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

<Episode 122>

 

But that was it.

 

Rue did nothing aside from putting the book away. The conversation between me and the head maid naturally moved forward.

 

“I think it’s best to reveal the truth as quickly as possible. You should especially be able to read the atmosphere well. The other person should be in a good mood. The worst thing would be to reveal the truth right after getting proposed to by him and rejecting him. That would be a sure-short way to trample on a person’s self-esteem.” 

 

“Hmm. That’s true.”

 

Alright, then let’s reveal it on the night the hunting festival starts.

Since it’s a banquet where we’ll stay in the Imperial city of Ragel, no matter his reaction, Raphael would have to face me for a few days. Even if the relationship sours, there will still be a chance for recovery then.

 

Later, Malcolm and the assassin-butler, having re-appeared, joined the conversation and the discussion took on a serious atmosphere, unlike before.

 

The maid, having prepared a fresh batch of tea, poured it into four glasses and took the initiative.

 

“You asked me about Natasha. To be honest, master, I won’t be able to tell whatever it is you might expect from me. Just like with my other siblings, Natasha and I were not very close at all. When I was young, I thought all siblings were like that.”

 

“I think Natasha said something similar.”

“She would have felt it even more than me. People around us belittled her, calling her a useless combatant and burden in the war.”

Until the outbreak of the Magic War, Natasha’s influence was extremely minimal.

 

“After the war, the Imperial family naturally chose Natasha to be the next Emperor.

With the support of Duke Zenail, Count Rosebell, and Marquis Calpen on her back, her momentum was remarkable. She had a friendly relationship even with the Swordmaster, who’s called the Emperor’s swords, so there was no worthy opponent standing in her way. She’d made it to the position of heir to the throne.”

 

The first cup was given to me. The maid then gave each person their cups before sitting down in her chair.

 

Malcolm spoke.

 

“I vaguely remember. Didn’t it happen when it hadn’t even been half a year since the war ended, with the rapid deterioration of the Emperor’s health, right?”

“Yes. That’s when Natasha was deposed as the heir to the throne.”

 

deposed?

“Was she deposed?”

 

The maid took a sip of her tea.

“The justification for the deposition was that the ‘current heir to the throne lacked legitimacy for the position’. After she was deposed, the new heir to the royal family became our brother Ashernik.”

 

“It seems like it was something the head maid and your other siblings weren’t aware of.”

 

“Yes. I presume there was something going on between His Majesty The Emperor, Natasha and Ashernik we weren’t aware of. Despite the opposition for the decision, the Emperor showed no change in position and passed away two days later. And then… brother Ashernik ascended the throne.”

 

“I remember there were various rumors about Princess Natasha’s handling of the situation at that time. Didn’t she completely cut off contact with the noble families who supported the war and disappear at the time?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. That’s also why she couldn’t respond immediately to the dethronement. There were many stories going around. Some said that Natasha had a major weakness that Brother Ashernik was exploiting, or that she was captured by the demons of war and was suffering from a terrible mental illness and that she was not fit to ascend to the throne…”

 

Natasha’s face, from just before I left for Mephisto’s castle, the last we saw each other, came to mind. She was a hero who would even jump into hell for her friends. Was there anyone more fit for the position than her?

 

My heart ached at the thought of Natasha having to endure ridicule and curses alone.

It also ignited a curiosity in me. Why did Natasha give up her position as heir so easily?

 

“I don’t know the details, but Natasha suddenly made an appearance at Brother Ashernik’s coronation ceremony and then disappeared just as suddenly. I haven’t heard anything about her since.” 

 

“So, it seems like she became the new ruler of the royal family’s underground organization.”

At this point, anyone would speculate the same thing.

 

“In the end, it’s most likely that the deposement was Natasha’s choice, isn’t it?”

 

“…….”

 

“There was something Natasha used to say as casually as eating. That her true family was here, not in Ragel. Natasha was the one who suffered the most whenever our comrades fell in battle. They were similar words to what she said before she rose to the great position of the heir to the throne.”

 

“……”

 

“I will become the Emperor to pay the price for our fallen comrades who left first.”

To her, the weight of the throne was just the price to pay for her sins.

 

The maid nodded.

“….Indeed, the Emperor is the face of the Penrotta Royal Family. It’s difficult for them to directly gather the resources, information, and technicians necessary for the resurrection experiments. They’d be too busy for that.”

 

“I also think it’s a plausible argument. If Mephisto’s heart is the core of the experiments, they would have to move even more secretly. No one in the Alliance would agree to using the heart for biological experiments.”

 

A brief silence fell over the table where the conversation was taking place.

Only when the sound of Rue placing an empty teacup on the windowsill was heard did the silent assassin-butler, who had been quiet all along, finally speak.

 

“According to the maid’s testimony, <Berithlet> is definitely a suspicious organization.”

“Maid?”

 

The assassin-butler, who furrowed his brow at my question, found the appropriate word and spoke again.

 

“The bandit.”

 

Ah, that maid.

 

“He obediently joined our side even before we could threaten him properly. He said he’d already been considering a career change because the atmosphere within the guild he belonged to was strange.”

