Chapter 05
“Huh? Why….”
I looked up, puzzled, and saw that not only his ears but also his face and neck were flushed bright red.
“Uh….”
In the stifling silence, I swallowed hard.
So that’s why his robe seemed to be sitting oddly on him.
‘There was a very… big variable.’
At this point, it was right for me to back off.
If I didn’t want to turn something that started as a misunderstanding into an irreversible situation.
When it comes to retreating without provoking a massive, difficult monster, I knew better than anyone.
I smiled faintly, placed Elhart’s sash back in his hand, and slowly stepped back.
“…You don’t have to be so on guard. I won’t do anything without permission.”
He quickly tied his sash with invisible speed and spoke.
And then I…
“So you’re saying you’d do anything with permission?”
…blurted out a stupid question without thinking.
He looked at me silently for a moment, then smiled a smile just like the one I’d 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 a maid.”
Come to think of it, when I had pinned him down earlier, he’d said something about not kicking me out due to the circumstances.
“I will try to change our relationship. In other words, from now on, I will treat you with ulterior motives.”
His golden eyes gazing at me shimmered with a mesmerizing light, like those of a demon.
“If you dislike it or find it frightening, you may change your compensation even now. I will arrange a separate place for you to stay.”
That somehow… sounded like a declaration of war.
‘Run if you’re scared?’
No way.
I was the one who had sneered and brushed off the temptation of the Demon King himself.
“There’s no need to change the compensation.”
I lifted my chin and declared proudly.
“Once you experience how capable I am, you’ll change your mind.”
His eyes curved gently.
“Is that so.”
“…….”
For some reason, that expression reminded me of someone who looked nothing like him, so I quickly turned my head away.
Ah, come to think of it.
“That’s broken, isn’t it?”
Following my gaze, Elhart spotted the chain with its flattened links.
It was the very one he had broken while removing the ankle restraint before going to wash.
“…So it seems.”
“I’ll fix it.”
I wasn’t sure if repairing a restraint that suppressed its owner’s freedom was really a maid’s duty, but it was clearly something Elhart needed right now.
I spread the broken part of the chain out on the floor.
I wasn’t a certified mage, but I could handle basic everyday magic.
Thanks to the expedition members teaching me the essential spells for long stays away from home, like purifying water or cleaning clothes and body.
Restoring a piece of metal of this strength to its original form wasn’t that difficult for me either.
The key was controlling the mana output so that no one came running like last time.
‘Draw it out thin like a thread….’
After grappling with the metal for a while, the chain regained its original shape.
“……!”
“How about that? Perfect, right?”
Elhart stared at me and the chain alternately, his expression hardened.
“How….”
I lifted my chin and spoke confidently.
“See? You’d be hard-pressed to find a maid as capable as me anywhere in the world.”
“…….”
He seemed so shocked that he froze, unable to answer.
So I went ahead and attached the chain to his ankle restraint.
This way, even if he moved carelessly, it wouldn’t break easily.
Of course, if he grabbed and crushed it like before, it would be useless.
“Do you need anything else?”
After a long moment, Elhart shook his head.
“…No.”
“Really? Then I’ll call it a day.”
My work for today was done.
It was late, so the rest could wait until tomorrow.
The aftereffects of the return spell hadn’t fully worn off, and my body felt as heavy as lead.
“Where are you going? Didn’t you say you needed a place to stay?”
Elhart suddenly stood up and spoke rapidly, not giving me time to answer.
“You can use my bed. I’m more used to the floor.”
And with that, he tried to lie down on the bare floor.
“You don’t have to do that.”
No matter how used to the floor he was, he couldn’t be more used to it than me.
I had spent years in the demon lands.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I reached into my spatial bag and pulled out a sleeping bag.
“This is better than most beds, you know.”
It was a sleeping bag that Mikhail had specially prepared for me, since I was sensitive about where I slept. It boasted the ultimate comfort. The expedition members had been quite envious.
I spread the sleeping bag on the floor next to the bed, slipped inside, and poked out only my face. My eyes met Elhart’s, who was standing nearby.
He was just as frozen as he had been when I fixed the chain.
Someday, I’d be able to brag that this was a gift from the nation’s founder himself.
“Good night, Elhart.”
I deliberately closed my eyes without any explanation.
After all, kindness can only be given when one has the leisure for it.
Today was the day I had finally subdued the last demon.
I hadn’t rested, so eager was I to finally return.
I had simply washed myself clean, put on the formal attire I’d been saving, and torn the return scroll.
I had thought I would burst out laughing with joy, tell my friend everything that had happened, and then eat, play, and rest until I was sick of it.
Now that my expectations had been dashed, it was only natural that I felt this exhausted.
‘Mikhail, I’m back.’
As my consciousness sank deep, I whispered the greeting to myself alone.
I swallowed the words “I’m late.”
Because you wouldn’t have wanted an apology.
‘I suppose this isn’t a replacement, but I’ll do my best to take care of the country you built and your descendants.’
Because the current situation was a bit too irritating for me to just retire and say “see ya.”
‘But, Mikhail.’
Even though I had closed my eyes a while ago, I could still feel Elhart’s gaze fixed on my face.
‘Your descendant doesn’t resemble you at all….’
That was my last thought before falling asleep.
The next day, I was officially hired as Elhart’s maid.
When he saw me wearing the official Cradion court maid uniform, Elhart looked surprised, but this was no trouble for me at all.
A little storytelling mixing truth and lies, a touch of demonic power, and presto!
I became Ser Brin, an experienced maid from Bardia.
In any country, royalty is attended by maids or servants of noble birth.
Even if that person is a hostage.
Since Elhart was royalty, it was only natural that he had attendants.
Originally, when a hostage was sent, the sending country—Bardia—should have sent servants along with him.
There was no way a Cradion noble would volunteer to attend to a hostage.
So the story became that I was a maid sent belatedly by Bardia—a country where morality had run away and conscience had died—to assist the former crown prince.
They seemed secretly pleased, as if they had been inconvenienced by the lack of dedicated personnel for the hostage.
‘Works out for both sides.’
For the record, my fake surname “Brin” was borrowed from one of the expedition members.
Coming up with names is such a hassle.
I just hope that guy’s family is still alive and well.
But then.
“What are you eating right now?”
I saw the strange thing in front of Elhart and immediately frowned.
The state of the meal that had apparently been brought while I was away was alarming.
The pale broth had floating chunks that looked like someone had already eaten from them…
“Don’t eat that!”
I snatched the bowl from Elhart’s hand as he tried to slurp it down.
How dare they serve something like this to a prince of Bardia and call it a meal?
“It’s more edible than it looks.”
“What?”
When my eyebrows shot up, Elhart smiled awkwardly.
Seeing that made my blood boil even more.
Picking on such a kind kid?
And he’s incredibly handsome to boot. Do kids these days have eyes in the back of their heads?
They should at least treat him well because of his face.
