Volume 2 - CH 14

Micah was somehow able to pass off her strange behavior after claiming she had been too nervous to properly greet Melody.

Later that same night, Micah was huddled alone in her room, still bewildered from this new development.

(But really, I still don’t get it! I can’t figure out why the heroine is working here as a maid instead of attending the Academy!)

That maid’s face was definitely that of the heroine, Cecilia Reginbars. Furthermore, she also remembered Luciana Luthorburg’s role in the game.

(And isn’t Luciana Luthorburg supposed to be a mid-boss, the Witch of Envy?! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it immediately… How was I supposed to know she would look completely different?! Isn’t her family’s nickname supposed to be ‘House Luthorbroke’?!)

In the game, despite their status as a count-ranked household, House Luthorburg faced two major problems. The first was their financial status; the family was so poor, other nobles belittled them, calling them ‘House Luthorbroke’. The second was their estate; it had been in such a dilapidated state of disrepair that it had becom known as a haunted mansion. As for Luciana herself, she had no way of taking care of her own appearance, so she had looked quite shabby and unappealing.

(She looks nothing like how she did in the game! She’s pretty much a completely different character!)

Of course, the current Luciana had received such an uplifting makeover that the nobles around her had started calling her ‘Fairy Princess’ despite knowing she was the daughter of House Luthorburg. That improved appearance was the reason Micah had not immediately realized who Luciana was.

Micah began to recall a number of Selena’s explanations, where she had talked about how Melody had upended and improved the family’s lifestyle; she had renovated the estate, retailored their entire wardrobe, readily procured food to eat, and had even built up Luciana to be the beauty she was now… Just what kind of maid is able to do all of those things?!

But as Micah thought back on these differences compared to the game she remembered, she began realizing there were other discrepancies she had missed.

(Now that I think about it… aren’t we in the sixth month now? That means the event at the orphanage should have happened already, but… nothing has happened. Wait, in the first place, was the orphanage even in bad shape? Am I… missing something here?)

All this time, Micah had wanted to work because she wanted to support the orphanage and help Sister Annabelle, but as she thought more about it now, she realized the orphanage had never been in trouble in the first place. With that realization in mind, Sister Annabelle’s expression back then, every time Micah had talked about wanting to find work, had meant…

(No… No way! That… That would mean this whole time, everything I was worrying about… was for nothing?!)

An overwhelming sense of embarassment came over Micah, and she began desperately rolling around in bed to dispel it. In hindsight, retaining knowledge of the game may have been the primary cause for her extreme enthusiasm over the past few months…

Micah grabbed a pillow to bury her face in as she groaned; the way she had acted, all excited and eager, embarassed her so much now that she wanted to die!

(It’s completely different from what I remember from the game… Wait, didn’t Sister Annabelle also say something about the Royal Academy closing for a while, because of the attack at the Spring Ball..?)

Micah began rolling around again as though in sudden agony.

(Agh, why?! Why didn’t I realize it sooner?! It’s the sixth month! It’s already been two months since when the game was supposed to start!)

She thought back on her initial panicked behavior; she should have realized then, along with the fact she was in the world of a dating sim, that certain details were not quite what she remembered. And now, the biggest change compared to then was…

(Why isn’t the heroine a student attending the Academy? Why is she even a maid?! How is the story supposed to happen if she isn’t there? But wait, hold on, didn’t the attack on the Spring Ball happen anyway? Does that mean things will happen even without the heroine around? Ahh, I hate this! The more I think about it, the more I’m starting to think it’s completely the heroine’s fault for ruining everything!)

Fortunately for Micah, Melody would remain at the mansion because tomorrow was the break day; it should have also been Melody’s rest day, but it seemed she would still be taking care of her maid duties regardless.

(I’ll need to investigate further… The Demon King is still around somewhere in this world, and if the heroine doesn’t do her job as the saint, the world will be destroyed!)

But little did Micah know that the Demon King in question was the puppy that she was sharing a room with. Nevertheless, the young apprentice maid soon fell fast asleep, with excitement flowing through her heart.

The next morning, Micah got ready as usual, leaving her room at five in the morning, and found Melody waiting for her in the hallway.

“Good morning, Miss Micah.”

Though it was their first time working together, it would mostly be Melody guiding Micah through the cleaning. Selena, on the other hand, would be covering the remaining chores in the meantime.

“Good morning, Miss Melody– ah, I mean, good morning to you, Miss Head Maid!”

“Did you just…”

“Please excuse my rudeness, Miss Head Maid! I shall do my best to ensure I do not make the same mistake again!”

“Oh, no, that is not a problem at all! In fact, feel free to address me more casually, Miss Micah!”

“Um… what?”

Melody actually looked… extremely happy, despite how casual Micah was; perhaps she had been looking forward to having a new coworker? In any case, that overexcited personality was at complete odds with the heroine Micah expected.

