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

<Episode 42>

 

Fresh air touched my skin.

I took a deep breath and jumped up.

 

The space I was in was our bedroom in the villa.

 

“Whoa.”

I kept my eyes closed and grasped the presence of people moving about in the villa.

The atmosphere of the villa was, in a word, noisy. I could feel the footsteps of panicked people running down the aisles, and the staff’s attempt to calm them.

 

‘Everyone seems to have escaped the trap.’

 

Did Rue kill all the assassins? I looked at the beauty sitting by the window with suspicious eyes. Under the brilliant spring sunshine, a woman with ecstatic beauty was staring outside the window. As if nothing had happened, she was perfectly dressed from head to toe, as ready to tour around.

 

Rue brought the cup of red tea in his hand to his lips and took a sip. I asked him something,

 

“Where have you been?”

“Nothing great has happened, darling. Hmm. Where shall we start? At first, the morning air was so nice here that I tried to go out for a walk by the lake, alone.”

 

To my ears, it sounded more like he was going to beat up the other wizards.

 

“But then a large airship came and placed itself right next to the Black Ragel, which was very rude. Then the people who descended from that airship tried to take control of this place at once, and so, they began to hunt the assassins or wizards or whatever and helped the people.”

“Help? Did they find out about the situation in this valley and fly in at once?”

“Well, wouldn’t it make sense for them to have not come here to help, but they helped since they were here anyway?”

 

He jabbed lightly and pointed to something outside the window.

I patted my wrinkled garment and went to stand besides him.

 

The front of the villa was crowded with people rushing out of the building. The staff aboard the Black Ragel and the escorts looked equally busy.

 

“The duke and Jean..” I couldn’t spot them in the sea of people. Were they still organising themselves during the chaos? However, among the people, I saw some of them wearing very strange uniforms. They were in white uniforms, opposite to what the knights of the swordmaster wore.

 

“Mr. Rue, do you think they’re here to help us…”

knock, knock.

 

An urgent sound of knocking filled the room.

Was it a flight attendant? As soon as I opened the door, Yeager popped out of the aisle.

 

“Hey, Gray! Bring your wife with you, we have to evacuate! There are assassins who’re attacking the nobles…”

 

His voice, which had been raised when he was frantically shouting, died down. Yeager, now gasping for breath, was looking at me with eyes that seemed to be agonizing over how to accept the scene in front of him.

 

But that lasted only for a moment. Yeager immediately greeted me with due courtesy.

Like a stranger.

 

“Nice to meet you, young lady. Did Viscount Gray Weatherwoods go out first?”

 

Oh, shit.

 

‘Right. I’ve returned to my normal self.’

 

If I knew it would end like this, I wouldn’t have broken the ring. Yeager, who peeking inside the bedroom with a subtle gaze, found Rue and seemed to find relief.

 

“Viscountess Weatherwoods, you’re here. Gray, where might he…”

Rue, who approached me gently, took my hand and laughed.

“My husband is not here. I was just about to leave, but this is great. Shall we go together?”

“Oh, yes. You’d better go outside quickly. I’ll take you.”

“Let’s go, my silly maid, Daisy.”

 

Was I supposed to be Rue’s maid now? That was a big contrast to earlier.

 

“This way.”

 

We met Volkwin in the aisle. The two friends did not pry into Gray’s location any further. Rue’s attitude was so relaxed that they probably assumed he was alive somewhere. The two of us went down the stairs under the protection of two men. In the meantime, Rue talked to Volkwin.

 

“I think I had a strange dream. There’s a problem here, right?”

“Yes, there is. But the big problem seems to have been solved, so you don’t have to worry too much. We have the swordmaster and the hero of the penrotta empire protecting us, of course.”

“Sigh. His arrival in Iregiel this morning was an amazing stroke of luck, man. Don’t you think so, Volkwin?”

 

Penrotta’s hero. Arrived at Iregiel this morning.

There was no need to ask who it was. Because Volkwin said his name on his own.

 

“Yes. Who would have expected to see Duke Raphael Zenail Penrotta?”

It’s Raphael.

My breath got stuck in my lungs for a moment.

A friend who spent 10 years in the battlefield together with me was at the Iregiel villa. Now. We were in the same place.

 

It’s not like I’d never imagined a day like this. Human things don’t always happen as planned. I thought I might run into him at least once here or there, but…

 

“Whoa.”

 

Having to meet Raphael, or face Natasha. How would I feel if such a day ever came? The thought of a reunion with my old best friends often intrigued me. But…

 

‘Well, it’s not as bad as I thought.’

