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

<Episode 171>

 

I left a second memo.

First and foremost, it was crucial to recover my strength, and if Dian accidentally ingested poison, he needed to figure out what kind it was.

 

Additionally, I asked for a few more days to delay any plans related to Rue.

 

Next.

 

“Oh, it’s cold.”

 

I’ll rest in bed.

I was not yet accustomed to the winter in this filthy cold Astrosa, so just spending time outside of bed was a struggle in itself.

 

As I melted into the blanket, one of the two maids approached me and asked,

“Miss, are you not going to the pharmacy today?”

 

“The pharmacy?”

 

“We… borrowed a heating device and raised the temperature in the pharmacy. We also moved soft and fluffy bedding to the ensuite bedroom, so you’ll be able to comfortably stay in the pharmacy as well.”

 

Would it really be as comfortable as the bedroom? Technically, the pharmacy was Dian’s workplace.

 

‘And I don’t know anything about medicine.’

However, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the maids’ expressions.

 

“Why are you so restless? Like an itchy puppy.”

 

The two maids, who had been exchanging glances, finally spoke after a while.

“If you leave the pharmacy empty for too long, the master might say something like last time…”

 

That damn master is the problem again?

I can’t help it. I sighed and got up from the sofa.

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

Phew. The maids let out a sigh of relief.

 

Still, Dian Cecht was relatively fortunate. The employees took care of every little thing for him this way.

 

Before heading to the pharmacy, I stood in front of the door and asked the maid,

“Jane.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Am I smart?”

 

Jane, who had been blinking blankly, suddenly answered with an excited face.

“Of course! Where else can you find someone as smart and wise as you? Even among your siblings! You’ve been bright since you were young, and you’ve mastered high-level medical books that most doctors can’t even handle. The master himself mentioned that if you were a little healthier, you could have been the next head…”

 

“Hey, Jane.”

Startled by her colleague’s call, Jane’s shoulders stiffened.

 

“I’m sorry, miss. I was too self-indulgent.”

“It’s okay. Thank you for being so kind to me.”

 

Leaving the blushing Jane behind, I headed to the pharmacy.

‘As expected, the talent that becomes a demi-god is exceptional from the start.’

 

I looked at Dian’s thick fingers. It was a bit fascinating to think that such a small and fragile body was preparing to become a man.

 

‘Come to think of it, Dian and I have a lot in common.’

Living as the opposite sex, both of us have had our souls shattered and changed our names once. Maybe that’s why I felt more friendly towards him.

 

Dian’s pharmacy was located in the annex.

As Jane said, it seemed like Dian was considerably trusted by the head of the family, as the entirely too large room on the first floor belonged to Dian.

 

‘The smell of medicine.’

 

The interior of the pharmacy was clean. This shattered my prejudice that geniuses were messy.

 

The dimly lit room was meticulously covered with blackout curtains, and filled with red lamps. It seemed like special measures were being taken for storing drugs.

 

The neatly arranged display shelves were filled with colorful powders and liquids, and substances that seemed to be particularly toxic in particular were sealed with warning labels.

 

‘It’s much more professional than I thought.’

I didn’t think Dian would be this serious since he was so young.

 

On one side of the wall, there were shelves filled with specialized books and notes organized by Dian. The notes especially were easier to read, since they summarized pharmaceutical studies.

 

‘Alright, I can study with this.’

 

Suddenly, Rue, trapped in the tower, came to mind.

The large and small scars carved all over his body. Judging by the vivid red color of the scabs, it seemed like he was tortured almost every day.

 

I can’t just leave him in that state.

 

‘…Should I try making an ointment myself?’

Dian would be busy searching for and making his own medicine.

 

While the thought was fresh in my mind, I immediately looked for Dian’s recipe notebook.

 

“Ointment for wounds, ointment… Ah! Here it is. Hmm, there are many types of ointments. Ointments for healing wounds, ointments for fresh skin…”

 

…I didn’t know the difference.

“I don’t know, let’s just make them all for now. Applying both should help him heal faster. So, for the first drug… let’s see… 30g of Protolla powder…”

 

What’s that?

It seems like it’ll take all day to make just one ointment.

 

* * *

 

“Huff, huff… it’s so damn..far!.”

 

Taking a quick gulp of the warm water I’d prepared, I raised my hand and looked up at the ceiling.

 

It felt like I had been climbing for a while, but it seemed like I still had to climb for another 3 minutes to reach the top floor of the spire. Carrying a portable lantern made walking heavier.

 

“This body is so… I feel like I’m going to die climbing these stairs.”

