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

<Episode 39>

 

I tried to persuade Rue like a child who wanted to play outside even when it’s gotten dark for no reason.

 

“I’ll be right back.”

 

“I told you to rest, darling. I understand your anxiety. Weak people tend to have difficulty controlling their mind and body, have you ever seen me make a mistake?”

“…….”

“You haven’t, have you? So sleep tight. You’ve barely slept after the first day. If you hold out like this, you’ll have nightmares and hallucinations again. When the body weakens, the mind weakens.”

 

How did you know that?

 

“I understand, so please don’t call me that terrible nickname with that appearance.”

“I saw you do it.”

 

Rue, who said so, pulled out a new book from the gap in his bag. It was titled <100 quality dishes from the Penrotta Empire for skilled chefs>.

I laid down quietly on the bed and watched Rue’s face as he concentrated on reading.

 

Seeing him as usual strangely made me feel at ease.

‘Did I get a little nervous without realizing it?’

Rue.

He was definitely a suspicious person, but ironically, he was also one of the few reliable people I knew. The swordmaster also wasn’t the type of person to be easily subdued in a terrorist attack.

So it might indeed be unnecessary for me to step forward here.

 

‘If I pretend not to know, it’ll pass by quietly like nothing happened…’

It seemed I fell into a deep sleep at some point.

 

“Oh, my.”

 

I slept unbelievably well.

Stretching lightly, I stood in front of the window.

It’s a villa in the mountains, so the morning would probably be full of bird cries, right? I opened up the curtains with that expectations.

 

It was dark outside the window.

 

There was nothing outside. No lakes or galaxies in the sky. It was as if it had been sunk into the deep sea. The world felt hazy and blurred.

 

“Hmm, is this a large-scale mental magic trap?”

 

A mental magic trap. It’d been a while.

 

‘This was a common occurrence in the battlefield.’

 

During the Magic War, there were many wizards who followed the Great Wizard Mephisto.

They would refer to themselves as Mephisto’s priests and systematically obstruct the Allied movement. One of their ways to do that was through mental magic traps.

 

A mental magic trap was a trap that made people who’d entered a particular space hallucinate.

 

As the numbers of the magicians working on it increased, this magic domain densified and became harder to escape. Usually, six people were needed to form a solid team for such a thing.

 

“And if you double that, you get twelve.”

 

We were in a lot of trouble. If the assassin took the nobles who’ve been caught in the trap as hostages, no matter how good the swordmaster was, he would not be able to move easily.

 

“Rue is…” I couldn’t spot him. Maybe he’d gone to dismantle the trap.

 

Our bedroom seemed to be free from the trap, obviously thanks to him. I could not feel the trap’s characteristic stuffiness in the air and haziness inside here.

I could spend my time idly here and one day or another, the trap covering the villa would be lifted.

 

But this moment was an opportunity for me.

 

“When you’re hallucinated, your mental strength weakens.”

 

Therefore, the military used to secretly torture spies with mental magic. This is because the opponent, who has become weak due to mental magic, reveals confidential information relatively easily.

 

‘I could enter the trap, get people, and dig up information about Dian Cecht.’

It was like killing two birds with one stone. Alright, now that it’d been decided what to do,

“Let’s wash up.”

 

I went straight to the bathroom and washed my body meticulously with warm water and dabbed on a soft scent.

 

“To do that, I’d have to save them, though.”

The question was, how to do that?

From my experience, anything could happen inside a trap. Using a sword might become necessary to get through any difficulties I might encounter.

 

There were two possible cases.

 

<1. If I went maintaining the appearance of Viscount Weatherwoods.

 

I’d have to go back to the mansion and tell the maid what happened today.

 

The maid scolds me for causing a disturbance with the face of Viscount Weatherwood without her permission. The maid’s confidence in me is greatly diminished.

 

If I unfortunately encounter the swordmaster, he’d suspect Viscount Weatherwoods and Andert Fager to be the same person.

 

Then I’m found out and fired for being a disgrace.

I starve to death because I can’t make money.>

 

“Ugh.”

 

It was literally the worst.

 

The head maid wants the Weatherwoods’ mansion to be a peaceful place. As a maid, I have to follow her wishes. So I can’t wreak chaos.

 

<2. If I returned to my original state.

 

I’d go back to the mansion and tell the maid what happened today.

The Head Maid commends me for my hard work. My friendship with the maid becomes stronger.

 

Maybe my salary will go up further.

Andert Fager was a man, and I was a woman, so I don’t have to be worried about being suspected.

 

In the event of an emergency, I could change back my appearance with Rue’s magic.>

 

‘There’s nothing more to think about.’