I wasn’t particularly nervous. I wasn’t even worried about being caught.

I…

Was I living a more carefree life than I expected?

 

Oh, there was one thing that was different from before. My head was clearly pleased with the idea of meeting Raphael now.

 

‘But that’s not the case for Raphael.’

Let’s look at the situation the other way around.

 

What if it was Raphael who’d attacked Mephisto’s castle, alone? What if he’d gone even after I urged him not to go?

What if he had been the one to die?

 

What if he suddenly reappeared four years later and pretended to know me?

 

‘I’m sure I’d be happy, even if I was a little confused at first.’

 

But what if Raphael, who reappeared like that, was actually a woman?

The precious relationship we shared, that went beyond just friendship of the same sex, even calling each other one’s better-half…

What if the friend I’d firmly believed to be a man was a woman?

 

“That’s too much.”

Wouldn’t it be unpleasant?

It was not that it’d just be unpleasant. No, even the memories shared with that friend could become tainted. Perhaps he’d wish the memory didn’t exist in the first place.

 

I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to throw the ashes of our past together in front of Raphael, who’d rolled in hell for 10 years with them.

 

‘I don’t want to be left as an awkward presence for him.’

 

So don’t be overly conscious and make unnecessary mistakes. I’d even overcome my reunion with Count Rosebell and the swordmaster without much difficulties.

Yeager, who was going down the stairs earlier, turned around and brought up a slightly different topic.

 

“Come to think of it, I heard from Gray that Mrs. Weatherwood is from the Kingdom of Astrosa. Is Raphael’s reputation as high even in your province?”

 

Rue glanced at me and laughed.

“Hmm? Did my husband tell you about me?”

“Of course. He loves you so much he was even talking about going on an adventure to find relics for you.”

 

Why was he talking about that nonsense in front of Rue? How could he talk about your friends’ private conversations in front of his wife? You good-for-nothing crafty child!

 

“Ah. Relics exploration.”

“Are you interested in the five relics of Dian Cecht? Madam, this is some top secret information I’m about to tell you, so please heed it. It’s a very dangerous topic, so please lose any interest in them.”

“Why is it dangerous?”

 

Yeager whispered to Rue with a rather perplexed look.

“I can’t really tell you the details…”

 

At that moment, Rue, who stood tall in the middle of the stairs, made direct eye-contact with Yeager.

 

“Why, is it dangerous?”

 

His brass eyes shone, and the focus in Yeager and Volkwin’s eyes blurred.

Mental manipulation magic. Just as he’d done with the assassin in the Black Ragel. 

Yeager’s lips slowly parted and he helplessly answered.

 

“…because they’re the relics that the swordmaster, Duke Zenail, and the Rogue are after.”

 

He was so good at extracting information.

Yeager was in a daze.

‘You dumbass, who brings up other people’s conversations so recklessly?!’

 

Rue looked back at me with no sign of surprise.

“Aha. I guess you sold your wife’s name to a friend for that information, my husband.”

I fell in step next to Rue, pretending not to know what he was saying, which had become my speciality.

 

Rue, smiling, drew my arm closer, and whispered to Yeager.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for your advice.”

 

The focus returned to Yeager’s blue eyes. He looked at us blankly and staggered back.

 

“…Huh, just now…”

“You’d better be careful. If you fall backwards, your head might split open.”

 

Rue made Yeager continue his way down like nothing had happened.

I was honestly worried about his level of skills – he seemed to use mental manipulation magic so easily. He…don’t tell me he was looking into my head everyday without me knowing?

For a moment, a small question came to mind.

 

‘Rue’s a living example of an unethical person, and it’s like he even breathes to offend other people. Can someone like this really be an Imperial wizard?’

 

Before I got on the Black Ragel, I thought there was some possibility of it, but now, I wasn’t so sure…

Wouldn’t he have been more active in responding to the mysterious large mental magic trap happening here, in Iregiel, if he indeed were an imperial wizard?

The book he was reading last night. 

100 quality dishes from the Penrotta Empire for skilled chefs.

A connection with the Northern Continental Union.

A wizard who seemed used to being served and having subordinates, but has little to no connection with the Imperial family.

An acquaintance of Dian Cecht’s.

 

Taking all this together, I came to a somewhat unique conclusion.

‘Far from being an Imperial Wizard…he might not even be from the Empire.’

 

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RAPHAEL AND DAISY REUNION NEXT CHAPTER, are you all ready? bahaha