Chapter 83

EP.83 The Strongest Maid in History (1)

Resty, the next Ashen Tower Master, stood at the classroom door.

She was climbing the stairs of the Ashen Tower, something she rarely did. She didn't walk with her head down as usual. Although occasional whispers could be heard, there was no need to pay attention to them.

She walked confidently, head held high and back straight.

As she climbed the stairs with wide eyes, the circuits carved into them came into view.

She placed her hand on the circuit and visualized the floor she wanted to go to.

There was no floor in the Ashen Tower that the next Ashen Tower Master couldn't reach. Resty took a step forward, visualizing the floor just below the Elder's, which was at the very top.

“...”

The floor of the previous next Ashen Tower Master.

This was where the office and personal laboratory of the Ashen Mage Raniel were located. Naturally, there were no mages guarding this floor.

‘He said all important documents were locked away...’

The locking circuits on each shelf glinted. These shelves could only be opened with the key possessed by the Ashen Mage. Resty walked around the laboratory, reading the numbers engraved on the shelves.

‘Neat.’

The laboratory gave her that impression.

Since the Ashen Mage left, no one had managed this laboratory. It remained exactly as it was when he left, but...

‘Does anyone usually keep things this neat...?’

It was so neat that it was almost eerie.

Passing by the meticulously organized shelves, Resty stopped in front of the A-series shelf.

‘He said A3, right?’

The third drawer of the A3 line.

In front of this drawer, Resty took out a key from her robe's pocket. It was the key she had received from Professor Rania not long ago.

Click.

She inserted the key into the circuit on the shelf.

As she turned the key, the locking circuit on the shelf began to disassemble with a soft sound. At some point, she felt a slight resistance.

Pulling the key, the shelf opened.

Inside the shelf was an envelope and a rectangular magical artifact with circuits engraved on it.

‘...What is this?’

The envelope was filled with encrypted documents. The rectangular magical artifact, despite having circuits engraved on it, showed no signs of activation when infused with mana.

‘Is it broken?’

She had a fleeting thought, but quickly dismissed it.

This was something left behind by the Ashen Mage. Moreover, it was something he entrusted to Professor Rania.

‘Something he made to use later.’

It couldn't be so easily broken.

Resty narrowed her eyes and read the circuits engraved on the surface of the magical artifact.

Her pupils shimmered with a platinum light.

In the illusion that the circuits were floating before her, Resty realized there was a twist in the circuit.

‘A deliberate twist.’

She drew a line over the twist.

Once the circuit modification was complete, the magical artifact emitted a faint light. She followed the direction of the light, which pointed to the Ashen Mage's office.

The office was heavily secured.

However, as the light seeped into the door of the office, it clicked open.

Resty entered the office.

The light from the magical artifact pointed to a piece of paper neatly placed on the desk.

“...Huh?”

The moment I saw the words written on the paper, I blinked. The document was filled with quite shocking content.

- The Ashen Mage said...

- If the Elder acts up, throw what's in that drawer in front of him.

Recalling those words, Resty lifted the paper.

“Throw this...?”

Resty gave a bitter laugh.

There was information that could shake the Ashen Tower right before her.

- ...This is the result of my investigation.

- The evidence is encrypted and stored in the documents in drawer A3. You can decipher it using the magical artifact I enclosed.

The document ended with those words.

As Resty read the sentence, she tilted her head in confusion.

‘...This handwriting seems familiar...’

Feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity, Resty put the document back into the envelope. As she was about to leave the office, a frame on the desk caught her eye.

There were two frames on the desk.

One was a photo of the Ashen Mage in his youth and Elder Roselle. The other...

‘...Who is this?’

It was a photo of an unknown boy and the Ashen Mage. The eyes of the unknown boy in the photo were lifeless.

They were chilling eyes.

At least, they weren't the eyes of someone looking at the same person.

2.

“What...?”

Roselle lifted his head from organizing the curriculum at the mansion. He blinked and asked again.

“You’ve been assigned to guard the First Princess?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Suddenly?”

“It seems the Fourth Princess recommended me. She said it out of the blue.”

“Hmm, hmm...”

Roselle rubbed his temples.

Who was the First Princess? She was a unique individual, a rare breed with a warrior's spirit. Although Roselle had no interest in politics and didn't involve himself, he had heard rumors about Princess Ruelle from time to time.

‘...Why her?’

Roselle sighed and spoke.

“Are you okay with this?”

“I only need to guard her for about four days, so it shouldn’t interfere with my Academy duties, and I’m fine with it.”

...That wasn’t what I was asking.

If the princess herself issued the guard order, would the Academy really matter?

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s fine. If you’re okay with it, then...”

Roselle sighed.

