Letter of Recommendation (6)

“State your identity first.”

The guard, scratching his neck as if bitten by a mosquito, extended his hand with a bothersome look. Instead of taking out my identification tag, I rolled up my sleeve to show him the bracelet. The Red Magic Tower’s bracelet, with its flame-like, intense light flickering. The guard’s eyes widened.

“A magician? What brings a magician-nim here?”

“I’ve come to see the Lord-nim.”

The guard sighed heavily and scratched his head. The Magic Tower’s issues weren’t under a mere soldier’s jurisdiction. He lowered his spear and nodded his chin, telling me to go inside.

“Go on in. Just don’t cause any trouble.”

“…Do I just keep going straight?”

“When you get to the front gate, ring this bell like this. When it goes daeng, the Head Maid-nim will come.”

“Head Maid?”

“I can’t answer even if you ask, since I’m not involved in that.”

The soldier told me to ring the golden bell in front of the gate. A person called the Head Maid would come and guide me. I nodded and started walking again.

I took off my hood. Covering my face in front of nobles would lead to unpleasant results. There’s no one as sensitive to security as those nobles. Even if the Bridonia, who built their house in the mountains, didn’t care about such things, it was better for me to observe even the smallest etiquette since I needed to get a recommendation letter.

The soldiers who passed me swallowed hard and took note of me. A slender female entering a sanctuary full of males in the mountains would naturally attract attention. However, I had long grown numb to the attention pouring in. Thugs who hit on me based on my appearance… to be honest, it’s boring. In other words, I’m sick of it.

‘Is this the front gate?’

Following the path, I saw a huge iron fence that looked to be over 2 meters tall.

The fence was imbued with a powerful exorcism spell. Most monsters would collapse as soon as they touched the fence. But I wasn’t here to admire the security.

‘A golden bell…’

Looking around, I saw a rusty golden bell. I looked at the Count’s residence visible beyond the gate and rang the bell.

–Daeng…

It rang with a clear sound.

I waited for the ‘Head Maid’ to come out, taking in the sight of the Count’s residence.

A seemingly antique stone mansion. The vines growing on the walls seemed to be for decoration. Estimating the height, it was about 5 stories. The area, excluding the building, was about the size of two combined soccer fields. It seemed they had carved out the entire surrounding mountain to lay the foundation. As expected of a Count, even if they’re called eccentric. The scale is extraordinary.

–Shwaaaa…

However, as I was constantly admiring the mansion’s splendor, I felt something behind me. The flow of Mana was fluctuating. Someone used Blink towards this way. I widened my eyes and turned my head.

-….

I felt the vibration of the air, and the soil five steps away was lightly pressed down. It meant someone was standing there using Invisibility.

“….”

I stared silently into the air. With that state, I opened my ‘eyes’ once more, and lines of Mana appeared, allowing me to grasp a rough outline.

‘…The Head Maid.’

It was the Head Maid. The reason I thought so was because she was wearing a typical maid outfit.

A beauty with an impressive silver updo. Also, two huge breasts that couldn’t be hidden by the baggy maid uniform, a well-defined waist, and luscious hips. She was an absolute beauty with nothing lacking.

She licked her dry lips and flicked her fingers. Her true form began to appear from her toes. The Invisibility was lifted.

“…You have good eyes.”

A dignified voice unlike her youthful appearance. I suppressed my doubts and greeted her politely.

“I greet Bridonia’s Head Maid-nim.”

That’s because she’s the Head Maid. I don’t know to what extent-, but she was at least from a Baron family. Or she could be from a Count’s family. Usually, she was likely from a collateral line, but for a commoner like me, either way, it didn’t matter.

Noble young ladies didn’t have many paths open to them. Most were used for arranged marriages, and if not, they would become maids for the purpose of political exchange. Therefore, maids were in a relationship of employer and employee, not master and servant. It meant they could quit if things didn’t work out and run back to their main family.

I showed the Head Maid the ‘commoner etiquette’ that I had memorized to the point of obsession while traveling with Shuriel.

Lowering my head and bowing my waist. I wouldn’t dare to lift my head until she called me. Both hands and feet were demure. The angle and hand gestures were performed without a single mistake.

“Ho….”

The Head Maid seemed slightly surprised by the flawless etiquette. She waved her hand and said.

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

“Did you study separately?”

“A little.”

Jeobeok jeobeok. The Head Maid passed me and opened the firmly closed iron gate. The sound of metal friction, kkiiik, rang out.

“Come in. Take off your robe. Ah, just give it to me here.”

“Thank, eut. You.”

She went behind me and took off my robe herself.

“You can drop the formalities. I like polite people. My name is Erze. As you can see, I’m in charge of the Head Maid here.”

“Thank you, Erze.”

“Good. What brings you here? Did you perhaps come because of the Lord-nim?”

“…That’s right.”

“Arm? Or leg?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s something else then. Ignore what I just said.”

Erze folded the robe and walked quickly. Her pace was quite fast. It could be a habit ingrained in her due to the nature of a maid, who had to handle everything quickly.

“I’d be scolded by the Master-nim if I treated a guest from the Magic Tower carelessly.”

We quickly reached the entrance of the Count’s residence. Erze brightened her intelligent eyes and grabbed the doorknob. She lifted the round ring held in the mouth of the golden lion and knocked tak tak. Then, the door opened automatically, revealing the inside.

A corridor split around a huge wooden staircase. Colorful lights illuminated the eyes. Seeing this, one could say it was luxurious 豪華. A high-class red carpet was on the floor, and extravagant and splendid lights hung from the ceiling.

“Follow me.”

From now on, I am a ‘guest’.

