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

<Episode 176>

 

What? yesterday?

 

‘Did Dian really come and treat you?’

 

This was a problem.

Aside from the treatment, I had no idea what the two of them talked about.

 

Rue wasn’t particularly friendly towards me, so had he become close enough to Dian to gossip about someone with the same name? Is that why he asked me to come closer? What? How could I explain this situation?

 

“Well, of course, there’s nothing you can’t find if you search all over the continent…”

 

I looked at Rue as I trailed off.

I could feel a cold, subdued gaze.

 

At first glance, he might have looked indifferent, but he was focusing all his attention on my expression and words. No, he was not just focusing, he was searching.

 

Why was that?

‘…Ah, I see.’

 

A lie.

 

That was a lie. A lie to test me. Yes, Dian had never talked to him about anyone having the same name as him yesterday!

 

‘Then where does the lie start?’

 

First of all, it seemed certain that Dian visited Rue yesterday. Rue’s improved condition and the increased amount of ointment were evidence of that. Was there no other way but to change the subject?

 

At that moment, a sly sneer appeared on the corner of Rue’s mouth.

 

“You seem very busy with your thoughts.”

His hands were definitely bound to the rock wall, but it felt as if he was gripping my throat tightly, preventing me from turning my head.

 

“You can’t deceive me. Stop the nonsense and tell the truth. Who are you?”

 

…Who am I?

 

I almost shouted with a choked voice, ‘Would you understand if I told you?’

 

This body? Yes, it belonged to Dian Serenier. But it was me, not Dian, who met Rue, talked with him, and treated him with his face.

 

It wasn’t Dian, but me, who held hands with him in the future, hugged him, smiled with him, and promised a future.

 

But what was the point of it? Rue would only wait for the day he’d become a God and leave.

 

I knew it was stupid to vent my anger on a past version of him, so I answered with the most nonchalant face possible.

“If I’m not Dian Serenier, then who am I? What would you do if you knew?”

 

“I have no intention of doing anything.”

 

“Then why do you ask? Are you curious about me?”

He clenched his fist tightly with a displeased face, then relaxed it.

 

When I casually reached out and touched the back of his hand, his rough nails twitched and hardened. Feeling that he was alive, I told a lie closest to the truth.

 

“I… have two personalities.”

I was embarrassed even as I said it. Ahem.

 

One of Rue’s eyebrows shot up. That habit remained the same, whether it was the present or the future. I felt a strange excitement at discovering the commonality I found for the first time.

 

“It’s a double personality, um. During the day, I operate with a different personality from my current self. Of course, we are aware of each other’s existence…”

 

“Do you see me as an idiot like the rest of them? Who are you trying to deceive?”

He suddenly turned my hand over and tightly gripped my fingers.

 

“You are not Dian Serenier.”

 

“…”

 

“Those light-green eyes and that rounded nose are subtly different from Dian Serenier. You might be fooling others with your convincing magic, but you can’t deceive my eyes.”

 

Rue’s clear gaze stared at me.

Not Dian, but me.

As if piercing through my soul.

 

“Not Dian Serenier, but you. Who are you in there?”

 

I couldn’t believe it. Could it be that he was actually seeing me?

 

‘How?’

 

Blankly staring at him, I raised my other hand and hesitantly touched my face.

‘Oh, the eyes. He said.. He said they looked light-green.’

 

Did he mention my face was a little different too? How could that be? Neither Jane nor the Head could tell me apart from Dian. It was only natural. Because this body belonged to Dian.

 

And yet you recognize me.

 

“That’s… unfair.”

 

“What?”

 

“…”

 

“Hey, pepper-green eyes. Are you deaf?”

 

“…No matter what you say, I am Dian Serenier, and that fact won’t change.”

Rue openly mocked my response.

 

“You must have liked being called pepper-green eyes, huh? If you want, I’ll keep calling you that, pepper-green eyes.”

 

Those cheeky lips were the same ones that called me ‘Our Daisy’. Unbelievable.

 

“Hey? Do you know that you’re really childish?”

 

“You’re the brat here. That’s not something I want to hear from a girl who doesn’t listen to her father’s orders and does whatever the hell she wants.”

 

“You’re making a really tight argument that doesn’t suit here. I’m not defying my father’s words because I’m a child. I’m defying him because I’m grown up.”

 

We engaged in a trivial conversation and I began to spread the disinfectant and ointment. Until now, I’d only treated his upper body, focusing on the arms and waist, but today, for some reason, I gained a little bit of courage and decided to try a wider range.

