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

<Episode 150>

 

He turned away from me.

 

…Ah.

Is that how it is?

In the end, it was a relationship that couldn’t be reversed.

 

‘I was too optimistic.’

 

Once I was truly rejected, I felt heavy and tired, as if my heart had been torn open.

 

Should I have not said anything?

 

Should I have pretended not to know until the end? If I had done that, would Raphael have pretended not to know too? Could we have maintained this relationship, even if it was just barely, and checked on each other’s well-being once in a while?

 

‘No, that would be even more despicable.’

 

I can’t give up here.

 

This guilt is a burden I have to bear. I didn’t want to shatter my relationship with Raphael because I was afraid of Karma.

 

“…Wait.”

 

I had to clear up the misunderstanding.

 

“Wait! Just wait a moment, Raphael! Listen to me!”

 

I dashed forward to chase after Raphael.

At that moment, the heel of my shoe broke.

 

The problem was that I had taken an unsteady step in my unfamiliar shoes. By the time I realized it, it was already too late, and my ankle twisted, causing my vision to tilt sideways.

 

“Ah.”

 

Reflexively, I reached out my hand, gripping the railing of the bridge to regain my balance. The railing, installed for decorative purposes in the garden, was low enough to touch my knees.

 

But the issue was that the hand I grabbed the railing with happened to be the same hand that Raphael had held.

 

“Huh?”

 

With a sharp pain, my wrist, which should have supported the weight of my body, weakly gave way.

 

I tried to grab the railing with my other arm, but it was too late. The distance between the support of my leg and the water’s surface was about two steps, so I ended up falling into the water before I could even fully reach out my arm.

 

The last scene I saw was Raphael turning his head as I became submerged in the water canal.

 

I was surprised by the unexpected situation, but that was all. I just needed to get back to the surface. I had been a soldier and a swordsman who’d fought on the battlefield for ten years. This was nothing. This was…

 

But strangely, my body wouldn’t move.

This chilling coldness that pierced my bones.

 

Was water always this cold?

 

No matter how close it was to the end of autumn, this level of coldness was unbelievable. The sensations in my toes and fingertips hardened, like they were frozen. Even though I struggled desperately, my heavy body wouldn’t rise to the surface, like it was a mountain.

 

My heart ached.

 

I was weak.

‘…Yes, this body is broken.’

 

Even though I’d moved so well when I’d cut down those devils. In critical situations, I was as insignificant as a piece of paper.

 

It was the same when I made an oath. I seemed to have become particularly vulnerable to sudden changes that affected my body.

 

‘…I shouldn’t have asked Rue to not interrupt us.’

 

When my thoughts began to blur.

A strong force pulled my body up from the darkness.

 

“Hff.”

 

As I struggled to catch my breath, heavy clothing wrapped around my upper body.

 

“Andert.”

 

A large hand reached out and pushed my disheveled hair back.

In my gradually clearing vision, Raphael’s face came into focus. The man relentlessly wiped my cheeks with a face filled with fear. That kind of expression didn’t suit him.

 

“Andert, Andert.”

 

I could feel Raphael’s hand trembling faintly through my ice-cold skin. I was the one who almost died, but Raphael seemed more like the person who’d returned from death’s door.

 

The fear he felt was fully conveyed through his skin.

Suddenly, I remembered Raphael, who’d had to witness my last appearance on Queen Island. The guilt he must have felt that day would have been incomparable to the guilt I feel now, so immense and painful. I took Raphael’s hand in an attempt to comfort him.

 

“Hah… Calm down. It’s okay, I’m here.”

 

I didn’t die this time.

 

“I just fell into the water for a bit. I almost couldn’t get out, though.”

 

Only then did Raphael’s trembling subside.

 

I thought he had calmed down, but no. Anger welled up again inside his sunken pupils.

 

What Raphael had been staring at was the scars that peeked out of my half-torn clothing. They exuded a presence of their own.

 

I wondered why the dress looked like this, but it seemed like Raphael had pulled on it with his hands just before lifting me out of the water.

 

“…Damn it.”

 

He swallowed a curse and pulled the tattered cloth over to cover the scars. I grew concerned at his noticeably unstable appearance.

 

“Raphael.”

“It’s nothing. Just that, for a moment… I just felt so fucking pathetic.”

 

After Raphael draped his uniform over my wet dress, he embraced me tightly in his arms.

 

As his warm body heat transferred to me, a sense of relief washed over. The rapidly beating heart, which had been pounding anxiously, gradually began to slow down.

 

“Are you really Andert? Did you come back alive? Really?”

Resting my chin on his shoulder for a while, I took a deep breath before answering slowly.

 

“Yeah, it’s me.”

 

“How did you end up like this?”

 

“I didn’t end up like this. Cough, this is how I originally looked.”

 

Rafael maintained a short silence, as if trying to gauge the truth in my words.

 

Finally, he stood up, still holding me, and walked into the palace. He wandered through the maze-like corridors and approached a man standing in the light, then spoke.

 

“Viscount Weatherwoods fell into the canal. Please provide a room for her to rest.”

“The canal? Goodness, of all days, she had to fall in on a day like this. Follow me.”

 

After confirming my face, the butler quickly moved his steps, pushing aside the other attendants around.

 

“It’s an incident that occasionally happens on days when there’s a banquet. Still, it’s fortunate that Duke Zenail was nearby.”

 

The room the butler guided me to was an excessively spacious reception room. After Raphael seated me on the sofa, servants who had walked out from the back door disappeared after lighting the fireplace.

