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

<Episode 186>

 

* * *

What was this?

That was the first thought I had as I looked up at the gray ceiling flickering with yellow lights.

 

I blinked my eyes absentmindedly and quickly got up as if I were on fire. In the silence of the room, with the cold wind from the northern continent tapping on the window, a man sat like a ghost.

 

His two eyes, fixed on me, were filled with anguish, melancholy, and darkness.

 

“It’s nine o’clock.”

“…Has a day really passed?”

 

Instead of answering, Rue pointed to the old clock hanging on the wall.

The hour hand pointed to the number 9.

 

There was still a snowstorm raging outside, and the night’s curtain covered the dark sky. I tried to recall the haziness of the last sight that remained in my memory.

 

‘Did I fall asleep so suddenly because it was late?’

But didn’t it feel more like I fainted instead of falling asleep?

 

Moreover, the wake-up time, which usually revolved around seven o’clock, suddenly shifted to nine o’clock. Of course, it wasn’t all that strange. It was evidence that Dian’s body was recovering quickly and steadily.

 

Suddenly, a gut feeling came to me. It was only a matter of time before I left this body.

 

Rue didn’t say anything.

And I, although aware that we needed to have more conversations about death and the heart of Calepa, couldn’t bring myself to speak. This was because with every blink of my eyes and every inhale and exhale of breath, Rue’s gaze persistently followed me.

 

As if confirming my existence.

After a while, Rue spoke first.

 

“Say something.”

….

“…That hair color suits you well.”

 

“Hair color?”

 

“The you I know has a slightly, no, pretty different hair color from now. It’s a hair color I’ve never seen before in my entire life, so I thought from birth….”

 

There was a blatant sigh.

Rue, who rose from his seat like a sleeping beast did, came to me. He scoured my whole body with a look as cold as icy fangs before closing his eyelids.

 

With a thud, he collapsed onto my bed, pulling me tightly into his embrace with both arms from behind.

 

“Change the topic a bit. Instead of talking about some bastard I don’t know, talk about something else.”

 

Rue’s warm breath settled near my ears and neck. As I listened to the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat beyond my back, I grumbled softly.

 

“You’re so unpredictable sometimes that it’s difficult to deal with you.”

 

“So, you hate it?”

 

“…Actually, I kind of like that about you.”

 

“Which part? The unruly part?”

 

“Yeah, the unruly part.”

 

“That’s a bit of a problem.”

 

Although he said that, his tone conveyed a strange sense of satisfaction. Rue, who turned his face towards me, murmured while adjusting angles.

 

“I feel like your face is becoming clearer as time goes by.”

 

“Really? How is it changing? I can’t see it with my own eyes.”

 

“Maybe it’s transforming into Ash. It’s a face that roughly suits that name.”

 

As if lost in deep thought, Rue gazed at my face in silence and whispered in a passing tone.

 

“How about making this body yours?”

 

You don’t even know Dian, but you’re talking about making me take over his body? As my expression hardened at the vicious joke, Rue’s eyes drew a small arc.

 

“Don’t make that expression, Ash.”

 

It was a clear line of ridicule.

 

“You better be careful. If you openly show your hate for the idea… I might really want to make it happen.”

 

After silently brushing my chin for a while, Rue stood up promptly at 10 p.m. to attend a roundtable meeting.

 

I expected him to take me along again this time, but contrary to expectations, he left me alone in the bedroom. He even locked the door.

 

“Beck?”

 

Ash tilted his head slightly as he looked at me sitting there blankly.

 

“…It’s okay, Ash. I think he’s just worried because the snowstorm is especially bad today. If I went out for a moment and came back, I might’ve catched a cold.”

 

For some reason, White didn’t come to see me that day.

 

* * *

 

When I woke up at some point, the world was still dark.

 

Had it been already several tens of days since I last saw the blue sky with the sun? Now, this darkness felt familiar.

 

Just like yesterday, at some point while reminiscing about the hazy memories of the previous day, I heard Rue’s voice.

 

“It’s ten o’clock.”

 

The hour hand pointed to 10. Watching the hour hand move at an absurdly fast pace, I slowly grasped my forehead.

 

Once again, I couldn’t meet Rue in my dream.

How many days had passed since our last encounter?

 

I just wanted to ask Rue for help. How did your past self overcome death and be reborn as a god? Could he swallow Calepa’s heart and still maintain his sanity… I had a mountain of questions, but Rue’s power remained silent.

 

“Tomorrow is the last day.”

Ah, yes. The last of Rue’s four days was just around the corner. On one hand, I couldn’t believe it. Four days had passed so quickly?

 

Come to think of it, what did I do last night? After Rue left the bedroom, I tried to check the note left by Dian while spending time with Ash… strangely, I couldn’t remember.

 

‘Why?’

