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

<Episode 185>

 

After writing “Ash” on the leather pad, I turned my head towards the bed.

I’d felt it before too, but Rue truly slept like he was dead. Seeing his face exhaling softly without any sign of moment naturally reminded me of the future him.

 

‘Have I ever seen Rue sleeping like this?’

Even when I scoured through my memories, a similar scene didn’t come to mind. Perhaps this was the first time after all.

 

I carefully got up and laid down next to Rue. Under his radiant blond hair, his long eyelashes, like golden threads, were picturesque like a painting. I cautiously reached out and touched the tip of his eyebrows, feeling a much denser and stronger texture than my own.

 

Come to think of it, Dian’s eyelashes were also long. Was it because they were born in a cold country?

 

“Are you enjoying secretly touching me like this?”

As if the clouds had cleared, his deeply carved eyes opened up, revealing a vivid golden color.

 

The eyelashes pressed against my fingertips felt like feathers of a bird. I stared blankly as he gently closed one eyelid, caressing my forehead before I answered.

 

“Yes.”

 

Perhaps unsatisfied with my casual response, Rue narrowed his eyes.

 

“It’s really Ash.”

“Yeah, Ash. Actually, you and Dian are the only ones who call me by that name. It’s a name I abandoned a long time ago.”

 

As if pondering something, Rue blinked slowly and replied.

 

“Then tell Dian Serenier not to call you by that name.”

 

“What? I’m sorry, but in a situation like this, my name is the only thing that distinguishes me from Dian…”

 

“That doesn’t matter when your face is clear in my eyes. It’s only fair, isn’t it? Only you call me by my name, so I don’t want to share your name with that brat.”

 

“You act more like a kid than him, you know?”

 

“What… well, it’s not like it’s wrong to do that. Even though I may seem like this, I’m only twenty-two. There are less than ten-thousand people younger than me in the rebel group. How old are you?”

 

I always felt it, but Rue truly had a remarkable talent for leaving me speechless.

I tried to withdraw my hand, feeling awkward for no reason, but I was immediately held back. Rue didn’t seem willing to let go until he heard his desired answer, so I parted my lips in a crawling voice.

 

“I’ll say it again… You’re the one who seduced me when I was young…”

 

“I get it, so how old are you?”

 

“…”

 

“Forty?”

 

“…”

 

“Could it be fifty?”

 

“…A little over thirty.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

What’s with that silence?

Although I felt unsettled, there was no time to be disturbed by every short response. All the anxiety in me was already pouring into the issue of Rue’s survival.

 

It was then.

 

With a small knock, a man on the other side of the door informed, 

“Commander, the preparations for the meeting are complete. You can attend now.” 

 

It was the meeting where renowned wizards from the Northern Continent had gathered in one place.

 

I pushed Rue, who was busy fidgeting with my wrist and pretending not to hear, out of bed.

 

“Aren’t you going? You have to attend the meeting. It’s not just any meeting; it’s directly related to your life.”

 

Rue looked at me like there was something he didn’t like about this.

 

“I know that without you having to tell me.”

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“Commander.”

Rue didn’t even flinch at the call, so I pushed him again.

 

“Hurry up, will you?”

 

“I’ll go, so you come along too.”

 

“…Is that okay?”

 

“There’s nothing that can’t be done.”

 

I liked that confidence.

It goes without saying that I immediately accepted Rue’s proposal.

 

The meeting took place in the dining room on the first floor. Inside the cold and desolate dining room, 14 magicians were waiting for us around a large round table.

 

I sat alone on a wooden chair placed at the entrance of the dining room, becoming the sole audience of this round table meeting. Fortunately, no one paid any attention to me.

 

And there it was.

A blue pearl placed prominently in the center of the table.

 

From that blue pearl, emitting a dim and mysterious light, a gloomy aura emanated from Rue.

‘Is that the heart of Calepa?’

 

As it was the Serenier’s mission to refine Calepa’s avatar, it was also the Sereniers who protected his heart.

 

The overwhelming presence of the heart captivated the attention of all the magicians, and the table fell silent. However, as the atmosphere shifted, and they scrutinized each other, the door to dialogue opened and led to endless debates.

 

“Calepa was called a demi-god. How can we, mere humans, break a curse bestowed by a God?”

 

“That’s why we’re here. Even if he was a demi-god, hasn’t he disappeared completely save for leaving behind a heart crystal? There must be a solution.”

 

“The life of the commander of the rebels is at stake, not the nobles preoccupied with their own interests or the royal family that is blind to the army!! You must succeed at all costs. The long-awaited freedom has come to our homeland, and if there is a change in the commander-in-chief, it will greatly shake the rebels!”

