The Peaceful Life of a Maid Who Hides Her Power and Enjoys It

<Episode 111>

 

The door closed, leaving me and Raphael alone.

 

Raphael walked briskly towards the round table and smashed the magic recording device without hesitation.

 

“I don’t want much, so please answer just one question.”

It wasn’t “Answer” but “Please answer.”

 

I had felt it even at the noble assembly, but Raphael seemed to have changed a lot in the past four years. And perhaps I was partly to blame for that change.

 

‘After you disappeared like that, The Duke began to suffer from severe insomnia. For the past three years, he has been desperately searching for any trace of you.’

 

So, I remained silent and waited for Raphael’s next words.

“Is Andert Fager alive?”

 

I wasn’t sure if I should find the question fortunate or troublesome.

 

Currently, Raphael was told that my identity was ‘Andert’s sister’ by Desherro. So, there was no reason for me to act guilty.. I calmly responded without being flustered.

 

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Because there is no one else to ask but you.”

“Is that so? Then it seems Your Highness has chosen the wrong person to interrogate. I will return to Midwinterre now.”

 

It was when I put the teaspoon back in its original place on the wall and tried to walk out through the door.

“Sir Rowayne, after acquiring a special power later in life, possesses an exceptional sensitivity to discern magical anomalies.”

 

…Suddenly?

 

I turned my back while holding the doorknob. Raphael, who had crossed his legs and sat down, lightly spun my teaspoon with his fingertips and spoke.

 

“He said that those who possess a powerful soul emit an impressive aura. However, due to lack of experience, he often relies solely on his senses and occasionally misjudges. That is very rare, though.”

 

“Interesting story. I’m not sure how it relates to me, though.”

 

“Viscount Weatherwoods.”

 

The teaspoon, which was being bent by his finger, stopped abruptly. Raphael warned me with a cold and stern gaze, as if dealing with a perfect stranger.

 

“I am saying that our souls, yours and mine, are on equal footing right now. You, who silently appeared and devoured the position of the head of the Weatherwoods family, and seem to be around twenty at most. Do you want me to delve deeper here? I don’t think you do.”

 

“….”

 

“Is Andert Fager alive?”

 

It was a stillness that felt long enough to be mistaken for one felt when wandering through a dream.

 

As I observed Raphael’s fingertips while regulating my breath, I opened my mouth very quietly.

 

“He’s dead.”

I tried to convey the news as calmly as possible.

“…I see. Is that so.”

 

It was a truth that he had to be told someday.

I hoped Raphael wouldn’t be too shaken. That’s why I didn’t add anything else.

 

“Is he really dead?”

Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze.

Raphael, who had closed his eyes for a long time, threw the small iron box he had been holding onto the floor.

 

I knew that object.

It was a magical device used for interrogating Mephisto’s army during the magic war.

 

‘Lie detector.’

If it blinked with a green light instead of red, it meant my answer was the truth.

 

Yes, it was the truth. For me, the Andert Fager Raphael talked about was a dead man.

The Andert he knew was no longer here.

 

Knowing that fact better than anyone else, it was difficult to watch Raphael in front of me.

I felt a pang of conscience for the lie I had prepared and presented.

 

Moreover, the person I was facing was Raphael. Once my partner, my brother, someone I shared life and death with. Even until our parting moment, he cried out my name…

 

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

 

‘Should I just boldly declare I’m Andert?’

Couldn’t I do that?

 

There was no reason why I couldn’t reveal the truth to Raphael, just as I did to Desherro.

If there was anyone who should know the truth first, it was Raphael.

 

Yes, let’s do that. Let’s reveal everything right here.

I’m Andert.

I didn’t die. I came back alive.

 

 

“…”

..Ah.

My lips refused to move.

The words that flowed so easily in front of Desherro were stuck in my throat. I didn’t have the courage.

 

But I must speak. Deceiving him until the end would be an insult to Raphael. That’s why.

 

‘Just a little, let’s give it some time.’

 

I couldn’t deceive Raphael forever. And yet, it wasn’t easy to suddenly gather my courage and reveal everything.

 

It seemed that I needed to gather my thoughts and choose the right time and place to speak. The weight of Raphael’s existence was never light for me.

