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

<Episode 68>

 

Shoo! 

I was standing in front of a massive waterfall. 

 

This grand waterfall, with a height of 50m and a width of 600m, was so majestic that it could create rainbows at any time of the day. The unreal size of it made me question its existence. 

 

“The place I was at was a humble waterfall, not even half of a quarter of a quarter of this size.” Why was I now in a place like this?

 

Huh.

I had no idea.

 

For now, I decided to follow the river upstream. Maybe I’d find something when I reached the top of the waterfall.

 

As I diligently climbed up along the riverbank, I came across someone unexpected.

 

[Miss Daisy? Oh, it’s so good to see you here. I was having a hard time because there was so much laundry. Come and help me.]

 

The Head maid was washing her hands by the river.

Why was she here?

The question didn’t last long. There was far too much laundry to get caught up in such trivial thoughts.

 

[Use this.] 

 

The laundry bat handed to me by the head maid was the pearl sword I’d borrowed from Rue. If I used this to beat the laundry, the stains would definitely come off easily. 

 

I did the laundry like a dog. 

 

The labor didn’t end until I finished handling 100 pieces of laundry. 

[Here’s your wage.] 

I happily accepted my wages.

But something is weird.

-Kill them.

 

Why was my daily wage Rue’s pearl sword? 

“…Give me money instead.” 

[The wages are paid monthly. This is a gift.] 

“I don’t need it.” 

[Please continue to protect our Weatherwoods with this sword, Miss Daisy.] 

 

So she wanted me to continue working as a guard-dog of the Weatherwoods’ mansion? 

Ha. Sighing deeply, I accepted the sword and climbed up along the riverbank again.

 

The damn resonance kept speaking to me from time to time.

 

-Kill them.

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

-Cut them down. Cut them.

 

“I was enjoying my life as a maid while being separated from you. Now you’ve come back, you despicable fellow.”

To think that this annoying voice was the resonance of my sword. Until now, I thought this sound was just an auditory hallucination that caused my dissociation. 

 

“My feelings have become complicated in various ways.” 

 

All it could say was to kill or stab. It truly embodied the sinisterness that came with the label, leaving me speechless. How great a resonance it was.

 

-Kill them.

 

As I climbed up onto the rock, the ground beneath me began to become a little steep.

In the middle of tall overgrown weeds, I could see a silver-haired woman sitting hesitantly. 

 

It was Natasha, a former comrade with whom I had fought on the battlefield. When she turned to look at me, she shouted with a bright smile.

 

[Andert? What’s with that appearance? Is it magic? Did you go on a secret mission?]

Natasha held a huge book in her hand that looked like a pain to lift.

I didn’t know how she’d recognized me at first glance even as a woman, but I didn’t bother.

“I didn’t cast a spell. This is my true form.”

[What?]

“I’m a woman by nature.”

 

I felt a sense of relief after revealing it. Natasha looked moderately surprised.

 

[A woman? Unbelievable, Andert. Marrying a woman was never part of my plan… Wait a moment, no. I must look at the Penrotta Imperial Code. Surely, there must be a loophole for us to get married.]”

“Even if there is, I won’t do it.”

 

[Why? …Ah, I see. Well, if that’s the case, maybe Raphael wouldn’t be a bad choice either. I’m also curious about what your child would be like. Alright then, you can have a child with Raphael and marry me.]

“I won’t do it.”

 

Natasha, with her head tilted, looked at me in disbelief.

 

[Then are you going to leave us again?]

I was speechless for a moment.

I knew any excuse wouldn’t work. So I decided to honestly tell her my true feelings.

 

“I didn’t want to leave because I didn’t like you guys. I was just afraid.”

[What? Of the fact that you’re a woman?]

 

-Kill them.

 

“Yes, and the fact that I’m a sword-demon. One day I might kill you with my own hands.”

Natasha, with a faint smile, stood up and approached me. 

 

Under her thin summer attire, a long scar was visible above her ribcage. That scar was the one I had inflicted upon her. 

 

It was the remnant of the patheticness I displayed when I’d lost control and wielded my sword against my friend, Natasha. 

 

“Snap out of it, Andert! The battle is over. No one died, so calm down and drop your sword. I’m here, Raphael is here, and our other friends are here too. Please, don’t let the sword consume you.” 

