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

Part 2 Chapter 33

Natasha hugged my body so tightly that I couldn’t even breathe before raising her head to look up at me with eyes that held surprise.

“Ah, I made a stupid mistake. I should have called you Andert.”

I shrugged my shoulders lightly.

“It happens.”

Her lips, curving into a smile, were still the same as the old Natasha.

Though she now exuded a more mature and adult-like aura, Natasha was still unmistakably Natasha…

“Your chest is still wonderfully firm, Andert. Ah, it’s a fantastic sensation.”

“…”

She rubbed her cheek against my chest repeatedly until I pushed her away with a disgusted look, at which point she looked very disappointed and reluctantly but obediently backed off.

But that was just the beginning.

She began to slowly circle around me, her eyes scanning me. It was the kind of gaze -☆ ☆ – like this, that made my spine tingle.

“Excellent.”

“Don’t you get tired of this?”

“It’s exactly the same as eight years ago! That same confidence! The same free-spirited demeanor and that careless, indifferent expression… How can you be exactly the same as you were eight years ago? It’s as if you’ve stepped right out of my old memories, Andert.”

Well, I’ve been asleep for most of those eight years…

In reality, my mind had only matured for less than half a year since the end of the magic war. It was only natural that my face and aura reflected that fact.

After she carefully pulled up my upper garment, she sighed heavily upon seeing the scars near my shoulders.

“These scars are still here…”

To meticulously checking every muscle on my body with such a sad expression could be considered a skill, she was a very skilled personnel indeed.

“Stop touching me.”

“Ah, Andert… Just looking at the scars on your body makes my heart ache as if it’s been pierced by a sharp arrow.”

Then, something unexpected happened.

[Perverted Behavior Interruption System Activated.]

Ash flew from the top of my head and attacked Natasha’s hand with a sharp “thud.”

“Ash!”

Even if it’s small, a grey hawk is still a grey hawk.

Natasha’s hand was scratched by the merciless attack. It wasn’t just a light scratch; blood flowed from the torn flesh, which surprised me too.

“W-wait a moment. I think I have some emergency ointment somewhere.”

[Perverts are harmful to society. Touching someone’s body without permission is condemnable. I am Daisy’s precious family. I have a duty to protect her body.]

“Can’t you be quiet? You’ll get scolded when we get back, Ash. Who told you to attack my friend?”

I scolded my little gray hawk for the first time. I was flustered because it wasn’t something he’d usually do, and the other person was an old friend. It was embarrassing.

“It’s fine, Andert. I don’t need ointment. This will heal quickly with just some saliva.”

The actual person involved, Natasha, seemed quite composed.

“You’re wonderful, little bird.”

“…”

“You’re right. Perverts are harmful. Especially perverts who stick close to Andert.”

[The system has determined that the opponent has repented. Perverted Behavior Interruption System deactivated.]

“Please protect Andert in the future as well. If you see any suspicious people, report them immediately to me, the Archduchess of Halo!”

[The man standing outside the door confessed to Daisy.]

“What?”

Natasha, with slanted eyes, immediately turned her back as if she was about to rush out of the audience room.

“Ahem.”

But the chamberlain’s cough echoed through the quiet room, and Natasha’s momentum quickly subsided.

‘The chamberlain is a deterrent, nice.’

She nonchalantly put her arm around me and walked back the way she came.

“Let’s go outside for a bit, Andert. I have a lot to talk to you about. Too much, in fact. How about staying in the palace for exactly two months?”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

Natasha, who had been smiling brightly, immediately removed her arm and returned to a solemn expression as soon as the door to the audience room opened.

Even her gait was different. The light, bouncy steps that resembled dandelion puffs were gone, replaced by firm, centered steps like those of Raphael.

Honestly, it was amusing.

Natasha seemed to notice my reaction.

“Hmm… don’t laugh. I have no choice but to listen to Anastasia. She teaches me that I need to show authority whenever I get the chance… and she’s not wrong, so I try to follow her advice.”

Anastasia… who was that?

Did I know such a person? But for me to know such a blatantly noble name…

Ah.

“How is the head maid doing?”

