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

For Somebody/P, thank you for the ko-fi! ♡

<Episode 138>

 

Although it was very late into the war, Rowayne still served as a messenger for the swordmaster.

Even if he hadn’t personally cut down a devil himself, he must have at least faced a living devil. In addition, since he was the Vice Captain of the Zenail knights, I trusted he had the ability to distinguish between a prank and an emergency.

 

“…A devil, you say?”

As expected, Rowayne didn’t doubt my judgment or show any signs of confusion.

However, he was a different kind of frustration than I’d anticipated.

 

“I cannot obey your orders, Viscount. I am a knight. First and foremost, I must safely escort you to headquarters…”

 

“Snap out of it, Sir Rowayne! Who do you think is protecting whom right now?!”

 

My outburst caused Rowayne’s eyes to widen.

I grabbed him by the collar, bringing our faces closer, and shouted even louder.

 

“Be flexible. Do you really think ordinary civilians who have barely held a hunting bow at best can face real devils? Don’t forget that one wrong decision in a crucial moment can result in dozens of deaths. Listen to me. You go to the headquarters and report the situation, and I’m going to go around this area to minimize damage…”

 

Boom!

 

At that moment, a bright yellow firework shot up into the clear sky.

 

Once oxidized into light, the firecracker gradually disappeared, leaving behind a smoke trail of the same color

Was it a signal of surrender? Or perhaps…

 

I released my grip on Rowayne’s collar and persuaded him with a softer voice.

 

“If you go to headquarters, you’ll be able to locate the positions of all the members who participated in the hunt. So, the admins should also be able to track their locations in real-time. Inform the commander of the current situation and go straight to Raphael. Don’t forget, it has to be either Raphael or Count Rosebell.”

 

Soon after, Roayne, who had closed his eyes tightly for a moment, nodded with a resolute gaze.

 

“Understood. Stay safe, Viscount.”

After collecting a part of the devil’s corpse as evidence, Rowayne ran towards the direction where the headquarters was located.

 

After his departure, I turned my horse’s head towards the west, where the firework had exploded.

 

How long did I wander through the bushes?

 

“Hey, over here! I’m here. Please help!”

Not far away, a woman emerged, her clothes torn and her body covered in dirt as if she had rolled on the ground.

 

“Did you shoot the signal flare?”.

“That’s right!”

“Where’s your partner?”

 

The trembling woman, upon seeing the black blood stains on my sword, immediately pointed in the opposite direction with her finger.

 

“She’s over there. My sister is still there! You’re Lord Weatherwoods, right? Please ask Sir Rowayne to help my sister…”

“Sir Rowayne is not here.”

 

Just before despair consumed the woman’s face, I picked her up and put her on the back as I drove the horse towards the direction she’d pointed.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll help. How did she escape?”

The woman, clutching onto my waist, hesitantly spoke.

 

“My father… who was a former soldier, advised us to abandon our horses and buy time by running away if we ever encountered a devil… But my sister must’ve forgotten in her panic.”

 

A faint stench wafted through the air.

In this beautiful forest, the presence of the devil that had fallen like a midday lightning strike would not easily be erased.

 

As the smell grew stronger, the ground trembled. The devil we had discovered just a few minutes ago was now running on all fours, chasing after something.

 

Continuing at this speed would make it difficult to close the distance. I threw the sword I was holding, piercing it into the devil’s back.

 

“Kiiiaaak!”

 

The momentarily toppled devil spotted me and leaped high, ready to pounce on me.

 

Crackling sounds filled the air.

I quickly drew out my pearl sword and swung it. 

Thud. The demon, whose head was split in half, fell to the ground weakly.

 

The wide-spread sword was stained with blood, and the woman, momentarily stunned, quickly got off her horse and ran towards the direction the devil had been going.

 

“Oh, sister! Sister!”

 

Another tall woman running from the opposite side met the woman.

 

“Oh my, Tara! You’re safe!”

 

The sisters had a dramatic reunion for a moment and checked each other’s condition extensively before they ran towards me.

 

“Thank you. I’m really grateful that you saved my sister, Viscount Weatherwoods.”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“But what on earth happened… are these really real devils? Does the headquarters know about this situation?”

 

“I’ve sent someone, so they’ll send knights soon. Do you know of any other devils that appeared?”

“Maybe… I think it went west.”

 

There was no time to rest.

 

However, I couldn’t just leave the sisters behind, so I led them and continued moving west. About four minutes passed.

 

‘When I think about the distance between me and the sisters, it should be around this area…’

 

“Screech!”

 

My prediction was spot on.