 

3 minutes? That was a vain dream. It took another 5 minutes to reach the top floor.

Unable to bear the heat emanating from my body, I approached the direction of the cell, throwing off my muffler and gloves.

 

‘It’s dark.’

 

It was just close to midnight now, and the sky was unusually cloudy, so there was not a single ray of moonlight in the prison.

 

Relying on the portable lantern, I peered through the bars. Just like the previous night, Rue was hunched over with both wrists fixed to the wall.

 

‘I can’t faint again, so let’s approach as cautiously as possible.’

Using the keys I had brought, I pushed open the bars and entered.

 

“Excuse me.”

Rue’s head, which was still as if he was dead, lifted towards me.

With such a gloomy expression and those eyes, it felt like he was a moving corpse.

 

I looked down at my hands, which had begun to tremble against my will.

‘This body is scared. Is it because the owner of this body is not me, but Dian?’

 

The golden glint in his eyes followed my every step. Slowly circling around Rue, I carefully examined his physical condition.

 

‘His muscles seem fine, better than I expected. It hasn’t been long since he was imprisoned. There don’t seem to be any fractured bones…’

 

However, there were blue bruises and deep wounds scattered throughout his body. Moreover, the skin that was in contact with the muzzle was visibly badly jagged.

 

‘Let’s apply some medicine here first.’

I put down the lantern and reached out my hand towards Rue’s face.

 

“It’s alright, I’m trying to remove the gag.”

I just wanted to reassure him the way I could, but Rue remained motionless and silent.

 

As I removed the muzzle, Rue slowly turned his head as if stretching and took a deep breath. Like a man who was tasting the outside air for the first time in years. Then…

 

Spit.

He spat on my face.

 

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, my eyes widened, and a laughterless chuckle escaped his lips.

 

“Get lost.”

 

Rather than finding his response unpleasant, I was a little surprised.

 

‘That’s interesting. The age range doesn’t look much different from the Rue I know, but his voice sounds much younger.’ 

 

However, the smell of spit was strong, probably because he hadn’t been able to wash his mouth for a long time. Well, it was nothing compared to the stench of corpses that clung together like one body on the battlefield.

 

I wiped the spit on my face with my coat and asked.

“Where does it hurt the most?”

 

“….”

 

“I brought some ointment, but it can only be used for burns, not for bruises. I also brought disinfectant, can you tell me where the most festered wound is?”

 

As I spoke, I took out the ointment from my bag, but an obvious sneer replied.

 

“What nonsense.”

 

I opened the lid of the ointment, and looked at Rue. He poured out harsh words without blinking an eye.

 

“What great hypocrisy. Or is this also a ploy to turn me into the avatar of that disgusting god? Ah, yes. That must be it. There’s no way the monstrous Serenier bloodline would do anything else.”

 

Those golden eyes filled with contempt glared at me like they would devour me.

“Just get lost. I don’t need the sympathy of trash like you.”

 

I silently stared at Rue, then closed the lid of the ointment that I had opened.

‘It’s going to take some time.’

 

If I approached him now, I might end up causing more injuries to Dian’s body instead of treating him.

 

”You seem to be in a bad mood today, so I’ll come back tomorrow.”

 

I packed the dirty muzzle and left through the window, descending the stairs once again. I couldn’t let such a filthy object touch Rue’s wounds.

 

‘An Avatar of a God. And a monster.’

 

It was a story that somehow felt familiar.

 

I now had one more piece of information that I needed to investigate in detail.

 

* * *

 

The next afternoon.

The memo left by Dian said the following:

 

『Ash, I have something important to tell you today.

 

This morning, I heard from Jane that the doctor diagnosed my illness as an internal injury caused by poison.

 

I don’t agree with this claim. When I enter the pharmacy, I always wear a specially made mask and gown, so there is no chance of accidentally ingesting poison.

 

Furthermore, the poisons I manage, both in terms of dosage and type, were all the same when I checked them (the ingredients you left records of are non-poisonous). This means that someone neither accidentally or intentionally used my poison.

 

It seems like an external poison was used on me.

Just to be safe, please be careful when you eat.』

 

After checking all of the note, I clicked my tongue.

‘I’ve just found out this important fact, and today just happens to be family dinner.’

 

---

 

HOW DARE THEY TORTURE MY (OUR) RUEE T-T

Also so glad that Dian is still active because as much as I love Daisy, do NOT let her near anything that can create poisons !! (she’s dangerous enough as is I’m actually so scared for Rue if he has to receive her ointment)