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

<Episode 83>

 

I shook my head with a look, and then said it plainly.

“There’s no such thing.”

“You don’t have it?”

“There’s no letter from Morian Serenier – since Morian Serenier is a made-up person in the first place.”

 

Honestly, I was half-sure that this man was either Rue or someone related to him.

Huh. Count Serenier looked at me with suspicious eyes full of doubt.

 

“A fictional character? You speak such disrespectful words. Not only are you treating my daughter as non-existent, but you also lied about having a letter? You deceived me.”

 

For a moment, I was frozen in my spot.

 

‘Come to think of it, the chances of a woman named Morien Serenier actually existing are quite high.’

 

Wasn’t it possible that Rue stole a real person’s identity in the first place? That’s what the head maid had been worrying about as well.

But what mattered right now wasn’t the authenticity of such a trivial matter.

All I wanted to know was whether this person was Rue or not.

 

“What do you mean ‘decieve’? You brought us here knowing everything.”

“No. I didn’t know anything. All I know is that Miss Daisy lied. You weren’t my guest, but an unwelcome intruder. You must pay the price.”

“Your Calepa said otherwise, what are you talking about…”

“As Count Serenier, I will punish you right now. If you don’t obediently follow me, there won’t be a pleasant sight to see. Come this way.”

 

This was truly a one-sided criticism session.

He solemnly stood up from his seat and walked out of the central hall.

Count Serenier, exposed to the falling rain, gestured for me to come. I followed, wondering if getting wet in the rain was considered a punishment.

 

Suddenly, the man’s head, which had been reaching the sky, slumped down.

“Get on.”

Finally, he transformed into a four-legged creature and stared at me.

‘…a beast?’

 

This man, was he a magician? Was he really Rue?

“I said get on.”

 

I faltered, and hesitatingly placed my butt on Count Serenier’s shoulder… no, back… no, somewhere around the waist. 

What was suddenly going on?

Why was I supposed to ride on this beast… no, on the Count Serenier… no, on the beast’s back?

 

“Are you like a wolf?”

The sound that came at the end of my doubts was just a simple question.

The beast began to tread forward.

To avoid falling off its back, I held onto its fur tightly and lowered my body. It was rather difficult.

 

“Yeah. I received a terrible curse – to be a count by day and a beast at night. I’m searching for my prince who will break the curse for me.”

“I don’t think you’re at the age to be searching for a prince. You’re a grown man.”

 

Thud, thud.

As he continued to walk lightly, he chuckled and responded.

“Is there a rule that says a grown man can’t search for a prince?”

“Well, even if you’re a grown man, you can’t be an adulterer. A married man shouldn’t do that.”

 

Honestly, I didn’t even know what I was saying.

My mind was tangled with two complex questions.

 

Was this guy really Rue?

Or were all the magicians of Rogue just as whimsical as Rue?

 

“Didn’t you say with your own mouth that Morian Serenier doesn’t exist? Likewise, I’m not a married man either. What if I say I’m a young, pure, and unmarried man?”

 

Where does the truth end and the jokes begin with this man?

He was like a middle-aged nobleman who took it for granted that everyone would play along with his jokes.

 

“Be gentle. I’ll lose my fur.”

While I pulled the beast’s fur harder, he led us into a small forest, passing through the meadow surrounding the castle.

 

The beast, which had been circling near a large oak tree, began to vigorously dig under a tombstone.

Suddenly, a rumbling noise echoed, revealing a hidden staircase beneath the ground.

 

“You transformed to enter here?”

“It’s not cool for a Count to crawl on the floor to enter.”

 

As he said, the entrance to the staircase was so small that I had to lower my upper body while sitting on the beast to enter.

 

The underground was damp and dark. If Count Serenier hadn’t illuminated the torches with magic, the darkness would have been impenetrable.

 

‘Is this an underground graveyard?’

I stretched my neck and read the inscriptions on the dusty stone slabs.

To my beloved someone, to my respected someone… It was a mausoleum where the members of the Serenier family were resting.

 

“It’s been a long time since these people have seen someone alive. It wouldn’t be bad for you to wave your hand and say hello.”

“Don’t say something creepy.”

Smiling happily, he put me down and returned to his human form.

Despite the fact that his fur was soaked in the rain earlier, the transformed Count Serenier was completely dry, with not even a touch of moisture.

 

He approached a nearby grave and opened a small wooden box placed on top. Then, he took out a small pearl from the inside and handed it to me.

 

No, it wasn’t a pearl.