 

After leaving that scar on Natasha, I wasn’t able to escape the nightmares of killing my friends with my own hands for a long, long while.

 

[Don’t blame yourself and look at the result. Your sword didn’t kill us. Instead, it saved us and the world.] 

“….” 

[These scars are my pride. Hehe. Among all the princesses of Pen Rota, there is no one else who bears such glorious scars. A scar left by a hero! When I die, they should preserve my skin and display it in the palace.]

 

To think my nightmare is a source of pride for you. 

 

-Get rid of it.

 

 I wanted to ask if she was being sincere, but I didn’t. Natasha’s smile seemed so genuinely happy. 

[Oh! Oops. I got too caught up in my rambling. I should go back to examining the code.]

 

I stared blankly at Natasha.

Natasha was so absorbed in reading Penrotta’s Imperial code that she’d completely forgotten about my existence.

 

I stared at her and then went up the riverbank again.

And I arrived at my destination.

 

Contrary to my expectations, the head of the waterfall was calm. 

There was no breathtaking scenery to be seen, just the river cascading down the cliff.

 

 No, wait.

 There was someone on the other side.

 A tall man sitting by the river, completely absorbed in fishing. 

Who could it be this time? As I approached closer, I couldn’t help but cheer as soon as I confirmed the man’s face. 

 

“Andert?”

Because my younger brother was there.

“Andert!”

 

Andert.

Andert!

 

Andert, who had been deeply focused on fishing with a contemplative expression, turned to me with an irritated look. 

 

[Ah, damn it. Why did you come running so loudly? You’re shaking the ground. The fish will all run away.] 

 

I was filled with emotion, but I pretended not to be and playfully tousled Andert’s hair from behind. 

 

“When did you grow so tall?”

[I’ve always been tall. You’re the little one.]

“I’ve grown a bit too, haven’t I?”

 [Hardly. You’ve just become uglier.]

 

-Kill them.

 

[What’s with that voice?]

“You can hear it too? It’s the sword’s voice.” 

 

When I showed him the sword I had strapped to my waist, Andert shot me a disbelieving look and mocked it outrageously. 

 

[What kind of gloomy sword is that? Even your luck will run away. Throw it into the river.]

“What? No. It’s not my sword…” 

[Yes, it is.] 

 

With a swift motion, Andert snatched the sword away and swung his arm freely.

 A beautiful arc was drawn across the wide river like a rainbow. And, of course, it ended with the sword falling into the river. 

 

As I heard the splash, a shiver ran down my spine. 

Only then did I remember the mischievous little brat Andert used to be in his childhood, always causing trouble and being a master at being an annoying younger sibling!

 

“You…”

I pulled on Andert’s hair from behind him.

“You crazy bastard! That wasn’t my sword!”

[Ow! Let go of me! Let go. I’m telling you to let go.]

“Pick it up. Go down and pick it up!”

[Who cares if I pick it up or not! Just let go!]

 

At that moment, there was someone approaching with wet clothes, dripping with water. 

[Please calm down, both of you. I have retrieved the sword.] 

 

-Kill them.

 

 Jean, who had just emerged from the river, was wringing out her soaked collar. 

Why was she here too?

Jean spoke.

 

[I will return the sword to you. However, there is a condition.]

 

 It was such an unexpected turn of events that it was hard not to ask questions. 

“What is it?” 

 

[Please teach me how to wield a sword.]

Such a blatant demand, without any subtlety. 

 

Ah, right. I had momentarily forgotten.

 

‘She’s also a sword-demon.’

 

I looked at Jean’s sword.

 

-I’m coming. Whoever the enemy is, I’ll wipe them all out.

 

Despite being a sword spirit, there was a clear vitality in its aggressive resonance. It made me wonder if my sword’s resonance had ever been this overflowing in the past. 

 

-Cut them down.

 

Even though it had turned into this with time.

 

Were all those who are swayed by the sword destined to be consumed by its voice and destroy themselves?

 

I looked at my left shoulder. The area where Andert’s sword had pierced was stained red. The blood flowing down my arm left both large and small spots of blood on the ground.

