episode_0021

An hour had passed since Helena saw Lily’s maid, Amelia, and entered her own room, but she still couldn’t gather her thoughts.

Amelia lingered in her mind.

She dismissed falling in love at first sight as something out of a novel. Yet today, Helena felt she had fallen for Amelia at first sight.

A strategic marriage she had no choice but to accept. A son created to avoid being driven out of the family. It wasn’t a situation she willingly entered, but as a mother, Helena raised her son diligently.

Her life had been devoid of love. She had never liked anyone before. But today, she understood the words “love” and “like.”

Helena lay on her bed, lost in thought about Amelia.

After a while, Helena forcefully slapped her bed with her hand.

She needed to think carefully. She had to see Amelia before executing her plan.

Amelia’s expression when she looked at her was vivid in her mind. It was clearly filled with animosity.

It was a face that anyone could see lacked any hint of favorability.

This was bad. She had planted a negative image from the start. Now she feared that every time she looked at herself, that expression would be there.

She believed she needed to clear up this misunderstanding. But she knew even if she spoke, she wouldn’t be believed.

Who would believe her? If someone said the same to her, she would tell them not to lie.

It seemed best to meet as often as possible, gradually becoming closer to reveal the truth.

Even if Amelia tried to avoid her, Helena thought that by using her power to meet little by little, Amelia would surely come to understand her sincerity.

So, she created a small bird to monitor the annex and sent it flying.

Now, when Amelia came out of the annex, she signaled Helena.

Confirming that Amelia was coming out of the annex, Helena moved quickly. Of course, she strictly instructed the servants not to follow.

She waited for Amelia at a spot where she had to pass on her way to the main house.

Amelia soon arrived where Helena was, and although Helena tried to speak upon seeing her, she found herself speechless.

She had thought Amelia was incredibly beautiful when she first saw her, but the Amelia before her now left her speechless.

The delicate yet enchanting makeup on her pretty face was captivating to the eyes and mind.

Amelia bowed to Helena in greeting. Her golden hair swayed beautifully, causing Amelia’s heart to flutter.

Realizing her face was turning red, Helena lifted her fan to cover her face. In the midst of this, she dropped the parasol she was holding.

“What is she doing…!” she scolded herself internally, trying to pick up the parasol from the floor, hindered by her corset preventing her from bending.

Seeing this, Amelia went over and knelt down, supporting Helena’s waist with her knee, emphasizing her upper chest.

“Gasp…!”

The emphasized collarbone between her large breasts was incredibly alluring. Helena momentarily let go of the parasol, wanting to touch that chest immediately.

Despite receiving the parasol, Helena, momentarily captivated by Amelia’s chest, accidentally dropped it again, revealing her hidden desire.

As if understanding the situation, Amelia knelt down again, picking up the parasol. The parasol was handed back to her.

As she did so, sweat dripped down Amelia’s chest, flowing through her cleavage.

-Gulp.

Though she wanted to keep looking, seeing Amelia’s displeased expression, she couldn’t continue.

She had to wait for the next opportunity.

After seeing the made-up Amelia, Helena’s daily routine was simple. Quickly handling family affairs, she watched Amelia through a magically created bird whenever she had a moment, observing her cooking, cleaning, and enjoying time with Lily.

“Envious.”

I want to play like Amelia without any worries. When was the last time I played like that? I can’t remember.

Engulfed in family matters, her husband, the so-called head of the family, was so incompetent that she wondered how he became the head.

She was aware of the excessive stress she was under, but there seemed to be no way out.

The scrutiny of surrounding families, family affairs, spy recruitment, the next head of the family, escalating incidents, and the unsettling movements of neighboring countries.

It felt like her head was about to explode.

In her heart, she wanted to destroy everything related to the family right now, kill all the bothersome people, spend money lavishly, and live freely.

One day, she saw Amelia going out to do laundry. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like Amelia was doing everything in the annex by herself.

