episode_0006

The first place I encountered Lily was in the study.

That maid girl was very striking from the moment I first saw her.

“Ugh!!”

A girl in a maid outfit covering her mouth with both hands and making a whimpering sound. It was such a strange sight that I couldn’t help but be curious. Why on earth is she doing that? I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked the girl. The girl answered. The emperor had ordered it. The emperor had told me not to talk to him at all.

It was only then that I realized the full extent of the atmosphere surrounding me these days. I had always thought that people were avoiding me excessively, but it was the Emperor’s order.

I let out a deep sigh of frustration.

‘ha···’

It’s that kid again······. What on earth is that kid planning on doing with me? What good does he get out of isolating me······. He says he’s repaying the favor, apologizing, etc., but does he still have a grudge against me? My mind is getting complicated.

Then, suddenly, I realized that the reckless maid in front of me had not only disobeyed the Emperor’s orders, but had also told it to me.

I was grateful for the information, but I felt like I had to tell her, so I pointed it out to the girl. Then, the girl was startled and fell over. She asked me to keep it a secret.

It was a look that made me want to tease her. My complicated mind calmed down a little. Playful, I asked the maid what she would do if I kept it a secret.

The maid was very embarrassed and started sweating profusely when she heard that.

“in······that, that······”

The way he was trembling was quite cute. It was pitiful that he was being teased so much, so I suggested an appropriate solution at this point. I would keep it a secret, so he suggested that we talk to each other occasionally like today.

The girl is terrified. She looks as if she is scared to even talk to him now, and how can she continue to do such things?

I assured the anxious girl that if anyone caught them talking, I would make sure to cover it up.

Then the maid nodded with a much more relaxed expression.

I finally have someone to talk to.

******

Since that day, I have often talked to the maid girl.

It was just a trivial conversation. Small talk about each other’s daily lives. What did you do yesterday, what did you eat today, what did you say after a day, there were such worthless conversations that I wouldn’t even remember what I said. Of course, for me who was thirsty for such trivial things, it was a very fulfilling time.

A fact I learned while talking. The maid girl’s name is Lily, and she’s 16 years old. I thought she looked young, but she was actually really young.

She lost her parents a few years ago and is said to be raising her two younger siblings on her own. Now that I look at her, she was the head of the household. I felt a sense of kinship with her. I also lost my parents around that age. I became a little more curious about Lily.

“When did you come into the palace? Not long ago. About a month ago? Well, it was a bit hard at first, but I’m completely used to it now. Look! My fancy broom! Blowing dust? Hehe! ”

Apprentice maid Lily was a very cheerful child despite her troubled past.

He always had a bright smile on his face, and he kept talking every day without stopping, as if he never got tired. It was understandable why he acted so ridiculously when we first met. He must have covered his mouth with both hands because he talked so much. Of course, even though he did that, the words just came out randomly, and I had a weak point.

ha ha ha···

Talking to Lily allowed me to forget, even if only a little, the unsettling reality.

It’s very painful to not have anywhere to lean on. Maybe I was mentally cornered.

Lily gradually became my new sanctuary.

******

“My sisters really hate having to serve their highness the Grand Duke. That’s why I come every day. I’m the youngest!”

“······Really?”

“You might get angry or something? Of course I don’t care. I know that His Majesty the Grand Duke is a good person. Is His Majesty glad that I’m here?”

I stroked Lily’s head silently.

He was a good kid, although he was a bit of a fool.

By the way, I’m the one being avoided. It’s a little bitter. I guess he thinks that if he gets involved with me, he’ll incur the Emperor’s wrath. It’s a wise decision. Looking back, it’s clear that the science teacher was fired because of me.

‘ha······.’

What on earth does ‘that kid’ want from me? Why does he isolate me like this behind my back, and then act loyal to me in front of me, calling me ‘master’? I was more scared than disgusted by his shamelessness. I kept thinking that he was playing with me.

‘That child, too, had a time when he was so innocent······’

Watching Lily run around cheerfully, I thought of ‘that child’ from the past.

The child who was dying, covered in burns, in the slave market…

That child who always gave me a bright smile···

I also considered them as family. It is true that raising that child helped me heal a lot from the sadness of losing my family.

But now it has become a nightmare that torments me every night.

Why did it become like this? I’m also suffering. I want to go back to the past, believing purely in her kindness toward me.

But it just doesn’t work. Maybe because I’ve been treated so badly in the past two lives, her every action feels threatening. Honestly, even at this moment, I feel like she’s going to barge in and take everything from me and brutally murder me. It’s hard just to endure it.

In fact, sometimes, I feel like her kindness might be genuine. She didn’t bring me to the palace to play with and kill me, but she really brought me here because she was grateful for raising me. And sometimes, the scary eyes she gives me might just be my imagination. Yes, maybe the fact that she’s isolating me from behind is just her childish desire to be more considerate of herself.

but······

Even if that’s true, I can’t trust her anymore.

She must have loved me in the first or second round. I picked up that child and raised her for 10 years… I don’t think that all the feelings she showed me during that time were fake. She definitely loved me too. It’s just that she did that even though she loved me…

That fact scared me terribly.

Even if she treats me well, I can’t accept it. Even if she’s sincere, she could turn into a murderer at any time. If she’s already done it once, it means she can do it again and again······

That was why I could never go back to my old relationship with her.

“Your Highness, what are you thinking that makes you so silent?”

“······It’s nothing.”

When I see this child who resembles my past self, I can’t help but think of the past. Will there ever be a day when I can go back to my old relationship with her? I don’t know.

“Come quickly! If you’re late, the maid will scold you!”

“Okay, okay.”

······At that time, I

I didn’t know someone was watching.

“······.”

******

That day was also an ordinary day.

As usual, I was taking a class from the magic teacher.

“······If you substitute this output here, you will get this result. This can be used in steam engines. It is an essential technology used in all industries of the empire today. As a monarch, you must know······”

“Hey, Master of Magic. Class is over. Let’s talk about what we were talking about before······”

“This is the holy deed of Her Majesty the Emperor, the great Archmage, and you must worship her, and blah blah blah······”

“Ha······ Here we go again······”

The magic teacher was the same today. No matter what I said, she ignored me and just kept saying what she wanted to say. I tried to have a conversation like before while she was gone, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing it. She was stubborn. But when I thought about it, it seems like this kid was like this before he got his personality reformed······

These are the days when I miss my science teacher who is now gone.

Anyway, after finishing class like any other day, I headed somewhere. The place I was headed to was a small garden inside the palace. It was a place where Lily and I often spent time.

I decided to meet Lily there.

It was an inevitable choice because Lily would be in trouble if someone caught her talking to me.

But, just before reaching the garden.

A scream was heard from inside.

“Gyaaah!!!”

A familiar voice. It was Lily’s voice.

Lightning flashed in my head. I rushed inside.

The sight you see as soon as you enter.

Lily was being dragged away, her hair held in her hands.

To ‘her’······