“I have one question. Have you ever picked up something like this to eat? Or did someone force you to eat it?”

“…It’s a heart crystal. It’s an item you can only find in the Northern Continent. How could I, someone from the Empire, pick it up and eat it?”

“You probably ate it, Miss Daisy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have died and come back to life.”

 

I was momentarily speechless.

‘He knows that I died and came back to life?’

 

At the same time, my confusion deepened.

 

Was this man really Rue?

Or was he a follower of Rue? There was definitely some connection between the two. What could his purpose be by bringing me here?

 

Count Serenier returned the slightly cloudy heart crystal to its box.

“I think Miss Daisy might have swallowed a heart crystal of the caliber of a Calepa’s. There weren’t many individuals like that whose heart crystals remained at that time. Only two names come to my mind right now.”

“Who are they?”

“Dian Cecht and Mephisto.”

 

I already knew that Dian Cecht was a Calepa of Rogue’s, but not the latter.

I asked back in a slightly absent-minded voice.

“…The Great Wizard Mephisto was a Calepa of Rogue?”

“No. But he almost became a Calepa. He was very capable as the genius of the century, a talent that couldn’t be born again.”

 

On that remark, Count Serenier shrugged lightly.

“Of course, he wasn’t as good as me.”

 

It was a shocking fact in many ways.

However, if you think about it carefully, this information was easier to grasp than the fact that Dian Cecht was a Calepa.

This was because the term ‘expelled from Rogue’ was attached to Mephisto’s army’s name.

One who pursued the wrong power and was driven out of the northern continent.

The corrupted one who reached the southern continent and caused terrible biological experiments and the outbreak of the magic war…

 

It felt like a rough puzzle had been put together about how Mephisto appeared and why he wreaked havoc on the southern continent.

Despite the fact that he was the main culprit of the war, the information about Mephisto revealed to the world was very limited.

 

“So, not only Mephisto’s army, but Mephisto himself was also from Rogue.”

“Yes, from Rogue’s perspective, it was a blemish on it’s history that can never be erased. If Mephisto’s master were still alive, he would surely be shocked by the atrocities he committed. Mephisto’s master had a glimmer of hope that his disciple would live like a human.”

 

“Was Mephisto born a villain?”

“He was born a villain.”

 

Count Serenier sat with his arms crossed on a nearby tombstone.

As if cleaning, he lightly brushed off the dust that had accumulated on the back of the tombstone and asked me.

 

“Do you want to hear his story?”

He slowly brushed off the black dust on his index and thumb fingers.

“The course of his life. The reason he entered Rogue. The source of his strength. The basis on which his master chose him. The narrative he could not give up. And the reason he left Rogue and turned the continent into a sea of fire.”

 

The story of the Great Wizard Mephisto.

I felt my nerves tighten at the prospect of hearing a secret story that no one had heard. 

 

In fact, there was no one as shrouded in mystery in Modern history as the Great Wizard Mephisto.

No one knew about his personal life. Even in plays, Mephisto was portrayed simply as a madman who sacrificed his soul to magic.

 

As a monster who feels no love or empathy.

But I wasn’t interested in hearing Mephisto’s story.

Rather, I became wary.

 

“No.”

I was afraid I’d begin to see that devil as a person.

 

“I never wish to hear his story in my lifetime. To me, Mephisto is a terrible murderer. He is nothing more nor less than that.”

“That is a wise choice indeed. Yes, Mephisto is a murderer. The misfortune he experienced cannot excuse the atrocities he committed. That’s why an evil like Mephisto should remain as an innate villain. Regardless of the truth.”

 

Count Serenier, who smiled softly, spoke to me abruptly.

“Hand.” 

 

What was this? Was I a dog?

 

I reluctantly extended my hand. 

As I did, he placed the heart-crystal on the palm of my hand. 

 

“A memento heart for your visit to the underground tomb. Keep it. Heart crystals are only given to one’s family or closest friends in Rogue.”

“You’re giving me this? The heart of someone whose face and name I don’t even know?”

“Let me see… Daphne Serenier. I don’t remember who she was.”

“I do not need it. It’s not even your own heart.”

“Ah, do you need my heart? Isn’t that a bit too forward?”

 

At that moment, I faced his mischievous and shameless smile head-on.

It was then that my heart, which had been unsettled by the mention of Mephisto, began to throb and tremble.

 

Instinctively, I became convinced.

No, I couldn’t help but be convinced.

 

“But you gave your hand to a stranger so easily. I’m surprised.”

“…You, are you Rue?”