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

<Episode 43>

 

The Demigod Dian Cecht’s hometown was said to be in the Northern Continental Union. Considering all the evidence, wouldn’t Rue probably be from the same place?

 

While I was contemplating, we left the villa and joined the other evacuees. Volkwin, who was looking around, cautiously asked Rue,

 

“Well, madam, where might Gray be? I don’t see him out here either.”

“My husband is very sick. But don’t worry, he’s in a safe place.”

“What do you mean sick? Is he hurt somewhere?”

“Hurt? Well, he’s the one that did the hurting. He hurt my heart by breaking our precious wedding ring.”

 

Looking at the sullen beauty, I really felt like I’d become a sinner.

I alternated my gaze between Rue, who clung to my arm like a leech, and Yeager, who was still looking around to find me with Volkwin, when he parted his lips with a suspicious expression.

 

“Is… is he really alright?”

Did he notice that the only thing pretty about Rue was his face? Yeager was as quick as always.

 

‘This is quite touching.’

Rather than just blindly accepting the answer given by his friend’s wife, he was still looking around. That meant he was really worried about me, right? What a good young man.

 

I calmed his worries on behalf of Rue, who had dangerously narrowed his eyes.

 

“Master was tired from his duel with Miss Jean.”

For a moment, Yeager and Volkwin looked at me like they were looking at some strange creature. Then they were back to normal, and Volkwin probed,

 

“The Duel? But, miss…Gray, I heard that he didn’t even need to make two moves against Jean.”

 

What? Were they already talking about it? Aristocrats were all too loose-lipped.

“But he’s hurt.”

“If he’s hurt, we should take more care of him…”

“Master is strong.”

“Still, Gray is a member of the Weatherwoods family…”

 

I’m telling you not to worry about that!

I wanted to shout that, but I couldn’t.

 

“Weatherwoods?”

 

A question asked by a low voice hit my ears.

 

At the same time, I sensed the sudden appearance of a presence. Even after the war, I kept my habit of constantly checking the number of people around me. There were only a few people here who could escape my senses, which were always alert, like the thorns of a hedgehog.

 

Rue, The Swordmaster, and…

 

“Your excellency Zenail.”

 

Raphael.

I turned my head reflexively.

 

Below the sun, I could see his shaded features. The blonde, more splendid and lighter than Viscount Weatherwood’s hair, seemed to bounce light in the sun’s rays.

An honest and formal presence. Even a word from the powerful swordsman was enough to gather everyone’s attention. The Raphael I knew was now standing before me.

 

And my eyes met with his cold, crimson eyes.

The first emotion I felt was admiration.

 

‘No way. You’ve risen this high in just four years?’

 

Before I even got a good look, I could see that his physical capabilities and martial arts had grown remarkably. It was so high that it was difficult for me to easily estimate his strength . I thought he might have rose to the rank of swordmaster.

 

The second feeling I felt was,

It was a strange unfamiliarity, slightly ahead of the joy of reuniting.

 

It had been a long time since I’d seen Raphael, yes. Obviously, he was the same person I knew. However, in some ways, he was a little different from my memory.

 

‘Raphael is…’

Like, it’s kind of like… I somehow got the feeling that he had a bad personality?

I wondered how hard it’d been.

 

‘Well, the war was a problem even after it was over. The position of an archduke respected by all could not have been easily obtained.’

 

I bowed my head, leaving my complex thoughts inside.

To begin with, an employee like me could not make eye contact with a great hero and aristocrat like Raphael. But this was fun in its own way.

 

How does it feel that your friend disguised as a maid dare not even look up at your face, Raphael?

 

“…….”

 

But the whole area was too quiet.

This awkward silence was weird, so I secretly looked up from behind Rue and peeped at Raphael, and…

Raphael was looking at me.

 

The moment I noticed it, goosebumps rose on my back. It was too firm a gaze to be questioned. Those eyes knew me.

 

‘You know me?’

 

How?

Was it because of how I walked? I’ve never walked with my usual posture since I boarded the Black Ragel.

 

My habits as a left-handed swordsman? I hadn’t even brought a sword with me to prevent an unforeseen situation like this.

 

Face? Even if Andert and I were biological siblings, we didn’t look much alike except for our eyes.

By pure luck? It didn’t seem like I had any…

 

And yet he knew me…

 

“You’ve been staring at a woman for far too long.”