 

“That’s right. We need to find a way to neutralize the curse using the power of this heart crystal immediately. It seems to be the only solution, in my opinion.”

 

Even in the roundtable meeting symbolizing equality, Rue’s seat felt like the head’s, and the sight was incredibly natural.

 

However, Rue, with his chin resting on his hand and his eyes lowered, seemed bored. Occasionally, he would turn his gaze and speak, but it was more of a mechanical response.

 

The only time any expression would appear on his dry face was when our eyes met. We often engaged in silent staring competitions, communicating not through words but through subtle gestures like a slight frown or a twitch of the nose.

 

In the meantime, whenever the attention of the roundtable magicians focused on me, I would casually turn my shoulder and look around. I couldn’t really stand the intense attention directed at me.

 

In the meantime, when the attention of the roundtable wizards was focused on me, I slowly turned my shoulders and turned around. It’s as if I can’t stand the attention that’s focused on me.

 

‘Is there any value to this discussion?’

At least among the roundtable magicians, there seemed to be no one knowledgeable about the magical utilization of the heart crystal. As someone who had experienced extraordinary events through Mephisto’s heart and Dian’s heart, it felt no different from idle speculation.

 

2. am.

Each magician left with new goals and ambitions to achieve.

 

“So, what do you think?”

While the two of us were left alone in the empty dining room, Rue asked me subtly.

 

“Do you also believe that the solution to this curse lies in Calepa’s heart?”

“Did you gather experts to ask me for advice?”

“You seem to know something.”

 

Leaning back in his chair, Rue closed his eyes and spoke calmly.

 

“I have a good intuition, Ash. The reason that my neck is still intact is not due to exceptional swordsmanship or my good looks, but my instincts. Especially after growing up in a pit where slaves were dying by the minute, my ability to read people is quite reliable.”

 

“The magicians may not seem trustworthy, but they seemed pretty desperate to me.”

 

“Even if they appear desperate, they’re not as desperate as you.”

 

“….”

 

“In my eyes, you seem the most desperate, Ash. Maybe even more than me. So if I must believe in just one person’s words, I’ll believe in yours.”

 

“Don’t make assertions like that so easily, you might regret it. I’m not as knowledgeable about magic as they are.”

 

“That means you know at least a fairly valuable solution.”

 

Rue opened his eyes and asked for my help.

“Tell me. What should I do to survive?”

 

How can he avoid death?

The answer was simple. Become a Demi-god like Calepa, and personally undo the curse he left behind.

 

It was a straightforward logic, but none of the magicians at the roundtable had advised Rue to become a demi-god. It was only natural, of course. Since it wasn’t a level that could be reached through earnestness.

 

Demi-god.

A being that has crossed the fourth wall.

 

It might be fate’s twisted joke, but there were two people who crossed that wall by my side. One of them was Dian, the owner of this body.

 

“I hope you don’t cross over.”

 

I understand Dian now.

 

Dian was warm, comforting, and compassionate. If he expressed a desire for his disciples to not cross the fourth wall, despite knowing their desires to, it would be because he genuinely hoped it would not be crossed.

 

Therefore, the fourth wall may be an extremely painful barrier.

Perhaps, the fourth wall was one that he deeply regretted.

 

Or… the fourth wall itself may be a wall that humans should not cross.

 

So the fourth wall was humanity.

Man cannot surpass the power of the gods. In order for a mortal to become a demi-god, they must break their fate as a mortal.

 

That was what must’ve been experienced by the Demi-God Dian Cecht, who would later be renowned as a skilled healer in the future.

 

That which even the three Calepas that lead Rogue, and Mephisto, notorious throughout the continent, were never able to overcome.

 

And that which Rue, the great Lord Calepa, and the Demi-god of the Northern Continent, must overcome.

 

“Death.”

 

“…”

 

“If my guess is correct, you must die in order to live, Rue.”

 

To overcome the fate of mortality, death, and become a God.

That was the only way for Rue to break free from the curse of the Calepa. However, it was also a paradoxical solution.

 

Doesn’t that mean it wouldn’t matter if Rue’s heart stopped beating, as long as he overcame death?

 

Ultimately, the method is what matters.

 

How can one truly overcome death? Should Rue sit still and wait for the curse of the Calepa to come true, or should I pray that he accidentally crosses the fourth wall?

 

Rue recognized at once what my answer meant.

 

“…Are you telling me to become a god now?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s the most obvious and impossible advice. Alright. But what if I can’t come back from death?”

 

“No, you can come back. If you swallow the heart of Calepa.”

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10 chapters left. how we feeling, readers? hehe. I think I might post one chapter at a time from this moment forth.