 

As I organized my thoughts, my state of mind became slightly more at ease.

 

“…Andert.”

“Andert.”

 

Coincidentally, we both started our sentences at the same time.

I quickly yielded my turn.

 

“You go first.”

“Please, go ahead.”

 

But even that overlapped, and an unfamiliar tension began to fill the air.

 

Damn it. If we overlapped for the third time, I feel like I’d get goosebumps. After a brief fake cough as a signal, I opened my mouth first.

 

“Andert would undoubtedly take pride in his sacrifice. Of course, I didn’t personally witness his end… But I don’t think he would want to linger in your heart like a ghost.”

 

Raphael, who had been silent for a while, stared at me with a subtle emotion in his eyes before bringing up a slightly different topic.

 

“Why did you stay on Queen Island for the past four years? Were you searching for Andert’s body?”

 

It wasn’t a topic I particularly liked.

“If there was something like that, you would have found it long ago.”

“I asked because I couldn’t find it.”

 

If it wasn’t a misconception, I felt an unfamiliar strangeness from Raphael’s demeanor as he mentioned the body.

 

Couldn’t he accept my death?

 

‘…No, Raphael is more rational than anyone, even more than the swordmaster.’

 

So he must have accepted Andert’s death as well. Then why was he fixated on a mere body?

 

“Is that really important? Honestly, I don’t think Andert Fager’s body still exists. Considering he was annihilated with Mephisto, it’s highly likely that it turned to dust and scattered in the wind.”

 

He asked in a much softer tone compared to our first meeting.

“If you could bring him back to life, would you?”

“I can’t.”

“I asked, if you could do it.”

 

 

If I could, I’d say ‘Duke Zenail, you son of a gun. That assumption itself is meaningless! Setting aside the fact that that’s an impossible scenario, I am already alive and living well!’

But now I was no longer Andert, who could say such things, but Daisy.

 

“No, I can’t. Andert, the person in question, would never want that.”

 

I couldn’t find any subtle changes in Raphael’s expression. However, having been with him for almost ten years, I could vaguely sense it.

 

That he was relieved.

 

‘What is he relieved about?’

 

Raphael took out a small pendant from his pocket and said to me,

 

“What I’m about to tell you is a secret that no one should know.”

 

A secret? Oh, what an unwelcome word!

Thanks to that, I could immediately recognize the true identity of the pendant. I was certain it was a magical tool used for making oaths.

To think that as a duke, he would openly engage in unethical behavior. Raphael, I did not raise you to be such a deceitful man!

 

“Oh, really? How interesting. But if possible, I would prefer to live my whole life without knowing. I am not at all curious about secrets.”

 

For the first time, Raphael smirked. It was the same smile I remembered from when I first met him 14 years ago, and my heart tickled slightly.

 

“You will regret it.”

“Regret? Well, maybe. It’s something I’m pretty familiar with.”

“Aren’t you curious about a way to bring the dead back to life?”

“Sorry, but I’m an expert in that field. I know better than anyone that it’s impossible.”

“No, it is possible. If you can bind the soul.”

 

In an instant, my mind flashed.

 

Soul.

 

Binding.

 

And resurrection.

 

‘…Wait, that’s my current state, isn’t it?’

Raphael, sensing my confusion, smirked subtly and asked again.

 

“Are you ready to listen now?”

Ready? Sorry, but what I had no was a new suspicion.

 

Raphael, was it you who fed me Dian Cecht’s heart?

‘No, no. I shouldn’t recklessly jump to conclusions.’

 

There was no guarantee that the method he mentioned ‘to bring the dead back to life’ was by using the Heart Crystals of Rogue.

 

‘But the probability that he’s somehow related is high. Afterall, the Zenails are also searching for Dian Cecht’s relics.’

 

This was something I could ignore. I had to find out what method Raphael was referring to.

 

“…Are you saying that if I promise to keep it to myself, you will reveal this remarkable secret to me? What do I say? It’s highly suspicious.”

 

Raphael, with a stoic expression, raised the corner of his mouth and skillfully responded.

“Do you have any reason to be suspicious? You are Andert’s’ sister. I wouldn’t dare set a trap for such a precious existence.”

---

Daisy’s own fears holding her back….