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

Part 2 – 32

In life, there are days when you become scared of the heavens even if you haven’t committed any sins.

For me, today was that day.

“Long live the Andert Fager!”

“Long be the hero’s return!”

To think that the hardships I faced in Ragel in the past were the last hardships I would face in this city was a grand misunderstanding and a naive illusion.

The moment I stepped out of history, a procession that I had never wished for, even for a moment, awaited me.

I mounted a white horse. Squeezing my backside into the saddle, I took my first step into the procession filled with spectators.

The colorful papers and flower petals thrown by boys and girls dug into my lips.

Still, I couldn’t pass by looking as if I were about to die, so I barely managed to lift the corners of my mouth and passed by with a blank expression. I didn’t even have the luxury to wave my hand.

“Long live the hero of the Magic War!”

Ah! I could see the faint silhouette of the imperial palace in the distance!

Feigning ignorance, I increased the speed of my horse.

Among the massive crowd of people I passed, I think I caught sight of a few familiar faces.

They were all enjoying this moment with genuine joy etched on their faces. The welcome I received from my old comrades left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

And finally, the damned procession came to an end.

As I hurriedly dismounted, the golden iron gates protecting the palace slowly opened to the sides.

Damn it, it’s finally over! But it’s too early to celebrate, you fool. Look at all those knights standing on either side, watching you. The Emperor’s Imperial Guard and even the Berkeley Gratten Knights were waiting for me.

Everyone applauded. I wanted to run away right then.

“You’ve always looked embarrassed in such situations. How about getting a bit used to it now? If you don’t want to seem out of place.”

I needed the swordmaster to crack a joke like that, but for some reason, I couldn’t see him.

The man who should have come running faster than anyone to enjoy my suffering had vanished, so my position felt even more thorny to be in.

It wasn’t until I climbed the stairs that I was finally free from the gazing eyes.

As I entered the hall, a man who had been waiting for me walked ahead with a faint smile.

“This way, Count Vladiev.”

It was so long.

I don’t think I’d ever felt a day stretch on as long as today. To make matters worse, the man led me not to the audience chamber but to a regular reception room.

“Stop it.”

“Excuse me?”

I muttered to him, who turned around with a puzzled expression.

“Let’s skip the formalities and get to our destination as quickly as possible, whether it’s to meet His Majesty or Natasha.”

The man smiled awkwardly at my words.

“Please don’t be angry. I know it’s bothersome, but we must first verify your identity. Given that there have been quite a few cases of people impersonating you over the past few years, this process is absolutely necessary.”

It was somewhat surprising to hear that there were quite a number of people who impersonated me.

We sat across from each other at a table. As he adjusted his glasses while staring at me, the sunlight reflected sharply off the lenses.

“It’s not difficult. You just need to answer three questions.”

So… those three questions are supposed to be a remarkable means of distinguishing the real me.

Let’s see what they are.

“Do you remember the first conversation you had with Duke Raphael Zenail?”

Easy enough.

“It was about how I wielded my sword. I thought he was trying to provoke me by telling me not to imitate you, but it turned out to be a long-winded lecture.”

“During your brief stay in Ragel for the crown princess’ succession ceremony back then, did you receive more than ten sponsorship offers?”

“Ten…? How am I supposed to remember that?”

“Do you remember the number of fistfights you got into with the members of the Berkeley Gratten Knights during the war?”

How the hell am I supposed to remember that?!

I furrowed my brows and the man nodded with a satisfied expression.

What was this? Was I going to end up in handcuffs because I couldn’t answer two of the questions?

“It’s over.”

“…What?”

“I have confirmed that you are not an impersonator, so I will guide you to the audience chamber.”

…It’s certain.

Natasha must have giggled while writing down this test. I was so sure of it that the image was clear before my eyes even without seeing it!

The man stood up and asked me, “Ah, Count! Is that adorable bird on your shoulder one that you raised yourself? To receive permission for it to enter the audience chamber, I need to submit a report…”

[Hello! I am Ash, the pet bird of Andert Fager. I can speak human language through my education in Rogue, and I can indulge in light communication. If I find myself in danger, please provide me with light treatment or clean water and daily sustenance. Thank you for your kindness.]

“…Goodness.”

I was taken aback for a moment and stared at Ash in surprise, but I soon nodded nonchalantly.

“As you can see, he’s quite a smart guy. He has great social skills and poses no threat to humans, so there’s no need to worry.”

The man nodded with eyes full of trust.

“It certainly looks like it. I didn’t know you had become a druid. That’s truly impressive.”

How did this guy know druids too…

Was the chief of the White Hawk Talon clan that famous? No way.

“Lastly, I have one thing to say.”

As I stood there blankly, the man cleared his throat loudly and smiled shyly as he said his next words,

“I like you.”

[The term ‘pervert’ indicates a change of state — transformation.]