I must never bow my head unless I am addressing the owner of the mansion. Erze hung the robe on the guest coat rack next to the entrance and bowed her head once more.

“You must have been tired from walking all the way into the deep mountains, and you probably have a lot to say-but let’s formally greet each other first. Welcome to the Count’s residence. I am Erze Herdona, the exclusive maid and Head Maid of Count Bridonia-nim.”

“Herdona. You’re from the North.”

“Oh my, do you know our family? There aren’t many people who can immediately think of the North just by hearing the last name since we’re low in the hierarchy… you’re quite knowledgeable.”

The five families that rule the North. In other words, the pillars of the Empire. Herdona was the daughter of a Baron family, ranking 4th in the North.

She said she was the third daughter of Herdona. She was brought here 12 years ago in the process of signing a contract with Bridonia regarding monster byproducts.

However, it wasn’t a very important story.

“This way.”

The VIP room was on the third floor. I opened my mouth as I stepped on the creaking wooden stairs. I hadn’t greeted her yet.

However, Erze stopped me from getting up and continued.

“You don’t have to introduce yourself. I know you well because I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You know me?”

“How could I not? The cruel Red Witch, the savior of Pahelln. Or the partner of the Executor, Rushellini’s eternal companion. The social circles are full of talk about you. Who would have known that that fierce and mechanical man would take in a woman? He was already handsome and capable, so there were many rumors among the children… you’ve really made a marriage pact. Amazing.”

“Keuheup. Keuk. Wh, what? Ma, marriage pact?”

I choked when I heard the words marriage pact. I coughed for a long time.

Erze smiled shyly and stepped onto the stairs to the third floor.

“Is that not it? It’s okay though. It seems like it will be soon. At first, I wondered how you managed to seduce the Executor… indeed, the nickname ‘Azure Princess’ isn’t wasted on you. I’m quite confident in my own way, but seeing you makes me feel inferior. More than that, who knew the Executor’s taste was for short girls-“

She was a chatterbox, a type similar to a certain crazy cultist. The only difference was that Erze was at least someone you could talk to.

“…Hmm. I’ve been talking too much. I’m sorry. I’ve become sensitive to information because I live isolated in the mountains. The rumors spread so slowly, you see.”

Jjonggeut jjonggeut. Even the young maids were secretly peeking out and spying on me. They must have suffered a lot managing the mansion stuck in the mountains.

–Kkiiik…

And so, we arrived at the third floor, the VIP room. Opening the white door, a spacious room greeted me.

“Please wait here for a moment. The Master-nim is in the middle of work… I don’t even know if he’ll respond even if I call him. Would you like some tea?”

“Please.”

The essential virtue of Northerners isn’t wisdom or martial prowess, but tea brewing. Erze smiled brightly and brewed tea. She explained about tea ceremony with all sorts of professional terms, but I didn’t really have any knowledge of it, so I let it go in one ear.

–Jjoreureuk. The bright yellow tea filled the cup. Lifting the teacup and drinking it, it tasted similar to citron tea. I savored the unique sour taste and leaned back.

Erze bowed to me and left the room.

She said to wait for about ten minutes. I ate the snacks prepared with the tea and waited for Erze.

……

…

That’s how 12 minutes passed.

He’ll be here soon. Probably.

‘It’s about time…’

The expectation didn’t miss. Just as the snack container was empty, I heard a knock ttok ttok from outside.

“Yujin-nim?”

“You can come in.”

–Kkiiik.

Permission.

Erze bowed and expressed her gratitude.

“The Master-nim wishes for a private audience.”

“…A private audience? Should I go to his room?”

A private audience. No problem. A private audience was more comfortable. It was better to have no eyes on me to have ‘my own negotiation’.

However, Erze stopped me from getting up and continued.

“You can go to the dining room on the 2nd floor. It’s still early, so he suggested having breakfast first… but you don’t have to force yourself to eat. Just sitting there is enough.”

A meal invitation. I could see the intention to observe me over time. If he heard the rumors that Shuriel and I were collecting recommendation letters, he would try to squeeze out some profit by using me somehow. I nodded willingly. I hadn’t eaten anything anyway, and of course, I didn’t have to eat anything forever, but if I had to eat, I could eat tons.

Erze opened her mouth with a slightly troubled face.

“You have to spit it out right away if it doesn’t suit your taste?”

“It’s okay. I’m not particularly picky.”

“I… see.”

Erze extended her hand.

I took Erze’s hand and got up from my seat.

* * *

I followed Erze’s guidance and went down to the dining room on the 2nd floor. This place, which was only used when treating guests or holding parties, felt somewhat eerie as I didn’t sense any presence.

Bridonia hadn’t arrived yet. In a way, it was natural. The more prideful the nobles were, the later they sat down. Moreover, I was a commoner, so I thought nothing of it.

“It’s dark. I’m sorry.”

–Ttak! Erze flicked her fingers and turned on the lights that had been off. The dining room became brighter than before. Now I could see the clear outlines.

“Hmm?”

At that moment.

I heard irregular footsteps. The heels of the shoes tapped on the floor tiles in an offbeat rhythm. Erze and I turned our heads at the same time, and bowed our heads at the same time.

“We greet the Master-nim.”

“We greet Pahar Chevalier von Bridonia.”

A middle-aged man with brown slicked-back hair. His eyebrows were thick, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken, giving him a tired impression.

The owner of Bridonia had come here.

“Erze, you’ve done well. Go prepare the meal now.”

“Yes, Master-nim.”

“You too, raise your head. I know you’ve come to get a recommendation letter, so let’s get through it quickly and eat.”

Oh my, how cool.

I smiled slightly and raised my head.