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

<Episode 21>

A dark bedroom with three people and an egg huddled together.

“Stop talking nonsense!”

The head-maid’s cry sounded like a scream.

Grabbing her forehead with a distorted face, she gritted her teeth in a voice of deep regret.

“What nonsense…I think I was too hasty, why did I show this room to Mr. Rue?”

Whatever she muttered, Rue, the party that was being criticized, wasn’t listening at all. 

Rue was busy examining the surface of Viscount Weatherwoods with clearly very intrigued eyes.

I approached him and asked quietly.

“Is it true?”

“If you’re going to ask something, tell me what you’re asking about first.”

What a bad guy. I asked again, looking at the maid’s face.

“I’m asking if this egg is really one of <Dian Cecht’s Five Relics>.”

Dian Cecht’s five relics.

Five relics belonging to a legendary sorcerer which when gathered together, can treat any incurable disease.

After the maid and Rue forged their oaths, only five minutes ago, the three of us came up together to Viscount Weatherwoods’ bedroom.

The suspicious Rue could not hide his expression of surprise when he found out the identity of his mysterious master.

He strode up to the bed. Then, he said that we should carefully examine the surface of the egg.

“The maid. Did you say this is Viscount Weatherwoods?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You may not believe it, but it is true. This egg, no, the Viscount Weatherwood, was entrusted to me by my former master, who repeatedly asked me to rear it-”

“There is no life inside this. This is a high-level magic device, made by an elaborate sorcerer. I would know.”

“…what?”

“Especially going by its appearance that suggests the maker’s eccentric taste.”

Rue, who skimmed the surface of the egg with his long, slender fingers, let out a weak laugh.

“It looks to be a work of Dian Cecht’s.”

Frightened by this sudden revelation, the maid accused Rue of being a liar.

Considering her position, it was a natural reaction, but I couldn’t support the maid’s argument.

‘Rue is an excellent wizard.’

He was also a seeker of Dian Cecht’s relics, like me. There was no reason to objectify the egg’s true identity on no basis.

“…Hah, I apologise, Mr. Rue, I think I reacted too sensitively. Everyone must have doubts about the Viscount’s identity.”

The maid moved her lips with a calm expression.

“Your argument is wrong. That egg has been growing for four years. You can also feel it’s pulse when you put your ears on it. It has life inside it.”

“Hmm. I guess the maid doesn’t believe me.”

Rue, who smiled brightly with a dark glint in his eyes, suddenly clenched his fist.

“Well then, we’ll check it out ourselves.”

Kachik-

There was no time to stop it. Rue’s fist pierced the pearly-smooth surface of the egg.

‘You…’

He’s always been crazy, but he’s even crazier today!

“No way!”

The moment the pale-faced maid rushed in and tried to push away Rue by the chest, brown pupils floated to the top of the surface of the pearly white egg.

Like, an eyeball.

– Damage detected.

I saw clearly. The inside of the shell is empty.

– Restoring the outer skin.

With the command of the heterogeneous voice, the pieces of the shell that had fallen on the bed began to float in the air. As soon as the shells that rose up went back to their original places one by one, the egg also returned to its original form – as if the hole that had been pierced never existed.

The brown pupils also disappeared, of course.

“What is this….”

The maid who was watching the scene stepped back with vain eyes.

“No, that’s ridiculous. Is this egg really a magic tool? Then what about me? What have I been guarding all this time? The Viscount..the Viscount asked me to…”

“Let’s figure that out now.”

With a light-hearted answer, Rue, who put his hand back on the surface of the egg, began to recite long spells that were difficult to interpret.

[Shing-]

The egg resonated. Soon a blue light emanated from its smooth surface.

Bright letters emerged out of the light that gently swayed like curtains in the wind. The letters 

that came one by one, increased enough to fill the entire field of vision in an instant.

A tear fell from the maid’s eyes as she watched the phenomenon.

“It really was a magic tool…”

A maid is the only person who can console another maid when she’s in grief.

I patted the maid on the shoulder to soothe her sorrow.

“It’s not just a magic-tool, it’s a high-quality magic-tool.”

“…”

“If you sell it, you’ll be fishing in a pool filled with gold.”

“… Miss Daisy needs to learn how to console people again.”

The maid who slowly wiped away the tears raised her head and looked at the letters in the air. A faint admiration began to gather in her empty eyes.

“But isn’t this a magical incantation? I’ve never seen such a detailed interpretation.”

“You had no way to see it before. The only uncharted genius here is me, that is why.”

Rue, who answered insincerely, slowly began to string the combinations in the incantation. No, it was more like he summarized it.

“I think this tool is for defense. There is a wide range of various attack-magic planted here. The purpose imprinted on its artificial ego is…”

After a pause, in a strange tone of voice, he added,

“Guardian of the Weatherwoods.”

“Guardian?”

“Well. I can’t think of a more accurate expression than Guardian.”

“It seems to be that way, Ms. Head-maid.”

I could hear no answer.

‘Are you crying?’

I turned my head with concern.