“Let me check your back for a second.”

 

Fortunately, Rue twisted his body and sat still, not resisting. Relieved, I checked the wound on the back of his neck, and it seemed like something I’d never seen before was deeply embedded in the skin.

 

‘…A magic tool?’

 

It was slightly smaller than a ring finger and had a rectangular shape and felt like a stone to the touch. The color was a clear blue. Just by touching, I felt a powerful energy that made me uncomfortable.

 

“Hey, is it because of this that you can’t use your power?”

There was no response. I pulled on the blue stone with all my might, but the stone didn’t budge.

 

“It’s stubborn. Do you know how to remove it?”

The wound where the stone was embedded seemed to have healed a long time ago.

 

“Huh? How do you remove it?”

“…So there’s also a fool in Rogue who tries to remove a magic tool made by a demigod with brute strength, how amusing. Only those authorized can touch those shackles, and the moment they are removed, it will send a signal to your father and the demig-god. So don’t do anything unnecessary.”

 

Rue provided a somewhat kind explanation in his own way.

 

“So, how do I remove it?”

 

“Sigh… by using blood.”

 

“Blood? Ah, I see.”

 

I saved the information in my mind, even if it was incomplete.

If I guessed correctly, I would probably need the blood of the head of Serenier or the man who first brought me to this tower.

 

‘Now that the ointment is applied, should I get ready to go back?’

While I was organizing the empty space in my bag, something popped out. Ah, that’s right.

 

“Do you want chocolate?”

He gave me a look that said, ‘what bullshit is this?’. He didn’t seem like he was going to take it willingly.

 

“You don’t want to eat it? It’s not poisonous or anything. Here, look.”

 

I chewed on a small piece to show him, but Rue’s expression became even more annoyed.

I broke the chocolate into a size slightly larger than a fingernail and placed it between Rue’s lips. Perhaps too lazy to refuse, he gently opened his lips.

 

“That’s right. You eat well.”

 

As soon as I complimented him, he spat it out on the floor.

Oh, Rue. You really are a troublemaker!

 

“I’ll bring something even more delicious tomorrow. …Oh, I have a question. Is there anyone capable of infiltrating this castle to take you away?”

 

Rue looked up at me and gave no answer.

His silence was an affirmation.

 

‘I guess I’ll have to keep him alive for the time being.’

This sounds like the future is going to be bothersome. I came down the tower with a sigh.

 

* * *

 

The moment I woke up, I realized that something was wrong today as well.

 

‘Where am I this time?’

 

It was no longer surprising that it wasn’t my bedroom where I’d opened my eyes.

The problem was the situation.

 

I carefully looked around, wondering if Locke had ignored the warning and was trying to bully Dian again. I could tell from a glance this wasn’t an ordinary space.

 

The damp air and dim lighting typical of the underground. Solid stone walls. Scattered iron bars visible here and there. Above all, the lingering smell of thick blood in the air that tensed me.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

An old man I had never seen before asked me as he handed me a glass of water. When I refused and got up from my seat, the old man shouted loudly.

 

“Sir, Miss Dian has awakened!”

Not long after, someone appeared in the space where I had been lying.

 

I immediately recognized him. It was the man with a tall stature and a gloomy impression who had first guided me to the tower.

 

“I was surprised since you were unconscious for nearly two hours. But I’m glad you woke up. Come this way.”

 

The man led me, who had just woken up, across a narrow passage in the underground. I had to wrap my arms around myself, shivering in the bone-chilling cold, and followed him as I trembled.

 

‘This feeling… It’s exactly the same as what I felt when I first woke up as Dian.’

What could have caused me to faint? The question was soon answered.

 

“Do you remember this one?”

The place the man brought me to was in front of a small prison cell.

 

Beyond the shabby iron bars, the ghastly body of a servant, clearly in a state of defeat, was hunched over on the ground. Nevertheless, his eyes that glared at me were sharp and piercing. Like Rue, who was trapped in that tower.

 

“My head feels foggy. What did you say?”

 

“I understand. You fainted so suddenly, so it’s only natural. This is a spy that was captured last night. He’s also a treat reserved for you, Miss.”

 

“A treat?”

 

The man smiled and handed me a small glass vial.

“This is a poison I prepared. Feed it to the assassin.”

---

Her wizard will always recognize her, no matter the existence she lives as.

But also I was indeed skeptical about Rue’s perception of her because huwis (three wall crossers) can see the soul, right? So I thought he might’ve been seeing her as well and I was correct hehe