 

‘The rough sound of breathing amidst the screams.’

 

When I turned in the direction of the screams, I saw a black figure gradually approaching from the other side.

 

The black figure turned out to be a young man with a somewhat mature appearance. With a pale face, he shouted at us.

 

“R-run! Don’t come this way! The monster is chasing!”

 

Behind the young man on horseback, a demonic figure was flying towards us as if going insane. But that wasn’t all. Behind the devil, a knight with a sturdy build was also running towards us, wielding a sword.

 

‘Is the knight trying to protect that man?’

 

However, it was impossible for a human’s steps to catch up to a devil’s pace.

To make matters worse, they were trying to escape on horseback. It was the worst possible scenario.

 

“Increase the speed!”

 

In response to my shout, the young man cried out in despair.

 

“It’s impossible! I can’t go any faster… Wait, where should we run to…!”

 

The moment when the two horses crossed paths.

I raised the side of my sword and struck the front leg of the devil that was trying to pierce the back of the man’s head. Then, I turned in the same direction and cut off the devil from its neck to its legs.

 

“Ki, aack….”

 

The devil’s head fell to the ground along with its final words.

The knight arrived immediately after.

 

“Cough, cough. Are you alright?”

“Brother! Are you okay?”

 

The knight, having confirmed the young man’s safety, crouched on the floor, heaving.

 

“Ugh.”

 

The knight’s condition didn’t seem good, especially with the deep wound on his left arm.

I was about to tear my clothes and stop his bleeding, but the younger sister approached from behind and spoke.

 

“I, I have hemostatic medicine and bandages. Father forced me to bring them, but I never thought they would come in handy like this…”

 

What a person. Although I haven’t seen her father’s face, he’s a hero who saved three people.

 

Emergency treatment was not difficult. The injured person was a skilled knight, so disinfection and stopping the bleeding were easy.

 

“Thank you, Viscount Weatherwoods. Thanks to you, I survived. I almost became a one-armed swordsman, haha!”

 

The knight’s face, laughing heartily, seemed strangely familiar. Judging by the old small wounds on his face and the back of his hand, we’d probably met on the battlefield before.

That’s why I was even more unnerved and confused

 

“You’re a war veteran, aren’t you? Why did you do something as dangerous as putting your brother on a horse and fleeing? You must know that devils are sensitive to sound.”

 

The knight’s expression, which was lively and laughing, suddenly turned gloomy.

 

“That… I’m sorry, I’m ashamed, but I don’t know either. Strangely, at the moment, I couldn’t think of anything. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a devil, but I just panicked like I did when I was a trainee knight. I certainly wasn’t like this during the war.”

 

The slurred knight gently tapped the shoulder of the young man who’d knelt down to him.

 

“I’m sorry, Eden. I pushed you into this mess.”

The young man grabbed the knight’s hand with a trembling face.

“Don’t say that, brother. I’m glad you’re safe. Really, I am…”

 

As one person burst into tears, the atmosphere instantly became heavy. The situation must’ve reminded them of the crossroads between life and death. The woman who had requested our help clung to my shoulder, trembling.

 

But I could not afford to comfort them.

 

‘I couldn’t think of anything, just like a trainee knight.’

 

It was a statement that could ordinarily be easily dismissed.

But it was hard not to attach meaning to it. The knight in front of me exuded a momentum and skill that made it difficult to attribute his recent actions to mere mistakes.

 

‘Could it be that his body and mind have reflexively stiffened due to post-war trauma?’

 

But Raphael said that most veterans overcame their trauma through mental therapy.

…Wait, could it be?

 

“Um, excuse me. Did you also receive mental therapy treatment for post-war trauma?”

 

The knight, who had been staring at me with blank eyes, nodded a beat late.

 

“Oh, yes. I also received that treatment.”

The knight who overcame post-war trauma.

 

‘Yeah, that’s why he acted inexperienced.’

 

The fact that the trauma was treated ultimately meant that the core memories triggering the trauma were erased or faded.

 

In other words, it meant that the learned self-defense mechanisms and coping strategies that had been developed when facing devils had returned to a blank slate.

 

‘Could it be a coincidence?’

 

Knights who’d forgotten how to deal with devils, and devils that had reappeared all of a sudden.

Was all of this really just a coincidence?

---

 

Omg that is so dangerous.

I guess no one really expected there to be another outbreak of devils since Mephisto died but if the treatment is getting rid of reflexives, that leaves all former soldiers who received it basically defenseless against the devils in case of an emergency like this.

thank you again P/Somebody for the ko-fi!

if you’re enjoying this story, leave a comment and maybe a review on NU if you want~