While I was disgusted by that, the door to the audience chamber opened.

With somewhat complicated feelings, I stepped onto the red carpet.

Emperor Ashernik Penrotta had been the one to try to imprison me before.

Of course, there must have been some hidden intentions behind his judgment, but as someone who had been imprisoned without warning, I wasn’t particularly inclined to delve into those intentions.

‘Now that I think about it, I believe he mentioned that the day of his death wasn’t far.’

Considering that Natasha had ascended to the status of a Grand Duchess, it was highly likely that Emperor Ishneike had already passed away and that his son had inherited the throne. Even so, he wouldn’t be more than fifteen years of age.

“Stop right there.”

Looking up, I saw the chamberlain, Count Daniel Milford, standing on the seven steps.

He had a remarkably kind expression compared to what I remembered. Was this the difference in attitude towards Daisy Weatherwoods and Andert Fager? It seemed that the legacy of Andert had been considerably glorified.

“Welcome back, Count Vladiev. Unfortunately, His Majesty the Emperor is unwell and has been confined to bed since shortly after news of your arrival came. He has promised to invite you again once he regains his health, so please accept this with joy.”

I don’t want to. I won’t be coming back a second time.

I stared at the empty chair and stayed in my spot without answering.

So, could I leave now? Or did I have to ask for permission to leave? I was lost in such trivial thoughts due to my ignorance of royal etiquette when I heard a distinct sound behind me.

Click-clack.

The clear sound of high heels echoed behind my back.

‘…Do I need permission to turn my head too?’

Forget it. What kind of permission would I ask from someone sick in bed?

When I turned my head, I saw a woman step on the carpet and approach me.

She wore a neat white uniform, her blonde hair calmly hanging down. A cold and aloof demeanor that suggested she wouldn’t easily part her lips in any situation.

Her attire was similar to that of a knight, but it was significantly more elaborate than what a typical knight would wear. Additionally, the woman was noticeably petite for a knight.

The woman stopped in front of me.

Her gaze, as she scanned my entire body, was extremely cold.

Sniff, sniff.

She put her face close to me, scrutinizing and sniffing like a dog, but…

It was only a fleeting moment.

Before long, she spread her arms wide and embraced me with a face full of joy.

“It’s really you, Daisy! That’s unmistakably the scent of Daisy!”

Ha.

“Please stop identifying me by my scent, Natasha.”

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Hi guys, it’s your translator Ami again! You’re probably wondering why I haven’t updated in over 2 whole months! (that never happens with PLOM!) So I figure I should give an explanation. First of all, I apologize for the lack of updates. To be honest, there were a series of factors that contributed to this:

I was facing a translation slump; I love PLOM, but It’d just gotten tiresome to find time to translate in my busy schedule. Previously, I’d been able to translate chapters in bulk and post them too because I was in a gap year. I started law school a few months ago, and it’s been hectic to say the least. Furthermore, I’ve been facing some health issues for quite a bit of time now, and I just recently gathered the courage to go to a doctor. I was prepared (Well, you can never really prepare for something like that) a serious diagnosis, but the tests went fine and nothing serious came up except for a slight case of anemia and lack of vitamins (Check your vitamins, guys!). Regardless, stuff like that made me feel unmotivated.

Secondly, you know by now that I treat every review and comment left by my readers as precious. So when I found that several of your reviews on the novelupdates page had been taken down, I felt terribly down. You can just report and get a review taken down on the NU novel pages, so trolls have a grand time there. But seeing them be deleted day by day was still painful, and I could only sigh. Perhaps I am a bit too attached to this series and simply shouldn’t care that much, but I cannot help it. Your comments serve as my motivation to continue to translate this series and post it, so when they’re not there, I can’t help but feel a little demotivated. Regardless, my love for it will always prevail, lol.

Third — my laptop. This is probably a reason you’ve seen about 300 times since this series started, but my laptop’s barely working lol. It even refuses to connect to my wifi now, and the speaker and touchpad weren’t working to begin with. I’m borrowing a relative’s laptop to translate at the moment because I’ve misplaced my mouse. And as a student, I truly cannot afford to replace it at the moment (so whoever has the misunderstanding that translators make a lot of money from posting online — you’d be surprised, lol). I’ve been trying to save up for one but my general expenses have shot up since university started and nearly half of my savings are gone (well, they weren’t much to begin with, but ouch, wallet).

Now, I know that these are a lot of excuses, and I could’ve just said ‘sorry, been busy irl lol’ and moved on, but I think I just needed a place to vent for a bit. Still, the idea of someone else picking up this series irks me, and I love it too much to let go!  Plus, I want to translate it, so I’m back! If I could ask something of you, however, it’s that please leave GOOD reviews and comments for this series!! Especially on NU! I cannot promise you an update schedule atm, but I will try to update when I can.

Peace out,

Your somewhat friendly translator, Ami!