Natasha, who was lightly crossing the corridor, turned to look at me and tilted her head.

“The head maid? …Ah, right! Anastasia had that past. Ahahaha. I completely forgot! My sister, the high-flying socialite, was once the head maid of the Weatherwoods family.”

She laughed heartily for a while before her expression hardened again in front of the royal guards. Then, as soon as the knight moved away, she whispered to me.

“Anastasia is doing well. The Crown Prince is also growing up to be a righteous man. Unfortunately, he is currently away from the palace, so it will be difficult for you to meet him.”

As the windows in the corridor narrowed, the bright daylight gradually began to fade.

“I think this is enough for greetings for me…”

If I wasn’t mistaken,

The path we were walking on was getting darker.

“I can’t help but ask now. Andert, was the reason you did not contact anyone all this time due to Rein the Calamity?”

A sharp gaze under the shadow asked me. It was the same question as the assassin-butler.

‘He said the details would be with Grandpa Malcolm.’

Since no specific method of contact was mentioned, it likely meant that Grandpa Malcolm would be sent here to the palace.

The palace was not a place open to just anyone, so it seems that <Gray Spear> and the royal family currently shared secrets related to the Weatherwoods family.

“Natasha, do you know what situation the Weatherwoods are in?”

“Of course. The elder of your family came to us, explained the situation, and asked for help. Rein’s notoriety had just begun to rise in Penrotta, so we responded as quickly as possible. Fortunately, there were no casualties.”

The royal family’s response was to first place its eyes near the Weatherwoods mansion.

Although it was not the case now, until a year ago, the entire area of Midwinterre was treated as a special surveillance zone, and the Berkeley-Gratten knights were stationed there.

Fortunately, Rein did not return to the Weatherwoods mansion after the first attack, and only a few guards remained near the mansion.

“So the day you returned to the Weatherwoods mansion, news of your return reached the palace immediately. It was clear that if we sent someone, you would notice, so we decided to send the Imperial Guard to Brisher and bring you here to assess the situation. …Although we didn’t expect the terrorism.”

Saying this, Natasha rubbed her eyelids with a somewhat weary expression. It seems that dealing with the Brisher terrorism incident on the official front had exhausted her.

The gradually darkening view was suddenly swallowed by complete darkness.

“This is a secret passage that leads from the inside of the palace to the outside. It’s a maze where magic cannot be used due to the barrier. Follow my voice carefully. Ah! Shall I hold your hand?”

“No need.”

The maze was long, but still bearable compared to the secret passage to Calepa.

Clack.

At some point, Natasha opened a door.

Appearing in the brightening view was the inside of an old wooden house. There were no windows visible, so it was unclear where it was located, but judging by the silence around, it seemed to be on the outskirts of the city.

An old man with a familiar face rose from his chair to greet me.

“Grandpa Malcolm.”

“Oh, my goodness. Oh my Calepas.”

Without waiting for a response, he came over, took my hand, and kept sighing in relief.

“You’re alive! Thank goodness, Viscount Weatherwoods. You’ve returned safe and sound… Huhu. You’ve finally given this old man a breath of relief.”

“Why have you become so old?”

“Even that rude remark is welcome.”

Four years was certainly a long time for an old man. I stared blankly at Malcolm, whose face was almost like jerky, before sitting down on a chair.

“I actually had business with you too, gramps, so the timing couldn’t be better.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that my parents might still be alive. Tell me everything you know.”

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I’m just gonna use Archduchess for Natasha because I’m getting confused with all these titles, but just remember that she’s the one with the title. A huge thank you to Mr. T/Thomas/Meredith (or slowly? What do you go by, bahaha, your names change so often). Your comments never fail to warm my heart (and all of you others too, of course). I realized I never really thanked you specifically like this, but I’m always so glad to see your comments (yes, I check past chapters too!). You’ve been here for a long time now too and have seen in this story what I did, and possibly more in my work too. I tend to get sentimental in december, so forgive me if it startled you being out of the blue xD. But thank you for the warm words and your passion for this story. I agree with you, the author was just meant to write. (And also the kofis! They help a lot more than you’d think).