“Hm? Why…?”
When I raised my head in confusion, I saw that not only his ears but his entire face and the back of his neck had turned bright red.
“Uh….”
I swallowed hard in the suffocating silence.
No wonder I couldn’t seem to get the robe to sit properly.
‘There was a very big… variable in the way.’
At this point, I should probably back off.
If I didn’t want to turn something that had ended as a misunderstanding into something irreversible.
When it came to retreating without provoking a massive monster that was too difficult to deal with, I knew better than anyone.
I smiled gently, handed Elhardt the sash, and slowly backed away.
“…You don’t have to be so wary. I won’t do anything without your permission.”
He tightened the sash around his waist at an invisible speed before speaking.
“And I….”
“Are you saying you’ll do anything if I give you permission?”
I blurted out the stupid question before my brain could stop me.
He stared at me for a moment before giving me a smile reminiscent of the one I had worn earlier.
“If it hadn’t been a misunderstanding, I would have taken you as my wife. Even now, I need a wife more than I need a maid.”
Come to think of it, when I had thrown myself at him earlier, he had said something about not throwing me out because the circumstances were too unfortunate.
“I’m going to try to change our relationship. In other words, from now on, I’ll be treating you with impure intentions.”
His golden eyes gazing at me gleamed seductively, like those of an incubus.
“If you dislike that or find it frightening, you can change your compensation even now. I’ll arrange another place for you to stay.”
For some reason, those words sounded almost like a declaration of war.
‘If I’m scared, I should run?’
That wasn’t happening.
I was the one who had laughed off even the Demon King of Incubi’s seduction.
“There’s no need to change the compensation.”
I raised my chin and declared confidently.
“Once you experience how capable I am, you’ll change your mind too.”
The corners of his eyes softened.
“Is that so?”
“…….”
For some reason, that expression reminded me of someone who looked nothing like him, so I quickly turned my head away.
Oh, right.
“That’s broken, isn’t it?”
Following my gaze, Elhardt noticed the chain that had been flattened out of shape.
It was the very same one I had broken when I detached it from the restraint around his ankle before he went to wash.
“…It seems so.”
“I’ll fix it for you.”
I wasn’t sure whether repairing the restraints that restricted my master’s freedom was really part of a maid’s duties, but it was certainly something Elhardt needed right now.
I carefully spread the broken section of the chain out on the floor.
I wasn’t a formally trained mage, but I could use basic household magic.
Thanks to the expedition members, I had learned the magic essential for living in a foreign land for years, such as purifying water and keeping clothes and the body clean.
Restoring a piece of metal this thick to its original form wasn’t particularly difficult for me either.
The only tricky part was controlling the amount of mana so that no one came running again like before.
‘Draw it out as thin as a thread….’
After gripping the metal and struggling with it for a while, the chain returned to its original shape.
“……!”
“How is it? Perfect, right?”
Elhardt alternated between staring at me and the chain, his expression stiff.
“What….”
I raised my chin and spoke confidently.
“See? You won’t find a maid as capable as me anywhere in the world.”
“…….”
The shock seemed to be so great that he froze without even being able to answer.
So I connected the chain to the restraint around his ankle for him.
It should be difficult to break even if he moved carelessly now.
Of course, it wouldn’t help if he grabbed it in his hand and crushed it like before.
“Is there anything else you need?”
After a long while, Elhardt finally spoke and shook his head.
“…No.”
“Really? Then I’m off work for today.”
Today’s duties were over.
It was already late at night, so the rest could be dealt with tomorrow.
The aftereffects of the return magic still hadn’t completely worn off, and my body felt as heavy as lead.
“Where are you going? Didn’t you say you needed somewhere to stay?”
Elhardt suddenly jumped to his feet and began speaking before I even had a chance to answer.
“You can use my bed. I’m more accustomed to sleeping on the floor.”
And with that, he actually tried to lie down on the bare floor.
“You don’t have to do that.”
No matter how accustomed he was to sleeping on the floor, could he really be more accustomed to it than me?
I had spent years living in the demons’ land, after all.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I reached into my spatial bag and pulled out a sleeping bag.
“This is more comfortable than most beds.”
It was a sleeping bag Mikhail had specially prepared for me because I was particular about where I slept, and it boasted the utmost comfort.
The other expedition members had been extremely jealous of it.
I spread the sleeping bag on the floor beside the bed and crawled inside, leaving only my face sticking out.
Then my eyes met Elhardt’s as he stood beside me.
He was frozen almost as stiffly as when I had repaired the chain earlier.
Perhaps someday I’d be able to proudly tell him that this was a gift bestowed by the founding king.
“Good night, Elhardt.”
I deliberately closed my eyes without offering any explanation.
Kindness was something one could only afford when one had the leisure for it, after all.
Today was the very day we had subdued the last demon.
I hadn’t even taken the time to rest because I was so thrilled at finally being able to return.
I had simply washed myself thoroughly, put on the formal clothes I had been saving, and torn open the return scroll.
I had thought that after laughing joyfully with the friend who would welcome me and talking his ear off about everything that had happened, I’d be able to eat, play, and rest to my heart’s content until I was sick of it.
Now that reality had turned out differently, it was only natural that I felt this exhausted.
‘Mikhail, I’m back.’
As my consciousness sank deeper, I whispered the greeting I had prepared to myself.
I swallowed the words that I was late.
Because you wouldn’t want an apology.
‘Instead, I’ll do my best to take care of the country you built and your descendants.’
I was a little annoyed by the situation myself, so I couldn’t just retire and pretend none of this was my problem.
‘But, Mikhail.’
Even though quite some time had passed since I closed my eyes, I could still feel Elhardt’s gaze fixed on my face.
‘Your descendant doesn’t look anything like you….’
That was the last thought that crossed my mind before I fell asleep.
***
The next day, I was officially hired as Elhardt’s maid.
Elhardt looked quite surprised when I received a proper Cradion court maid’s uniform, but something like this was hardly difficult for me.
Mix a little truth and lies into a story, add a touch of demonic power, and voilà!
I became Ser Brynn, an experienced maid from Bardia.
In every country, members of the royal family were attended by maids or servants from noble families.
Even if they were hostages.
Since Elhardt was royalty as well, it was only natural for him to have someone attending to him.
Originally, Bardia should have sent an attendant along with him when he was sent away as a hostage.
After all, there was no chance a noble of Cradion would volunteer to wait on a hostage.
So I became the maid who had belatedly been sent by Bardia—where common sense had apparently run away from home and conscience had died—to attend to the deposed Crown Prince.
Perhaps they had suffered a lot of inconvenience from not having anyone specifically assigned to the hostage until now, because they seemed secretly pleased.
‘It worked out well for both sides.’
Incidentally, I borrowed my fake surname, ‘Brynn,’ from the name of one of the expedition members.
Coming up with names was more troublesome than I’d expected.
I could only hope that his family was still thriving.
But then.
“What are you eating right now?”
The moment I saw the bizarre-looking thing in front of Elhardt, my face immediately scrunched up.
The meal that had apparently been brought while I was away looked highly suspicious.
The chunks floating in the pale, murky broth looked as though someone had already eaten them and left them behind….
“Don’t eat that!”
I snatched the bowl from Elhardt’s hands just as he was about to slurp it down.
How dare they serve this kind of thing to the Prince of Bardia and call it a meal?
“It’s more edible than it looks.”
“What?”
My eyebrows shot up, and Elhardt gave me an awkward smile.
Seeing him like that only made my blood boil even more.
They were bullying someone of this kind?
And he was incredibly handsome, too. Were people these days blind?
They should at least treat him well for the sake of that face.
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