CH 16

Unlike me who was free, Haron’s schedule was like hell.

Not only does he participate in the subjugation everyday, but every time a big or small incident occurs, everyone in the castle except the lord would go to him and ask for instructions. He couldn’t even rest properly, and just stands guard in the dangerous areas. Is this a quest or torture?

“Miss Lucia.”

“Oh, yes.”

Haron, who was looking at the documents, looked around. I turned my head sharply and answered him because I was lost in thought.

“I’m sorry. Were you surprised that I called you suddenly?”

He was treating me carefully as if he were touching thin glass that would break any moment. This is a conversation between a servant and a master. I felt frustrated.

“Is there anything you’re uncomfortable with?”

“Thanks to you, I’m so comfortable where I wonder if I was really a maid.”

“That’s a relief. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Ah…”

I nodded my head slowly and turned my head to look out the window. I tied the curtains neatly, but since the room didn’t have a good view, the sun didn’t shine in here very well. So when I stretched my arms to open the window, a pleasant gentle breeze brushed my cheek.

“It’s nice, great for tea time.”

I got up to prepare some snacks to go along with tea, since it’s the maid’s responsibility to do that. But, Haron came up to me and grabbed my shoulder.

“Please stay seated. I’ll get it ready.”

“Yes, yes? But…”

“What kind of tea would you like? We have herbal tea, milk tea, or juice.”

“Well, milk tea…”

“”Here, have this too.”

I sat in the chair without lifting a finger, and in an instant, Haron placed fresh snacks on the table.

“Go ahead and eat.”

“Oh, yes…”

He sat in front of me with a smile on his face, and when my tea ran out, he would pour more. I couldn’t shake off this strange feeling.

“Yo, warrior.”

“Yes, Miss Lucia.”

“I think something is wrong with this.”

There’s definitely something wrong here.

***

[So how was the castle where the humans lived? Did you have fun?]

It’s been a week since I started working at the lord’s castle.

While I was spending my first holiday at the Fortress, Derakal followed me and asked. I thought about it for a while and shook my head.

“Well, no.”

[Why?]

“It’s okay to be with the warrior in one room, but it’s noisy and complicated, for there were a lot of things that bothered me here and there. My head hurts.”

These days, I was feeling an unexpected wave of attention. In order to commute without anyone knowing, I deliberately wandered through an unidentified corridor. However, I heard people who I didn’t even recognize talk about me.

[Noisy, complicated, and many things to worry about. That’s like the Devil’s Castle, right?]

“… Please be quiet.”

I said as I stroked the countless little ones in my arms. The monsters that looked like black slime fluttered and looked at me. Not just these guys, but the sofa I was sitting on were full of them.

They ran around the room, flying, crawling, hitting each other, rolling back, curling up, crying…

“Boo!”

“Poopoo!”

(Pink Muffin: Uh those are just noises…)

Black liquid monsters were jumping on my palm while making a strange sound. They look like they were made of the same material that I saw in a YouTube video a long time ago. They stick to the palm of your hand and bounce back and forth, and then they move everywhere like sticky rice cake. I pecked at them with my fingers and spoke in a low voice.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a holiday, but I think it’s even more noisy here. My soul will probably deteriorate before I could even get the Mahone Stones.”

[The princess seems to prefer this chaotic atmosphere.]

“She’s still young, which makes her interested in new, and unusual creatures. I just like being quiet and calm…”

[Oh, so the Devil is old?]

“…Do you want to die?”

I clenched my hands without realizing it, and the slimes that I was holding were being crushed like clay. Still, they came back to their original shape without a hitch.

[Did you find out where the Mahone Stone is?]

“Um… I sneaked around the castle all day when the warrior wasn’t there, but I couldn’t feel the spirit from anywhere.”

[Wait, then they’ve already sold it somewhere?]

“There are a few places I haven’t looked yet. Like the deep underground treasure place.”

[Well, I don’t know, but I think the Devil will need to suffer a little more.]

Derakal giggled, so I put down the slime creatures and squeezed his tail.