(This… isn’t what I expected the heroine to act like… Wait a minute, what if…?)

The thought suddenly occurred to her; what if Melody was just like her: a reincarnator.

That would explain everything. After all, if the heroine was a reincarnator that knew of the game, it was possible she purposely derailed the plot in order to avoid living as a noble and attending the Royal Academy.

But then why would she become a maid? And a maid of House Luthorburg at that? It was a mystery Micah still could not figure out.

(Asking her directly wil be like using a double-edged sword, but I need to do it like this to catch her off guard!)

“Then if it is all right with you, I will be calling you ‘Miss Melody’. Um, but, I have another question…”

“Of course! Feel free to ask me anything!”

“Okay, so, Miss Melody, do you know what “The Silver Saint and the Five Oaths” is?”

“Hm? Is that the name of a story?”

(Wh-wha… She didn’t react at all?)

Micah carefully watched for even the slightest reaction from Melody, but the maid only tilted her head in confusion without showing any signs of surprise or agitation. It seemed she truly knew nothing about the game.

Meanwhile, in Melody’s mind…

(Didn’t Lady Annemarie Victirium once ask me this same question?)

Had Melody voiced her thoughts, Micah would have a new lead, but the maid unfortunately mentioned nothing.

“Is it something that is popular in the capital, something I should know about?”

“Ah, n-no, it’s nothing! There’s no need to worry about it!”

“Is that so?”

Melody seemed still curious on the matter but not so much that she asked further questions, so she left the conversation at that. Micah internally sighed in relief while maintaining her smile.

(She didn’t react to my question in a weird way, so maybe she isn’t a reincarnator? So why is she a maid?)

“So, um, why did you become a maid, Miss Melody?”

“Why did I become a maid? It’s because I simply love maids.”

There was a faint blush on Melody’s cheeks as she shyly answered like a maiden in love.

(…Why does her face look like how it did during the confession scene in the game’s ending?)

“Ever since I was young, I have always admired maids, and I vowed to my late mother that I would one day become the greatest maid in the world… Come to think of it, it was on that very day that I became able to use my maid magic…”

“Maid magic?”

Micah stared back with blank confusion; as far as she could remember from the game, there was no such thing as “maid magic”, and even if it had been in the game, what kind of magic would it be? What would it do?

“Oh, I suppose I only just returned, so there has not been an opportunity to demonstrate for you. Well, it is important to know what each of us are capable of in order to work well together, so please allow me to show you my maid magic for today.”

“Um, what?”

And so Melody used her so-called maid magic to quickly complete their morning chores. Having learned from last week’s failure, Melody was careful not to go overboard despite holding nothing back, and it did not take long before the entire mansion was beautifully cleaned up.

Micah could only laugh nervously laugh as she watched the entire scene magically unfold.

(Mhm, yep, that settles it. There’s no way she isn’t the heroine… And she’s at full Saint power this early in the game, and she’s using it just to do chores, aha… Hahaha…)

And of course, it went without saying that a demonstration of Melody’s unreserved maid magic taught Micah nothing, let alone serving as a reference.

(I still don’t know for sure if she’s a reincarnator, but its obvious the plot is all weird now because of Cecilia, or should I say Miss Melody. What about at the Academy then? This should be around when the Witch of Envy event happens, but how does that work with everything being like this?)

“Dear sister, what are you doing? Did you think showing off your magic like this would help Miss Micah learn to be a better maid?”

“M-my apologies…”

As she watched the (temporary) head maid receive a scolding from the younger sister, Micah could not help but worry about how the story would continue to change.

“Father, mother, we shall be departing for now then.”

“Of course. Make sure to do your best over there.”

“And please take care of yourself. Melody, we shall be depending on you again to watch over Luciana.”

“Understood, madam. Selena, Micah, I am entrusting the caretaking of the mansion to the two of you.”

“Of course, dear sister. Please leave everything to me.”

“I’ll do my best to help.”

The morning after the break day found Luciana and Melody departing once again for the Royal Academy, but as the carriage drove away, Micah had a worried look on her face.

As far as the apprentice maid could tell, Melody, who had no knowledge of The Silver Saint, was not a reincarnator, let alone know anything about the scenario the world should be following. However, that did not change the fact that she was still the heroine that wielded the full power of the Saint, and no matter what possibilities Micah could consider, there was simply no avoiding the possibility that the heroine, as she was now, could drastically change the plot development. As a matter of fact, that had already happened once already: the heroine was currently working as a maid instead of attending the Royal Academy as a student.

Micah had assumed all reincarnators would have known about the game, which was a similar assumption Asakura Anna, someone she was close with, had made. However, this narrative bias was because she herself had such circumstances.

(The Spring Ball Raid happening means the Demon King definitely exists, but the heroine is an overpowered maid instead of a saint… Ugh, I have no idea what’s even happening…)

Thankfully, Melody could somehow already wield the full power of the Saint, so even if the Demon King were to revive, Melody should be able to handle it… or so Micah was telling herself.