 

Career change? It was too wholesome of a word to expect to come out of the mouth of a bandit maid.

“Three months ago, he participated in a mission to retrieve wartime magical artifacts buried in a landslide accident. Despite discovering a considerable amount of items, the higher-ups only cared about salvaging a couple of corpses, completely disregarding the actual mission objective, which was the magical artifacts.”

 

“Corpses…”

 

“Similar incidents have apparently been repeating for years, and there are ominous rumors circulating within <Berithlet> as well. They say that the guild leader, who remains hidden, is none other than Mephisto, who could’ve survived the subjugation.”

 

Up close, it was frightening, but from a distance, it was quite a ridiculous story. The guild leader of <Berithlet> was not Mephisto but a hero from the military who had defeated Mephisto.

 

Malcolm’s complexion grew even darker when Mephisto was mentioned.

“In truth, I have nothing to say about Mephisto’s heart. It’s something that I completely overlooked.”

 

The face of the old man who spoke remained filled with deep uncertainty.

When I first requested an investigation into the relationship between the Penrotta Royal Family and Mephisto’s heart, Malcolm, who hadn’t expected there to be such a connection, was taken aback.

 

‘It means they were conducting the experiments very secretly.’

 

Malcolm continued.

 

“However, we have been keeping a close eye on the Penrotta Royal Family’s acquisition of Rogue’s technology for a while now. Some of the mages sent by Rogue as support during the accident went missing, and we still haven’t found their bodies. It’s likely that some crucial information leaked through them.”

 

“Are you saying the Imperial family kidnapped Rogue’s mages?”

 

“I’m not sure if it was a kidnapping or an extremely arbitrary decision, but either way, it seems to be the most plausible explanation.”

 

As the maid let out a small sigh, Malcolm patted her shoulder to comfort her.

 

“Don’t be disheartened. There are no morally perfect central government agencies in this world. The only difference is how cleanly they decorate themselves.”

“I’ve grown old enough to realize that as well, Mr. Malcolm. The dark side of the Imperial family lingered even in my childhood. I’ve truly seen and had enough of it. It’s exhausting.”

“So, using Mephisto’s heart could potentially make resurrection a reality?”

 

Malcolm stole a cautious glance at Rue and cleared his throat.

 

“Ahem. I suppose I can tell you, Viscount… Given the circumstances, I contacted Sir Skuld directly. And I received a response stating that resurrection is possible, but what happens afterward is uncertain.”

 

“What do you mean by uncertain?”

 

“For example, even if the physical body is revived, the soul that returns may have no connection to the original owner of the body.”

 

“…”

 

“Even if the original soul returns, there is a high possibility of dying again soon after. A meaningless resurrection.”

 

Malcolm refrained from adding ‘Just like you, Viscount’ to his words. It seemed he had judged it best to keep the fact that I was on limited-time hidden from the maid.

 

I nodded slowly.

 

“Skuld’s judgment is logical. But will Natasha truly not know that fact?”

“Viscount, as you know, strong desires suppress reason. Just like it was for Mephisto.”

 

Are you comparing Natasha to Mephisto right now?

 

It was an unpleasant comparison, but I kept my mouth shut.  If I tilted to one side just because of my sentiment towards my old colleague, my perspective would narrow. At times like this, we had to judge rationally.

 

As I took a moment to gather my thoughts, I turned my head towards the window.

“Rue, do you think the same way?”

 

Rue, who had once again opened the book <Penrotta’s Top 100 Family Recipes>  kept his gaze fixed on it as he replied.

 

“I’m curious about what you think, Daisy.”

“About what? The resurrection experiments?”

“Raphael Zenail.”

“…Raphael?”

 

All of a sudden?

 

“Why?”

 

The topic came up so abruptly that, without realizing it, I blurted out a foolish question. Malcolm, who was sitting next to me, coughed quietly.

 

“Well then. Viscount? It seems the matter I wanted to convey is mostly settled, so I’ll leave now. Butler? Maid? Shall we go downstairs and have a drink?”

 

“You go ahead, Elder. I still have something to discuss with the master…”

 

“Astrozan Pole Whiskey, 28 years old.”

“….”

“The fragrance is exquisitely intoxicating. It’s enough to make one rise with praise.”

“….”

 

After Malcolm left the bedroom with the assassin-butler and the maid, Rue turned the page, revealing a chapter titled ‘Grilled Lamb Ribs Infused with Saffron,’ and sighed again.

 

“If I can help you, would you accept my assistance?”

 

Rue’s help? Of course, I would accept it.

He was practically the only person I could trust with all my heart right now.

 

However, Rue’s definition of ‘help’ seemed rather vague.

 

“Are you saying you’ll help to keep my relationship with Raphael from not breaking?”

 

Rue closed his eyes for a moment, then answered with a noticeably tired expression on his face.

“I’ve thought about it a bit.”

“Yeah?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to just kill him.”

 

What?

 

“If I killed him and acted as Raphael Zenail in his place, I would also be able to provide you with more reliable information. I would just have to brainwash the people around him, which isn’t that difficult.”

 

“….”

“What do you say, leave it to me?”