‘…I was worried for nothing.’

Contrary to my expectations, the maid’s eyes were wide open. The gaze looking up at Rue’s magical interpretation was even sparkling.

I couldn’t believe she was the same person who was shedding tears just now.

‘I’ve never seen such a long and complicated interpretation of magic.’

A magical interpretation.

The act of a wizard developing specific magic-blueprints into a language based on their intuition, insight, and knowledge. It is such a high-form of magic that a beginner wizard can’t even try.

I, too, have often seen magical interpretations through the sorcerers of the Magic Union. However, all I’d seen were a few blurry words or very short lines.

‘I’ve never seen such a systematic interpretation of magic in my life.’

It would be the maid, not me, who can clearly feel its greatness with her skin. Because just like Rue, she is also a wizard.

“Oh, my God. Every description is made up of perfect sentences.”

Respect and excitement were springing up in the eyes of the maid.

A small trembling fingertip carefully scanned the inscription in the air.

Perhaps because of Rue’s phenomenal magic skills, the maid’s frustration, which was driving her to call him to be a liar, also seemed to have been dampened.

She must have reached some compromise beyond denial and anger.

‘Since she’s recognized the truth, will she soon be in depression?’

The five stages of anger; denial, anger, compromise, depression, acceptance.

The aftereffects must be quite great now that you have learned that the existence you have devoted yourself to for four years has been an illusion.

Perhaps there is a possibility of losing the meaning of life and making a stupid decision-

“Mr. Rue, from where on earth did you appear? Who taught you magic? You can’t be able to achieve this at the age you look like, but I wonder how old you are in reality. Everytime I try interpretative magic, my vision goes blank and I faint. Is this just a lack of practice? Or….”

She looks to be in very good condition. It seems I don’t have to worry.

But…

‘Especially going by its appearance that suggests the maker’s eccentric taste.’

‘It looks to be a work of Dian Cecht’s.’

There seems to be something strange in the way he talks.

“Rue.”

“Rue?”

“Mr. Rue.”

He nodded as if to continue.

“Do you happen to know Dian Cecht?”

Rue asked back without looking back at my face with his arms crossed.

“Are you curious?”

That short sentence gave me a new conviction.

“You do know each other.”

Dian Cecht is a character who died before I was born. If he was in a relationship where he could be called an acquaintance of Dian Cecht, that meant that Rue was at least 40 years old.

But this is only the minimum age, and If I recall correctly, Dian Cecht lived for a 100 years before closing his eyes for good.

Then really how old is Rue?

‘I did think you were a little crazy.’

It’s because you’re a long-lived wizard.

It is said that no one is crazier than someone who studies magic even at an old age. Now I understand.

This adds new information to my knowledge about Rue. One, he is not an aristocrat, but he has a lot of money. Two, he knew Dian Cecht.

“I’m not curious.”

“Really? That’s too bad. Then now….”

Rue shook his hand in the air, and the magical interpretation that was decorating the room instantly sputtered away like ink falling on paper. The head-maid sighed with regret.

“Now that we have confirmed the intriguing identity of our mysterious master, let us move on to the next move.”

“Next move?”

“The aristocratic party.”

At that, the maid looked at the egg with a deep sigh. The complexity in her subtle expression was indescribable.

“Certainly, if the magic is as good as Mr. Rue’s…it would be possible to deceive those hawk-eyed, shrewd nobles.”

“Of course.”

“The Viscount Weatherwoods that is known to the outside world is the nephew of the former Viscount. To be precise, he is the son of his younger brother, who was two years younger than him. He got married early, and thus also had a child earlier than the viscount. The whole family was killed in battle, but…….”

The nephew survived and inherited the Weatherwoods family. Since the branch of the family isn’t distant, there can be no dispute over legitimacy.

“He’s just turning 20 this year, so he’s at an age where he’s eligible to participate in outside activities. But I’m worried. I don’t feel comfortable letting Miss Daisy go alone. But it doesn’t look good for you to be followed after by maids or servants..”

Yeah, that’s how it is.

It is not strange to be accompanied by a maid if you’re a woman, because you may need help with makeup or changing, but it is easy to be misunderstood as a man.

Especially if you’re an unmarried young man, there might be a rumor that you have a mistress among your servants.

A successor to the Weatherwoods family, who has appeared after four years, will surely attract considerable attention. It’s better to go as quietly as possible.

“Then we’ll get you married. If we put a wife next to him, you’ll be able to control him properly.”

Control? Am I a dog with a loose leash?

It was not a very bad suggestion, but the maid’s expression was still dark.

“That’s a good idea, but I’m not in a position where I can vacate the mansion easily.”

“I don’t care. I had no intention of leaving it for me.”

“Who else is going to play the role if it’s not me?”

Rue looked at the maid with eyes suggesting that she was asking the obvious.

‘Wait a minute.’

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

I have a bad feeling about this.

—

I would’ve preferred to leave it at chap 20 since it’s an even number but then that would be leaving you on a cliffhanger and I’m not so cruel ^^