 

Unless you were a fool, you’d be able to tell which is a better choice easily.

 

“This is all for my friendship with the head maid.”

 

After wiping down my wet body with a towel, I broke my wedding ring without hesitation.

The height of world view rapidly decreased and a terrible sound of bones fitting to match each other followed.

 

When I returned to my appearance as Daisy, I was wearing the chemise I’d been wearing before I turned into the Viscount.

“As expected, this body is uncomfortable.”

 

Then, after taking some time to get ready, I left the room, still adjusting to my newly-returned body.

 

And, as I’d expected, the world outside of the room was nothing but darkness, with no floor in sight. I set foot in the familiar darkness.

 

‘It’s as disgusting as always.’

In the endless abyss, a crying illusion formed in front of me.

 

[Help me, Andert!]

[Come here…Help me, help me!]

 

Ignoring the familiar screams, I proceeded deeper into the dark. After walking a few minutes like that, despite the endless horizon of the abyss, I found its first victim waiting for me.

 

It was Volkwin.

“Hello, Volkwin.”

 

A strange middle-aged couple stood next to Volkwin, who stood absent-mindedly.

As if they didn’t care about my existence, the eyes of the two man and woman only continued to be pinned at Volkwin, their eyes full of disapproval for something.

 

These two seemed to be Volkwin’s Illusions.

The hallucination raged on him.

 

[Volkwin, how can you be so carefree? Do you still not understand that the future of our family business depends on your marriage?!]

 

[Why are you so shy and timid? This girl that your aunt introduced us to was the only daughter of a Viscount! You practically kicked away the good fortune we’d been blessed with!]

 

Volkwin shook his head with an exhausted face.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve tried in my own way too…”

 

[Your way?! Is the effort you talk about dragging people around with you everywhere? As if it’s not enough that you don’t have enough social connections in Penrotta, you’re playing around like this?]

[Your father is right, Volkwin. Reflect on your actions. Hanging around with the kids of just any peddler that might work in the market. Is that what the heir of our family is supposed to do?]

[You’re not allowed to step outside of this house for now!]

 

Volkwin clenched his teeth and held his breath.

“They’re not without roots, father. We are the same as them. I know our family business started in the market…”

 

Was Volkwin’s father the bank president?

 

“Hmm.”

 

His father seemed to be projecting his desire to enter higher society through his son, Volkwin. Even if it means trampling on Volkwin’s own desires.

 

[And like I said before, stop fraternizing with Yeager Panula! Why would you hang out with someone whose own father doesn’t spare him a second glance?]

 

[Your father is right, dear. If it has to be from the Panula family, you should at least hang out with the eldest son! It’s obvious you’ll get badly influenced if you keep hanging out with such a playful young man.]

 

‘This is a rage inducing trap.’

 

It was a common trick. This was because there was no hallucination more powerful and painful than one that makes you lay your hands on someone you never should. If the hallucination lasted for a while, even when freed from the trap, people could become vegetables, unable to move or speak, or fall in a pseudo-hypnotic state, questioning reality and illusion all the time.

 

Indeed, it was definitely one of the most perfect magics to incapacitate many opponents at once.

Mental traps could be best described to be like board games.

 

Whatever the method one used, if they broke the illusion in front of them and found the exit, they could get out of the trap. However, it was very difficult to find an exist if you’re under strong hallucinations

 

In this case, an intruder who entered the trap from outside has to help.

“I’m here to help you.”

And the easiest way to break an illusion was to break it with physical means.

 

“Sorry, Volkwin, but I’ll be hitting your father and your aunt.”

I apologized in advance before I swung my fist at the two illusions.

 

“Gasp!”

The two hallucinations collapsed to the floor with painful screams.

Volkwin looked at me with astonished eyes. A crack began to form on his illusions.

 

“You…”

“Volkwin, do you wish to be free from your father and aunt?”

 

Volkwin, who seemed to be at a loss, nodded after a long time.

 

“…Yes.”

“Hmm. Come to think of it, there was a friend of mine who couldn’t seem to escape from his family’s tight grasp.”

 

Volkwin’s expression became slightly distorted. I kept saying what I was saying.

 

“She had over 10 brothers, and all of them tried to use her as a political scapegoat. For the sake of a political marriage, they made her meet men 20 years older than her.”

 

“…….”

 

“No matter how much she refused, her brothers wouldn’t listen to her. They thought she was a pushover. Then, there was a big incident. My friend, who couldn’t stand it anymore, caused it. It was a really, really serious incident, and the aftermath had all the surroundings of it turned upside down.”

 

Unable to contain his curiosity, he quietly probed.

 

“…what kind of incident was it?”