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

<Episode 33>

The expressions of the two men, who were exchanging silly jokes, became strange.

“…are you asking how she is as a candidate in the marriage market?”

I answered with a shrug.

“If she’s that talented, isn’t she basically a gold mine? The newspaper company will go to your brother, so you’ll have to look for another way to survive, unless you work under him. Isn’t being the husband of the future duchess the perfect position to spend the rest of your days having fun and eating the most delicious of foods?”

Yeager burst into laughter.

“You funny fellow. Jean Berkeley Gratten has no chance. The next duke of Berkeley-Gratten is already decided. He’s so overwhelming that people can’t even imagine any other successor taking his place.”

That was rather surprising.

“There’s no chance even for such a genius of the sword?”

Volkwin replied casually.

“Yeah. Because there’s a genius even more terrifying than that.”

“And who is this all-terrifying genius?”

“Gavroche Berkeley Gratten. Jean Berkeley can never become the next head as long as he lives.”

He seemed really excited when talking about this guy. It made me want to see him for myself at least once.

“Ah, come to think of it, she suddenly showed interest in you yesterday, didn’t she?”

“No such thing.”

“Hmm. Although you’re a little handsome. Jean, she’s a woman who knows nothing but the sword. She wouldn’t have approached you just by looking at your face. Not unless you’re a very good swordsman, at least.”

Yeager, who was looking at me with eyes of suspicion, whispered quietly and asked.

“Gray, are you a swordsman?”

What a scary kid. I almost let out a nervous laughter because of how good his intuition was.

“Then was Jean really purely interested in me because of her inclination to swordsman?”

But that couldn’t be.

According to the assassin-butler, Jean was the master of the guild <Clone>. Then wasn’t she also the same person who repeatedly sent assassins to the Weatherwoods mansion at her client’s request?

She must’ve had other hidden intentions as well.

‘If I use this…I can dig up information about the client through Jean.’

Even if no one else here knew it, I needed to find out the identity of the client.

According to Yeager’s information, the client wasn’t just targeting the Weatherwoods mansion, but also other places. This almost served as certain proof that their obsession with Dian Cecht’s relics was no mere whim.

‘No one who’s obsessed with something is right in the head. I have to find out who he is before there’s a bigger death toll.’

There was an old saying that if you wish to catch a dragon, you must go into the dragon’s nest. Little by little, the outline of a plan on how to use this opportunity was forming in my mind.

“Oh, look at this – you have a great body, Gray. I heard the previous Viscount was a great warrior, did you ever learn from him?”

“No way, I don’t use my body at all. It looks good, but it has no substance. Let’s see, it’s more romantic or dreamy than useful.”

I ostentatiously held out my hands that did not have any calluses on them. Volkwin shook his head after examining my palms.

“They’re definitely not the hands of a warrior. They look so soft and fluffy that I can’t imagine a sword between them.”

We chatted for a long time, and it was not until eleven o’clock at night that we returned to our respective cabins.

It was probably from that day on.

Me, Yeager and Volkwin. At some point, our group of three began to expand. Of course, at first, it was only a couple, but gradually, three became six, and six became fifteen.

“Eh, I was wondering where everyone was. Have you all been hiding holed up here? Where’s my seat?”

I rented another large cabin, but add a few more arrivals and it was full too.

“Wait, you’re out of order. If you go to that table by the window over there, you’ll see Viscount Weatherwoods. It’s easy to find him, he’s tall and handsome with shiny blonde hair. We’re all gathered in an organised manner to be able to be all sitting with him, so it’s only right for you to greet him first.”

“Ah, is it like that? thank you, Etley. You’ve grown taller.”

I didn’t gather these people. I was just sitting and they piled up by themselves.

“Good evening, Viscount Weatherwoods. I’m Henry Port from the Ports, it is truly a great honour to meet you.”

After that, people kept greeting me out of courtesy, but after ten minutes, they didn’t even bother with me.

With a slight nod, I pretended to look like I would definitely remember their identity in the future and then turned my attention back to my cards.

Thanks to the kind man whose name I didn’t even remember, a sixteenth person was added to our cabin.

‘They’re a pain in the neck.’

There were various reasons why people whose faces and names I did recognize ended up attaching themselves to us.

“Ah, I see a familiar face. Mind if I join you?”