 

A small hand fan, intended to get some relief from the spring sun, spread out to block my sight. It belonged to Rue.

 

“Did you fall in love with my girl? Oh, I’m sorry, but I can’t give her to you. Find someone else.”

 

He was out of his mind.

Still, it was common for Rue to act crazy, so I decided not to intervene and stood still.

For this freed me from Raphael’s gaze.

 

“…You have a slight Northern accent. Is Viscountess Weatherwood from the Continental Union? Astrosa? Harendt?”

 

It was Raphael’s voice.

Just by hearing his voice while my face was hidden, I was engulfed in nostalgia. I remembered the day we’d crossed a swamp by relying on nothing other than each other’s voice – before dawn, when there wasn’t a single starlight to guide us.

 

“It’s not enough to try to flirt with my girl, so now you’re digging about my hometown? I’m a modest and respectful Viscountess, so I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that question.”

The feelings of longing died down in an instant because of the lunatic in front of me.

 

Yeager, who was greatly embarrassed and bewildered, but probably not as much as me, stepped out in front of Rue. I guess he was nervous about his friend’s wife acting like a crazy dog.

 

“Haha, it’s an honour to meet you, Your Excellency, Duke Zenail. My name is Yeager Panula, I’m a close friend of Viscount Weatherwoods. The thing is… the Viscount isn’t in great physical shape at the moment, so the Viscountess is stressed in many ways-”

“Why are you blocking me?”

 

This old-fashioned frustrating guy. He was truly a mad dog who couldn’t discern between friends and enemies.

 

“Hmm. Hm. Well, Viscountess…”

“It’s so inconvenient to be short. Someone who’s not even that big is trying to protect me.”

 

What the hell was wrong with him? At this point, I was also starting to get anxious.

 

‘What’s wrong with you again? Why are you acting up so suspiciously now when you’ve been fine all this time? Are you crazy? No, of course Rue was crazy, but still…”

 

I gently tugged at his sleeve as he held the fan. I shook my head slightly at the face that looked back at me. One of Rue’s eyebrows moved up and down.

 

Raphael spoke again.

 

“It seems I’ve been misunderstood. The reason I was looking at your maid was out of duty, not out of personal interest.”

“Hmm.”

 

Rue, after taking a pause, took down his fan and chuckled.

“I don’t think I ever said my girl was a maid.”

 

Rue’s short words instilled in me conviction, not question.

 

‘You already know me.’

I remembered the people who were secretly following me until I got out of Queen Island and came up to Midwinterre.

 

‘At last, my questions have been answered. They’d been sent by Raphael.’

 

They’ve changed me for nearly a month. So news of my employment must have been delivered to Raphael as well.

 

“Desherro.”

Instead of answering Rue’s question, Raphael called over his staff, Desherro.

Oh, should I call him Viscount now, not Staff?

 

Desherro, a handsome man with gray hair, had not changed much from four years ago. He looked tired then, and he still looked tired now.

 

“Viscountess Weatherwoods. His Excellency the Duke of Zenail has been in charge of security for the Imperial Southern Archipelago for the past four years. Survivors have rarely appeared in the archipelago since the end of the war, and it is also the duty of the duke to protect and monitor them.”

 

In other words, it meant that he recongized me as a survivor of Queen Island, not Andert.

For me, it should have been a situation of relief, but…

 

‘It feels weird.’

 

Was that really right?

 

“So. Are you saying that my maid, who is a survivor of the southern archipelago, will just be observed peacefully by you, or are you going to drag her somewhere and torture her to get any information out?”

 

Desherro looked back at Raphael with strange eyes.

Usually, he had very little change in facial expressions and was the most blunt person in the empire, but after years of knowing him, I could notice a slight change in his emotions.

 

He was a little flustered.

Like someone who didn’t know how to answer.

 

Raphael took off his lips a beat late, receiving the meaning of Desherro’s gaze.

 

“Mrs. Weatherwoods. You don’t have to be so sensitive. What I’m requesting is a simple additional investigation. There will be no abuse of manners during this, and of course, there will be no torture.”

 

“Now, why are you making such a request?”

 

“It was originally a procedure that should have been done immediately upon her discovery in the southern archipelago, but the lady ignored the procedure and moved to Midwinterre. Therefore, further procedures are considered necessary. Will you please cooperate?”