She was handling both maid and servant duties. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single maid in the annex.

Does that mean Amelia does all the household chores inside there?

She watched Amelia do the laundry, wiping her hands and blowing on them.

“This is it!”

Surely, giving a gift to Amelia would increase her favorability.

Deciding to make something with as little burden as possible, she found the most beautiful stone, engraved it with a spell to keep it at a pleasantly warm temperature, and held onto it until Amelia came out with the laundry.

Finally, after a long wait, Amelia emerged to do the laundry.

Even though she knew Amelia’s expression upon looking at her wouldn’t be pleasant, it still hurt too much.

She inadvertently blurted out something absurd after noticing the burn marks on Amelia’s hands while trying to bring up the topic of her hands. Asking a maid if she needed a maid.

In her heart, she wanted to let her relax under her, but it was still too complicated.

Nevertheless, she managed to deliver the gift to Amelia successfully.

Praying silently, she brought up the next topic. Tea time.

When Amelia finally agreed after seriously contemplating, a sense of happiness she hadn’t felt in a long time spread through her.

After Amelia left, Helena quickly returned and began preparing for the next day.

==

Upon arriving slowly at the main house, a maid was waiting. She bowed to me and guided me to where Helena was.

Following the maid’s guidance, I arrived and felt slightly puzzled. The place we arrived at after walking longer than expected was neither a lounge nor a terrace.

“Madam Helena has arrived.”

[Come in.]

The maid cautiously opened the door.

As soon as the room came into view, my eyes widened. The room looked unmistakably like Helena’s bedroom.

“Please come in.”

“Yes,”

-Click. Thud.

As I entered, the maid grabbed the doorknob and closed the door as quietly as possible.

As soon as the door closed, my eyes met Helena’s. Another awkward tea time began abruptly. I couldn’t understand what Helena was thinking.

Seeing my expression, Helena smiled faintly and gestured for me to sit down.

“You can sit here. Relax a bit.”

I sat down, and Helena carefully poured me some tea.

An unbearable level of awkwardness and silence followed during that time.

Once the tea was ready, Helena spoke.

“Did you like the gift?”

“Yes. It was quite lovely.”

“I’m glad.”

-…

Another awkward silence ensued. Unable to bear it any longer, this time I spoke first.

“May I ask why you requested tea time with me? I’m just a maid.”

Squirm.

“Would it be okay if I show you some magic?”

“Magic?”

“Yes.”

I thought it would be fine even if she suddenly attacked me because I had Lily’s protective magic on me.

“This is still a secret magic, just a moment.”

Helena raised her hand, drew a semicircle, and something spread out, creating a barrier-like structure.

“I’m sorry. There are too many eyes on me.”

Helena spoke with a bitter smile. As she did, her charismatic expression softened and faded.

The Helena in front of me was completely different from the one I knew in the game, who awakened to mana when Lily was 10 years old, two years later.

What on earth happened during those two years before the game?

“I won’t actually show you any magic. The reason I requested tea time is simply that… I have feelings for Amelia.”

“…Pardon?”

My head spun at Helena’s sudden voice in the midst of deep contemplation about her and her final words.

“W-what do you mean?”

“I have feelings for Amelia. I used magic to say this because there are people who might exploit this as a weakness…”

“What?”

Too much information was coming in.

-Zap.

“What?”

Distracted by the sudden influx of information, a sound suddenly rang out above my head.

“Just a moment.”

Helena stood up from her chair and pushed her hand over my head.

Her chest involuntarily moved closer to my head.

“This magic…”

-Gulp.

Unknowingly swallowing saliva, I averted my eyes, but Helena gave me a meaningful look.

“Amelia.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Are there any wizards around here?”

“Uh… uh…”

This was bad. It seemed like Lily’s mana awakening was about to be exposed.

“Well, the thing is, there’s a surveillance spell on you right now, Amelia.”

“Pardon?”

A surveillance spell? Not a protective spell?