“Good morning, Mr. Volkwin. How long has it been? I was going to play a card game with my team, but it looks like the number of people here matches. Do you want to join me?”

“Is that you, Mr. Yeager and Volkwin? It is you! It’s been so long.”

The biggest one was the existence of Yeager.

“Where have you been busy these days, not even showing your face?”

“Oh! Who is this handsome fellow here? If you’re friends with someone this cool-looking, you should introduce him to us too!”

Yeager had a lot of friends.

‘What a uselessly gregarious fellow.’

A man with many friends and good social skills was tiresome.

A new person sticked to me every hour and I had to pretend to want to know them.

In that sense, Raphael was a pretty good friend.

Unlike his attractive appearance, he was quite shy, and he was difficult to talk to at first, so no one approached him, and he didn’t approach anyone either.

I used to have to tell him everything the others asked me to pass on to him.

“Should I raise the stakes?”

Once in a while, Yeager threatened me with capital.

“Don’t. My family is poor. We have no money.”

“You are the first aristocrat to say such a thing openly, Gray. The more I get to know you, the more unusual you are.”

“Look who’s talking, Yeager. What a thing to say for someone who attracts a crowd just by breathing.”

“…you don’t really think all these people are gathered here because of me, do you?”

Then? When I stole a glance at Volkwin, who was looking at his cards, he out a soft chuckle.

“Gray, sometimes you’re so innocent.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Gray, I’m somewhat still bewildered that you’re hanging out with us. Hah…. you don’t really take notice of the people around you, do you? All these people are gathered here for you, my friend.”

When I just looked silently at the crowd without saying a word, Yeager looked a little surprised.

“Oh, you really weren’t aware.”

“Ha-ha, use your head, Gray. Aren’t these tricks common? They’re using me and the card games as an excuse. If this all were just for the sake of friendships, our cabin wouldn’t be the only one full.”

I looked around with a new feeling.

Everyone seemed to be busy drinking, enjoying their games – be it card games or board games. But the occasional gaze they casted on me held a small curiosity.

A sixth-sense spoke to me.

All of these people’s focus was on me.

‘I knew that, though.’

I’d just regarded the reason to be curiosity. Afterall, a member of the noble council resumed his house’s activities after being out of the spotlight for 4 years. Anyone would be curious.

“Well then, here’s the real question. Why is everyone so bent on seeing Viscount Weatherwoods?”

But now I didn’t think it was just curiosity.

“Because I’m handsome.”

When I answered so brazenly, the two stilled for a moment.

“I like your confidence, Gray.”

“Thank you, Volkwin, I like it too.”

Yeager, smiling despondently, took a card and spoke,

“The first day we met Gray – do you remember what I said, Volkwin?”

Volkwin answered as bluntly as if he were reading a verse from a poem.

“You said the people who come here are like vultures looking to find someone to prey on, and that even if they pretend to, they don’t actually want to hang out with each other, and thus, it’s hard to mix in with them if it’s someone’s first time here.”

Come to think of it, I did remember hearing this advice from them. But I hadn’t expected Volkwin to re-enact it without missing a beat.

“You have an extraordinary memory, Volkwin.”

Volkwin smiled shyly at my heartfelt compliment.

“Thank you. I…I don’t forget anything I’ve seen or heard even once. What Yeager said was a little raw, but it’s not wrong. Most people aboard on the Black Ragel would agree.”

“The aristocracy is the aristocracy, and the upper-class are the upper-class. Though the lines might have become a little blurred, the class system is still fully active.”

After much consideration, Volkwin raised the stakes by half.

“Yes, that’s right. If you look closely, there is an invisible wall between families belonging to the aristocratic society and those who do not, and there is a wall between those who have deep ties to the aristocracy and again, those who do not.”

“Hmm, to divide them a bit differently, there are those who participated in the war, and those who stayed silent. Those who are receiving benefits from that contribution and those are not. There’s the Pro–imperial side and the side.”

The pro-Jenna* faction seemed to refer to the Raphaelite side.

Only then did I understand what these two were trying to say. I spoke, taking a card from the table.

“Hm, it sounds like you’re saying my position in this is rather ambiguous.”

And the stakes were all in.

---

If you like my work, please consider buying me a ko-fi! your comments though are always enough ♡