I already have an appointment with someone. Please take care of my husband, you two.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s too bad. I look forward to the next opportunity.¡± Appointment? I¡¯d never heard of anything like this. I lowered my head and whispered to Rue. ¡°Appointment? With whom?¡± ¡°Secret.¡± Huh. ¡®You¡¯re up to something.¡¯ I had been thinking he was being suspiciously quiet the past two days. ¡°Keep quiet and don¡¯t get involved in anything strange. Alright, darling?¡± I tried to ask him to not cause any unnecessary trouble, but at that point, I was already being taken away.. ¡°¡­well.¡± We left the opera hall and headed downstairs. There was a small corridor on the middle floor of the left rear of the Black Ragel, which was perfect for enjoying a cup of tea while looking at the sky. As soon as we sat down, Volkwin began speaking. ¡°Gray- can I call you Gray? You and wife seem to get along really well.¡± ¡°I was very surprised, too. Serenier is one of the most historic families in the Astrosa kingdom, right? It wouldn¡¯t have been easy to come so far. Your wife must really love.¡± I looked at Yeager with a little surprise. ¡°Do you know my wife¡¯s family?¡± ¡°Well, when I was young, I went to study in the northern union, and goodness! The culture there was fantastic. In particular, the Kingdom of Astrosa was like the heart of North America¡¯s culture, so there was a lot to study.¡± Then he started talking about his travels from his study abroad for a while. The intel and power of information that Yeager held as the son of a big newspaper company was truly astonishing. ¡°You know, because of the North Deus Mountains, the cultural exchange between our Penrotta Empire and the Northern united continent is not good, right? My father wants to establish a branch there. The magic war is over, so if we go there first and take roots, the momentum will definitely make it a success.¡± ¡°¡­you must interact with people from the northern continent on a daily basis, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You could say that, haha. The number of professors we sponsor in the cultural studies department in the northern continent are over 20. Gray, make sure to contact me when you have a baby ¨C isn¡¯t the culture of the northern continent all that the nobles are about these days? I happen to know a very popular foreign languages teacher from there.¡± A professor that studies northern continental culture. They would then also be familiar with information about aristocratic families such as Serenier. ¡®The Serenier family must be related to Rue.¡¯ If he said there was no problem using their identity, then the connection between the two must be very deep.If I digged a bit deeper into this, I might find clues about Rue¡¯s identity. I asked for it naturally as if it was just a passing remark. ¡°If one of your professors could be introduced to us, I¡¯m sure my wife would be elated.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that difficult. Between friends.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m grateful you say that. Speaking of which, since you talked about professors, have you ever taken a lesson in treasure exploration?¡± ¡°Treasure exploration¡­are you talking about archaeology?¡± ¡°No, well, for example, the relics of Dian Cecht.¡± At that moment, a weak sense of vigilance appeared in Yeager¡¯s eyes. ¡®Do you know something?¡¯ It seemed I needed to lower their guard first before getting any useful information. I moved ¡®seven mystery treasures in the continent for children¡¯ in front of them. Rue had been reading this next to me while I was dozing off. The lady¡¯s handbag that he was wearing was so small that as his husband, I was carrying it. ¡°My wife seems to have become interested in this book. Since she¡¯s originally from a faraway land, she must not find many things to enjoy here. I was thinking to go on an exploration trip with her, if I could.¡± Only then did Yeager¡¯s awkward expression break down a little. ¡°Exploration? Oh my¡­Gray, you¡¯re so¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s very pure.¡± ¡°Yes, Volkwin. Our new friend Gray here seems to be very innocent. To the point where I¡¯m a little worried for him.¡± Are you just joking or ridiculing me? Yeager, who was sweeping his chin as if he was worried, lowered himself slightly and whispered. ¡°Simply put, it¡¯s better to put aside the idea of these fun exploration trips with your wife. Dian Cecht¡¯s relics are dangerous. Well, to be exact, they¡¯ve become dangerous recently. For some reason, they¡¯ve been getting targeted by dangerous people.¡± The target of dangerous people. ¡®This is it.¡¯ Those few short sentences were enough to confirm my hunch. ¡®The dangerous people Yeager is talking about most certainly includes the client.¡¯ In particular, the client was more likely to be snooping around other places besides the Weatherwoods family. There are as many as five relics left behind by Dian Cecht. It was eye-opening news, but I should not express deep interest. Yeager seemed to be exceptionally sharp, and could probably incur suspicion from me if I did. As I¡¯d heard a legend, I quickly drew in another piece of information to seem like a complete outsider to this business. ¡°Target? No way¡­then, is it true that you become immortal if you gather all five of the relics?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that much. Anyway, it¡¯s dangerous, so you should look for something else fun for your wife and yourself.¡± ¡°Why is it so dangerous anyway? It sounds pretty exciting. So who are these dangerous people? Is it the royal family? Or some secret organisation?¡± ¡°Ahaha, you sure have a childlike side to you, Gray. Secret organisation? I remember using such words when I was a kid! haha.¡± Unlike Volkwin, who burst into laughter, Yeager¡¯s expression became strange. Volkwin lowered his voice with a questioning eye. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Yeager? Is this really connected to the royal family or some secret organisation?¡± Way to go, Volkwyn! Ask more! More! ¡°That-¡± Yeager, who was about to say something, clapped his hands and closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. ¡°¡­That¡¯s enough! Don¡¯t try to put me in danger, you punks. Even if I die, I have to die only after seeing my kid get married.¡± ¡°Ha! You have to get married first to say something like that, Yeager.¡± Marriage? It just so happened that the perfect topic came for me to say something. ¡°What about Jean Berkeley Gratten?¡± Hey guys, back with another update. I think I¡¯m going to only update this novel for a while, it makes me happy. I got waitlisted for the uni I applied to, and truthfully I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to work out this time. I know things like this happen, but I¡¯m still somewhat sad and feel bad. I have a plan in mind since I expected this already, and I¡¯ll probably take a gap and go next year, but it still somewhat stings. Oh well, Inshallah I¡¯ll get through this easily as well. Also the fact that there are names for different places in this story but for america the author just went, America, is very funny to me.