 

“Can you see my shoulder, Jean? As a sword-demon becomes more skilled with the sword, their body suffers. But there are limits to what the body can endure. Eventually, the two will completely merge. Whether you struggle or not, you will meet a miserable end.”

 

 Andert grumbled. 

[Stop making noise and stop the bleeding. Where did this wound suddenly come from?]

 

“Your thoughts are obvious. You feel like it doesn’t matter if you die as long as you can swing your sword, right? But can you still not care after you hurt the people you value and trust?”

[Stop the bleeding.]

[That’s why I’m seeking guidance from you.]

 

-Kill them.

 

Jin looked at me with a steady gaze.

[Please teach me, senior. So  that I can overcome it and not hurt those I trust.]

[Stop babbling.]

 

Our gazes shifted towards Andert. 

 

[Now even as useless as a sword spirit is attached to you, causing trouble. Give it to me, just throw away that useless thing.] 

 

Andert drew the sword he’d snatched again from Jean and threw it once more into the river. Splash. 

As the sword sank somewhat reluctantly, Jean let out a sincere exclamation from her heart. 

[Indeed, you’re really the craziest dog in the Berkeley-Gratten family.] 

 

“Andert, why do you keep getting excited?”

 In response to my question, Andert answered with a snarl. 

[Why? Can’t I get excited? It’s the sword you held because of me. Isn’t it the sword you started to wield after my death? If it weren’t for me, who would’ve demanded that you hold a sword?]

 

My tongue stiffened when he hit the nail on the head.

When I couldn’t say anything, Andert’s tone softened a bit.

 

[Sister, the words of that headstrong upstart sword demon are worthless. If you’re going to be shaken by those words like a reed in the wind, it’s better to ignore her.]

[Sometimes it pays to be headstrong, Gavroche.]

 

Andert, who pretended not to hear Jean’s words, blocked the bleeding of my right shoulder and pursed his lips. 

 

[Now that you’ve confirmed that I’m alive, throw away things like swords. Treat the time you wielded the sword as if it never happened. Just live the life that you like as a maid.]

 

I silently blinked my eyes. 

‘Treat it as if it never happened?’

 

 Should I throw away not only the time I wielded the sword but also my past as a swordsman?

-Cut them down.

 

 It wasn’t a wrong statement. The resonance of the sword was becoming more ferocious as the days went by. At this rate, I might completely get consumed by my sword and turn into a monstrous creature that they wrote about in fairy tales.

 

But my sword.

“Agh, don’t you dare let go of my hand! Wait! Stop right now, Andert. You can’t die! I won’t let you die like this!” 

“If you want me to catch a star for you, I will. Become my treasure and the father of the Penrotta Empire in the future. I will dedicate my whole life to protecting and cherishing you.”

 

…The time I lived as a swordsman.

 

“Nevermind, leave me behind…. give my final greetings to my mother…” 

“Mr. Andert, shouldn’t you raise your glass higher?” 

 

To me, my sword holds more than just sentimental meaning. 

It is a shield that protects my new life in Weatherwoods and the weapon that has guarded my friends. 

And it is a voice that proves the path I have walked.

 

 -Cut them down.

 So, I can never throw it away. 

 

I jumped into the river.

[…Sister? Wait, you crazy, where are you going!] 

[Senior!] 

 

The cold water pressed against my shoulders. Ignoring the pain, I went deeper, deeper into the depths.

To the place where I could hear that voice.

 

-Kill. 

 

A faint lingering image appeared in the darkness. 

 

It was the sword. 

That was my sword. The time I’d lived as a swordsman and the past made up who I was now.

 

 -Kill.

 

 I reached out my hand towards the shape that was getting closer. 

I couldn’t possibly discard this sword.

 If I couldn’t discard it, I had no choice but to accept it and endure.

 I had the confidence to do so. 

 

-Kill… 

The resonance of this sword was my own.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The cracked soul seemed to have strength.

---

 

Phew, such a long chapter, and so many emotions. I didn’t know what to expect, but I liked the outcome. Indeed, as much as I want Daisy to live a peaceful life, she also can’t completely discard her previous identity.

 

She was a swordsman, and lived like that for a large part of her life.

That can’t be thrown away. That time cannot be discarded. It makes me want to cry and smile at the same time. I hope I did this chapter justice. I love it so so much.