(The part with the Witch of Envy should be coming up soon… I’ll have to ask her about it next time…)

Just as it was difficult for Micah, as an orphan, to find work, it followed that as a nameless background character, it would be impossible for her to affect the story in a meaningful way.

“Micah, it is time for us to get to work now.”

“Ah, of course.”

And with that in mind, Micah answered a smiling Selena, and the two departed the entrance hall.

“I will be leaving you in charge of handling our luggage again, Melody.”

“Of course, please leave everything to me, my lady. Please enjoy the rest of your day.”

Once they arrived, Luciana left the luggage to Melody and was headed straight to the school building, but as she walked to her classroom, she noticed two familiar figures on a bench along the courtyard path.

“Good morning, Your Highness, Lord Maxwell.”

“Oh, good morning Miss Luciana.”

The two stood from their seat and approached Luciana. They seemed to be holding some papers in hand.

“Are the two of you already working this early in the morning?”

“Just a bit of student council work. We met up for a quick meeting to check over some things before class started.”

“Oh, please excuse me my rudeness. I must apologize for having interrupted your meeting.”

“There is nothing you need to apologize for. It was about time for us to adjourn for class anyway.”

Maxwell gave a calming smile to Luciana, who was worried about accidentally disturbing the session.

“Thank you for your reassurance, Lord Maxwell. Even so, to be meeting like this, it seems there is much more work involved with the student council than I had expected.”

“It’s quite a pity because we don’t get many opportunities to talk like this, even when we’re in the same class, Miss Luciana.”

“Oh, Your Highness… Fufufu.”

Luciana giggled as Christopher gave an exaggerated and resigned shrug of his shoulders; even Maxwell gave his own chuckle at the Crown Prince’s antics.

The three cut a picturesque scene smiling and laughing together. To any casual onlooker, they looked like close friends sharing a happy moment with one another.

But while they were not on bad terms, it was also not correct to call them close; the relationship between them was still somewhere between acquaintances and actual friends, a very clear detail if one were to listen to their conversation.

…But, there was a person unaware of this distinction, a person that lurked in the shadows from the hallway, that watched the trio in their friendly moment.

“…”

Her eyes followed Luciana’s movements, glaring as the noble girl smiled and laughed together with the handsome boys…

“…”

The girl was unable to put her feelings into words. All she could do was ball her fist and clench it tight.

It was clear she was enduring something.

Before long, Luciana and the others continued down the hallway and to their classroom. The girl kept watch until the three were out of sight, and she sighed.

But as she began to follow…

(Ohh, such an exquisite heart, full of ‘Envy’!)

“Wha…”

A voice came from behind her, but as she turned to look back, she felt a sudden impact on her back with a creeping feeling coming from below. Looking down, she saw a misty, black blade having sprouted from her chest.

“Huh? Ah? …Huh?”

She felt no pain, and yet she felt as though the light of life was seeping from her eyes, from her very self. And then, as though it were chasing that light, a black something began to flow into her.

Her instincts were screaming, urging her to keep that darkness from reaching her heart, and yet… conflicting emotions seemed to erupt from every direction, throwing her mind into confusion.

Pain and pleasure, hatred and happiness, denouncement, salvation. Sadness, happiness, pain, suffocating pain…

(Ah, someone… please…)

She could not control the flood of emotion; her mind became a whirling storm of panic. She cried for help, called out in a silent scream, but there was nobody. Her rational mind had given up hope, and yet her emotions raged on, urging her to action.

Oh, how unfair, how tragic..! Why did it have to be her? Why does no one notice her, or help her?

(Fufufu, thy cracked heart of covet, thou knowst to blame is sin yet sin thou dost! Hahahaha!)

But that mocking voice continued to gloat, its tormenting sounds forcing her to finally tore her eyes away from the blade on her chest to look back.

And her eyes widened.

“You… you are…”

(Thou art a pawn most worthy! Accept mine majesty!)

Ragged purple hair messily draped over a small frame body wearing rags completely inappropriate for the Royal Academy; even after two months, it was not hard to instantly recognize such a shady appearance.

This was Buque Kischel, the perpetrator behind the Spring Ball Raid. He stared back at the girl with a crooked grin plastered on his face.

A single tear ran down the girl’s cheek, glistening like a final brilliant sparkle of her pure heart.

But such tears were also streaming from Buque’s eyes, though he remained unaware.

Thus in secret was born the next major boss of The Silver Saint: the Witch of Envy.

Later that night, when all should be asleep, a dark enveloping rain fell from the skies above the Royal Academy. It lasted a fleeting few minutes, and it seemed nobody had noticed it.

So of course it also passed the sound asleep Melody unnoticed. The only one aware of this black, malice-laden downpour was a certain silver puppy harboring similar magicks.