 

When I raised my head, feeling anxious about my fading memory, Rue was standing right in front of me, looking at me.

 

His face was pale. Yet, the area under his eyes was dark, as if he hadn’t slept for a long time. The unfamiliar 22-years-old Rue’s face stirred up the unease I’d been trying to suppress wriggling beneath my heart.

 

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm myself, I greeted him with the most nonchalant face I could muster.

 

“What’s wrong, Rue? You look like you’ve seen a corpse come back to life.”

 

After a brief silence, a hoarse voice escaped from Rue’s lips.

 

“You.”

 

“…”

 

“I don’t like how you’re smiling and talking like it’s nothing”

 

He collected his breath as if chewing sand and greeted him with a face as casual as possible.

Suddenly, his outstretched hand touched my cheek. With a gentle touch, he swept my face and checked my breathing, then slowly pulled me into an embrace.

 

“Do you remember at what time you lost consciousness?”

 

“Rue.”

 

“It’s midnight.”

 

“It’s okay, Rue. It’s natural.”

 

“Your time is getting shorter, while Dian Serenier’s time is getting longer. While you’re dying, Dian Serenier is getting healthier day by day. It’s as if he’s using you as nourishment.”

 

My heart beat rapidly. No, this wasn’t the sound of my own heart. Rue’s anxiety, his sheer terror, was reaching me.

 

Was it because this was the first time I’d seen Rue look so confused? I, too, felt an intense anxiousness unlike ever before. After biting my lips for a while, I gently tapped his broad and youthful back, too wide to hold in one embrace.

 

“No, that’s not it, Rue. I swear on my name. I can swear on everything, not just my name. Even if we have to part ways right now, we will meet again soon.”

 

“I’m not interested in that.”

 

“More importantly, when was the last time you slept? You need to conserve your energy for tomorrow…”

 

“For fuck’s sake, I said I don’t care about that!”

 

With a rough curse, he pulled away from me and gripped my shoulder with enough force to break it. His shadowy golden eyes were caught in reproach and darted around in all directions.

 

“Later, what? What does it matter what that worthless version of me you talk about does? I don’t care about that. What I care about is now. In this moment, you, who is sitting in front of me without any regrets, are far more important!”

 

No.

Don’t say that, Rue.

 

“If you say that… No, you can’t. Don’t do that.”

 

“….”

 

“Even if you don’t know, he’s you. You’re my lifesaver. You saved me, and that’s why I can face you right now. So don’t talk like he’s someone else. To me, you are solely you. You’re the only one.”

 

“….”

 

“You exist there, and you exist here too.”

 

“….”

 

“Even this moment we share feels like a strange, indescribable fate to me…”

 

At that moment, a bitter laugh escaped.

 

“Ah, fate. I know all too well about that bastard.”

 

The grip on my shoulder slowly loosened.

The same was true of Rue’s face, which had been disrupted. Unlike the moment before, when he was swayed by intense emotions, Rue, who now spoke of fate, seemed a bit more serene and stable.

 

“Yeah, Ash. It’s thanks to that fate that I was able to come this far. A fate of living as a slave in the underground mines, destined to be disposed of after becoming addicted. A fate of being swept away by a great flood and becoming the earth’s manure. A fate of becoming a moving corpse as a guinea pig in devil experiments. A fate of being held captive by the scum that were Rogue’s dogs and becoming a vessel for Calepa… I was able to realize it all only after trampling and destroying everything. Ah, fate…”

 

As Rue looked up at me, one knee on the ground, his gaze seemed strangely empty.

 

“Fate starts to hold value only from the moment it is shattered.”

 

My vision blurred with the sudden appearance of golden hair above me. A cold breath, enough to make my teeth ache, brushed against my lips.

 

Did Rue kiss me?

Before I could find an answer to my question, I felt a strong impact on the back of my neck.

 

I lost consciousness in a daze.

 

* * *

 

When I opened my eyes again, the world was still dark.

 

It truly was.

Dark and silent.

 

As if I’d fallen into hell alone.

 

“…Rue?”

 

My voice scattered into the empty air. But that was all. The world remained dark, silent, and devoid of any other response.

 

I realized the source of the alienation I felt.

I couldn’t see.

 

“Why?”

 

All my senses remained intact, except for the ability to discern sight. The unseen world was darker than night and brighter than day, turning my head upside down.

 

Where am I wandering? What time is it now? Where is this place? Where is Dian? What about Ash?

 

What about Rue?

 

“Rue?”

 

Instinctively, I reached out my hand to confirm the floor beneath me. It wasn’t cold, but I felt an unfamiliar hardness. It was obvious this wasn’t a bedroom

 

As questions turned into anxiety, and anxiety grew into fear, A warmth settled on the back of my hand.

 

“I’m here.”

---

 

Help 22 yr old Rue is so much more Yandere than I thought

But I still miss our Rue