 

The butler drew back all the heavy curtains and finally turned on a serene crimson-colored lantern, then looked back at Raphael.

 

“Your Grace…”

“My sister is new to the palace, so I will take care of her before helping her return home.”

“Understood. I will make sure to keep people away from this area. Please rest well until you recover, Viscount Weatherwoods.”

 

After placing warm wilk on the table as a final touch, he left me and Raphael alone in the room.

 

Raphael opened the display cabinet in the reception room without hesitation, and handed me a bottle of liquor that looked expensive at a glance.

 

More alcohol again?

“I’ve had enough to drink today.”

 

Upon hearing my sigh, Raphael responded by raising one eyebrow. I obediently filled my glass and gulped it down before placing it back on the table.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Was this alcohol really that strong? It felt like a burning ember dropped down my throat, and my cold body suddenly started to heat up.

 

‘I guess it’s fortunate my body became more resistant to it after crossing the second wall.’

 

Raphael filled my empty glass with alcohol and poured it into his own mouth. After shaking the empty glass a few times in the light of the fireplace, he parted his lips.

 

“You must have a story to tell me, Andert.”

 

That’s right.

Where should I start? First, I should point out the most obvious mistake.

 

“I am not Andert.”

 

For some reason, Raphael’s expression turned very grim upon hearing my words.

 

“You…”

“No, no. Keep listening. I didn’t mean it like that. Andert is not my name; it’s the name of my little brother who I thought was dead.”

 

“Brother?”

 

“He was killed by Mephisto. I borrowed my brother’s name and body to seek revenge for Andert.”

 

I began to recount the story of the past 14 years, which could be long or short, depending on how it was told.

 

It was a memoir of the past that I had never uttered a word about during the ten years I spent with Raphael. Even I found it fascinating as I spoke.

 

Was it possible that a life that was so long and arduous could be summarized so briefly?

Was it possible that a life that was so wretched and absurd could continue like this?

 

‘What a damn absurd life. What if he doesn’t believe it?’

 

I worried I’d be labelled a liar once again.

After much contemplation, I took off the coat I had been wearing. I lowered the torn and stretched clothing around my shoulders, revealing the scattered small wounds on my back.

 

“Here, see the scars on my body? You should recognize them. They are the wounds from the magic war. They didn’t exist before, but as my body started to break down, they started to appear one by one…”

 

“Stop!”

 

It was an outburst that could only be described as sudden. I turned to him, hunching my shoulders.

 

“What’s wrong? W-why are you acting like this?”

 

Raphael picked up his coat and roughly covered my shoulders. Then, with an annoyed expression, he scolded me.

 

“Are you crazy? Being so careless with your body in front of a man…”

“What nonsense are you talking about now? Do you think I lived with you for ten years without knowing that?”

 

There was a momentary pause. A bitter smile appeared on Raphael’s lips.

 

“How amusing. Are you mocking me? I don’t think that’s an answer that’s favorable in your current situation at all.”

 

“…I understand your disbelief.”

 

“You ignored my pleading and died as you wished.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize if you don’t mean it. If you truly thought of me, you wouldn’t have gone and become a maid in Midwinterre.”

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

“On top of that, I can’t believe you don’t have much time left, or the fact that your body is already broken!”

 

Bang! The table shook heavily as his fist slammed down.

 

I carefully picked up the glass that was shaking precariously and placed it back on the table. Raphael was generally not an expressive person, so when he displayed intense anger like this, I deliberately chose not to say anything. It’s because I knew that if I said the wrong thing, I would receive a barrage of nagging.

 

Raphael, who quietly collected his composure, glared at me.

 

“Andert. No, Daisy Weatherwoods. Are you really going to die?”

 

“Don’t say such unlucky things. I’m trying to find a way to live my life as best as I can.”

 

“Duke Jurian won’t simply hand over his relic.”

 

“I know. Just thinking about that man’s face makes my head ache. Cough, cough… By the way, what happened to the devil that appeared during the hunt? Any progress in the investigation?”

 

Leaning against the sofa with his arms crossed, he let out a scoff with an incredulous expression.

 

“After all that, you’re still asking such a question?”

“It’s related to Natasha.”

 

After a brief silence, a much calmer response came.

 

“I’ll let you know tomorrow morning. Instead, stay here with me tonight.”

Tomorrow morning.

 

“Thank you for your consideration, but that’s going to be difficult. There’s someone waiting for me tonight.”

 

Without waiting for Raphael’s reaction, I stood up from my seat. My limbs were painfully stiff, but I could still move.

 

After leaving his neatly folded uniform behind, I walked towards the door when Raphael called out to me.

 

“Andert.”

 

Raphael spoke quietly, his gaze fixed on the flickering candle flame.

 

“If I tell you not to go… will you stay away from him?”

 

“…..”

 

“If I promise to protect you, will you stay here?”

 

“No.”

 

I was no longer Andert.

 

I was once a maid, and I was now Viscount Daisy Weatherwoods. I had my own path to follow. I had obligations to fulfill and people to protect.

 

And Rue.

 

“Thank you for not pushing me away, Raphael. I mean it. There are still many things I need to tell you… See you later.”

 

Thud.

 

As I closed the door, the chilly air of early winter enveloped my skin.

I walked with unsteady steps, resembling a wet rat. Descending the stairs barefoot, I treaded on the cold marble and made my way to the banquet hall.

 

A grand hall filled with continuous music. In front of that hall stood a man. Rue.

 

“You killed him, right?”

He approached me in a single step and embraced me, whispering to me.

 

“I can’t forgive this otherwise.”