Honestly, worrying seemed pointless. He thought about warning her about the intrigues and plots in the palace, but...

‘...Would that even work...?’

She had risen to become the next Tower Master after a bloody battle with the mages of the tower. While he wasn't sure about her political skills, it didn't seem like she would be troubled by petty politics.

‘Moreover...’

Roselle glanced at his disciple.

She had hunted numerous giants in the battlefield known as the Magic Realm and faced calamities, returning alive.

The Magic Realm, not the Magic Den.

He didn’t think his advice would be useful to a disciple who had returned from such a battlefield.

‘Rather, I’m worried about the other side...’

Roselle cleared his throat and spoke.

“Rania.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Finish this as quietly as possible.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what, don’t think about overturning everything if things go wrong...”

At those words, Rania seemed to flinch and her shoulders trembled.

‘Was I right...?’

Roselle sighed deeply.

He felt like he was sighing more these days. Really.

3.

Guarding the First Princess Ruelle.

Thinking about the task I was assigned, memories of the battlefield kept coming to mind.

‘I’ve probably never been assigned a guard duty before, right?’

That’s probably the case.

The hero party I belonged to was often operated like a special task force. We rarely received guard duties while we were on the front lines.

‘Being tied down in one place is a huge loss.’

Especially for a guard duty.

‘Maybe a rescue mission would be different.’

Still, we were assigned a guard duty once. It was related to the ancient lich, Skeval.

If I remember correctly, it was the task of guarding a cardinal of the Delohim Order who maintained the holy barrier.

Skeval, having given up on breaking the barrier head-on, tried to invade by placing a seal at the cardinal’s residence.

‘Protecting the cardinal from that invasion.’

That was the task I, more accurately, we were assigned. It was easier for me to handle Skeval alone.

‘It was a mess.’

Recalling that time, I gave a bitter laugh.

The circuits filling the corridors, the endless barriers, and the demons summoned by the circuits were a very tedious job.

I stayed awake for three days and nights.

That crazy skeleton didn’t seem to sleep, attacking day and night.

‘So, I’ve been trembling at the thought of guard duties ever since.’

Additionally, my annoyance with Skeval increased significantly. The next time I met him on the battlefield, I smashed his skull into the ground and crossed the entire encampment.

‘Damn skeleton brat.’

I gathered my thoughts and exhaled. I was already close to the castle. I didn’t head straight to the castle.

‘The place I was told to go isn’t here.’

I went to the location written on the note I had received in advance.

-There are only two people I trust.

Two people were waiting for me there.

-One is my guard knight, Lugrant.

“You have arrived.”

-The other is the steward, Sarline.

“I will guide you.”

They were waiting in a place familiar to me, a place I could enter.

‘The royal library.’

Princess Ruelle used the fact that I had access to this place. The library was still closed, and the steward and guard knight were waiting there.

“This way.”

I followed them.

Walking down a secluded corridor, I arrived at a certain location.

“The princess is waiting.”

They pointed to a door.

When I opened the door, a musty smell wafted out.

This wasn’t a proper audience room.

It looked more like a storage room, but an unexpected person greeted me.

“You’ve arrived, professor.”

The First Princess Ruelle.

She was sitting on an orc barrel and waved at me. As I blinked, she gave a bitter laugh and continued.

“I would have borrowed an audience room, but there are too many eyes and ears in the palace. I chose this place. I hope you understand.”

Saying that, the princess handed me the clothes she had placed beside her.

“Take it.”

“...What is this?”

“Just take it.”

I tilted my head as I looked at the clothes I was pushed to take. The princess spoke as I gave her a puzzled look.

“I said there are many eyes watching.”

“Yes.”

“So, you need to disguise yourself, don’t you?”

She pointed to the clothes in my arms.

“These are for that purpose.”

The princess nodded, indicating I could unfold the clothes. I spread them out.

The clothes were neat.

They were black. Up to that point, they didn’t seem unusual, but... the moment I saw the white cloth that came with it, I realized.

What kind of clothes are these?

‘Damn...’

A maid’s uniform?

The white cloth was clearly an apron. I could easily imagine what I would look like wearing it.

I slowly lifted my head.

Looking up, Princess Ruelle smiled.

“From today, for four days, you will be my maid.”

She wiggled her fingers.

“To be as close to me as possible, and to move around the palace freely, this is the easiest way.”

It made sense.

It made sense, but...

‘She wants me to wear this?’

There was a piece of clothing in front of me that I wouldn’t wear even if I were forced to. I imagined myself wearing this uniform and serving tea.

“Oh...”

An exclamation of amazement escaped me.

‘...Should I refuse?’

I seriously considered it.

Author's Note

It's a bit late...!

The subtitle is a parody of 'The Strongest Maid in History' by Bbiri Bbaba!