[Oh! That hurts! I’m sorry!]

“Hm. Find out where Deran is right now.”

Derakal shuddered and twisted his body. Since him and Deran are twins, they could share their thoughts even when they’re far away from each other. Derakal began to mutter to himself with his back turned towards me.

[Yeah… Oh, yes? All right. Devil, he said they’ve brought everything and he’ll be back soon.]

“What? Already?! Wait, I need to go then. Tina’s ankle might hurt from walking.”

[Anyways, it’s cold for us, and if the princess is hurt, then that’s more trouble.]

Derakal gripped me and said that. Today was the first time Tina went out alone without me.

‘There will be many times when the Devil won’t be here during the day, so I’ll go grocery shopping alone.’

Tina is very bright, and she will do well wherever she goes, but I was still worried about sending her out alone since she might get caught for being the princess. I tried persuading her otherwise many times, but she was stubborn and stood her will.

I waited for Tina while pacing back and forth by the magic circle drawn near the gate of my castle.

“The Devil!”

Soon, a bright light leaked out and Tina was here.

“Tina!”

I ran and hugged her as she smiled in my arms.

“I’m good on my own now, right?”

“Yes. You’ve grown up.”

“Oh, and here’s your favorite cake!”

Tina took out a box and stuck it out towards me.

“Did you buy it for me?”

“Of course! I know your taste.”

Tina’s hand, which was unpacking the cake with a proud smile, stopped for a moment. I tilted my head and approached her to look inside the box.

“Ah.”

The cake was crushed without mercy.

“Oh, why…”

Tina stared blankly at the box that she was holding. She didn’t cry, but her eyes drooped down, and little by little, her face began to harden. After a while, she looked up at me in tears.

“I’m sorry. I must’ve crashed into something while carrying this.”

“It’s okay. The cake is fragile so anything can happen.”

“But I wanted to see you happy…”

I kept reassuring her it was fine, but her voice gradually became smaller. She seemed to be depressed at the thought of disappointing me. So instead of trying to give her more words of consolation, I dipped my finger into the cake and grabbed a bite to eat. The sweet taste spread in my mouth.

“It’s delicious. Good choice.”

“Oh, Devil. But it’s crushed. You should eat something else…”

“It’s okay. It’s good.”

“Don’t force yourself to eat it because of me.”

“I’m not. Do you want to try it?”

Tina stared at me, and eventually copied what I did.

“It’s good, right?”

“…Yes.”

“See? Thanks for buying it. I’m very happy.”

I smiled and patted her head. Tina’s face began to glow at my words.

We enjoyed a day of tea time and the rest of the crushed cake.

***

(3rd person pov)

The lord hit his desk with his hands. His fist trembled as if he couldn’t overcome his boiling anger.

“No, why can’t you find out who the maid is?”

“Ah, that’s just how it is. The warrior guards the room all day long. I was already caught on the first day when she arrived.”

“Who told you to fail stupidly since day one?”

The lord grinded his teeth and his aide shut his mouth from the injustice. He knew the warrior would be wary, so he had ordered to bring her to his room as soon as she got here. Anyways, the lord was a very vicious man who liked to blame others.

“When she’s alone, don’t you think you can do it? Why is it so hard to bring a maid here!”

“He’s with her all the time, where she doesn’t even come out from his room. But if you go into a room without it’s master and bring the maid… he might not be able to handle it…”

“There’s a lot of excuses.”

The lord replied to his aide. By all means, the warrior had brought a silver-haired maid, and the lord thinks he might be up to something. Even his attitude has changed.

“You’re a man with a brain, so you can do business with her, and if she’s stupid, you can press her and dig up the warrior’s weaknesses. Do you understand?”

The lord didn’t show it on the outside, but he was very afraid of Haron inwardly. That was because he knew that the warrior could kill all the soldiers, including him in the castle at any second.

However, Haron was a good help to the territory’s operations. The lord wanted to find something to control the warrior.

‘I need to know the woman. She needs to be connected to my side.’