episode_0002

“What secrets does this mansion hold?”

Asher calms down and asks.

Although I desperately wanted to give an answer, I could only shake my head.

“I don’t know either.”

“What? You call that a word?”

She gasps in amazement. This part was the only one I had a hard time keeping my cool about.

“You seem to be mistaken, but I’m also in this mansion─.”

I am a victim. My mouth, which was about to confess, was suddenly stopped.

It was a forced restriction of action.

Since it was my first time talking to a person, I had no idea that even certain keywords could be sealed.

“What is this mansion?”

“… The butler. Maybe.”

“You’re a butler, so you’re going to keep a secret?”

“Please understand as I said.”

Asher clenched his fists tightly. The emotions he had tried to suppress seemed to boil over again like a bowl of water on a bonfire.

A difficult road awaits.

The only silver lining is that I am Asher’s assistant.

“Still, I’ll help you find the secret as much as I can.”

“Are you crazy or something? I told you what I had to tell you properly, and you’re saying something like that.”

“I’m telling you.”

I suddenly stopped walking. Ash, who had been following me closely, ended up nuzzling my back.

“Ouch! Why did you suddenly stop?”

“This is the room you will be staying in. I have given you the proper instructions, so please take note.”

She came to her senses and stood in front of the door. And as expected, she started questioning me with a wrinkled expression.

“What is this shabby door? Isn’t there a guest room? I can see inside without opening it!”

Bam!

As if she was venting her anger, Ashe opened the door roughly. Then, she was greeted by a shabby room that she could never accept as a princess.

“This is… the maid’s room? It’s a miracle there’s a bathroom…!!!”

“I guess the lady is kind. Even the maid’s room has a private bathroom.”

Actually, I don’t know the true identity of that ‘young lady’. Well, if she was really kind, she wouldn’t have turned a person into a dog in the mansion.

“Give me someplace else. I can’t sleep here. Absolutely not!”

“No way.”

“This guy is like a window!”

How comfortable it would be if things in the world could be done as I wished.

I admit that this room is too shabby for a princess to stay in. However, I had a reason why I had no choice but to have her stay here.

=====

-Please give maid A’s room to the mansion’s guest. A penalty will be imposed if you refuse.

-Reward: Leather pouch.

=====

……Because the mansion is in a situation where it is forcing the princess to follow its own path.

I had no choice but to ignore all of the princess’s complaints.

[Maid A’s room has been taken over by a guest of the mansion. Compensation will be paid.]

As soon as the message in the tentative status window appeared before my eyes, a leather pouch fell from the air.

Ashed, who had been groaning at the strange phenomenon, shut his mouth tightly with a dumbfounded expression.

[Item: Leather Pouch]

[Contains objects ignoring volume and weight. The contained objects can be freely taken out by putting your hand in and imagining.]

‘Is it some kind of inventory?’

In the future, Asher will experience many events and collect various items. Perhaps the leather pouch will be a convenient device to facilitate exploration.

I recited to Ashe the exact function of the leather pouch. Ashe, who had been disappointed by its shabby appearance, gradually became astonished.

“That’s ridiculous… Isn’t this a lie? Such a revolutionary artifact wouldn’t even be in the palace treasury.”

“There is also a mansion that imprisons people. It’s a new experience.”

“… What the heck!”

Asher glanced around Maid A’s room and returned to the harsh reality.

“This is a really unpleasant mansion. It’s a maid’s room, but there are five expensive dresses. It’s not bad compared to my level, but…”

But that’s not all. I haven’t checked it myself, but I have a feeling that the size will be the same as Ashe.

“Then I’ll see you again in a clean state. Rest well.”

“… Go away.”

I bow my head respectfully to the sharp words of the guest.

Could it be because I have worked as a butler in this mansion for such a long time? Or is it just an instinct left in my ghostly body?

I habitually pay attention to etiquette and have a vague idea of what I should do, even if there is no notification in the status window.

‘It’s a little… hopeless.’

Asher is my last hope.

It is unclear how things will progress in the future, but her search for the secret will most likely be connected to my liberation.

But the female protagonist I met in person seemed more immature and weak than I had imagined.

Will Asher be able to overcome the strangeness of this mansion and reach out to the truth? Hope has finally arrived, but there are still many worries.

“Okay, wait a minute!”

At that moment, Asher’s loud call broke my thoughts.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s it, that’s why…you…!”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“… Come here.”

I walked back to Maid A’s room as instructed by Ashe. As the distance narrowed, Ashe’s flushed cheeks stood out as she poked her head out the door.

“Do you have any business?”

“There is… So, uh.”

The time I hesitated grew longer. I was about to enter the room feeling frustrated.

“I, I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“… clothes.”

“Clothes?”

“I tried to take off my clothes… but something ripped off on its own and got ruined.”

Only then did I guess why Asher had only stuck his head out.

“Sigh… I’ll go in for a moment so I can fix it.”

“Hey, wait…! I’m still in my underwear? Wait a minute!”

Hurry up!

He ran into the room without even closing the door. I was curious to see what kind of crazy thing he would do, so I just waited blankly.

“Hey, you can come in now.”

“Excuse me.”

As soon as I entered Asher’s room, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.

This is because the only trick he committed was to roll up his blanket like a blanket and hang it up.

“Ugh, don’t look at me like that! You can’t just show your skin to a stranger, right?”

“Are you going to take off the corset by yourself?”

“Ugh.”

Asher hesitated, unable to do anything.

Undressing… undressing.

For Ashe, who was always attended to by maids and had her corset tightened, this would have been an unknown territory that she could not even imagine.

“If you like sour and tangy smells, I won’t stop you.”

“You… I really hate that way of speaking…!”

“…”

“…”

There was a silent standoff. No, it wasn’t really a standoff. Asher just needed time to face reality and let go of his stubbornness.

“Hey, are you going to open your eyes…?”

“If that makes you feel better.”

“Then… Okay, let’s do that…”

Swish.

She neatly placed the blanket she had wrapped herself in back on the bed.

Then, I watched with wide open eyes, moisture dripping from her wet blonde hair to her pale skin.

“Then now… Eek?!”

Of course, Asher wasn’t blind enough to not notice that.

“You fooled me…? You shameless Sima Wei!”

“There’s no way you can properly serve someone with your eyes half-open. Above all, it doesn’t even a little bit of sexual desire, so please stop misunderstanding.”

“Another lie! Abama and the maids said I was the most beautiful in the world!”

“Then you’re saying that it’s a white color? Against the princess of the empire?”

“Huh…?”

It was interesting to see her momentarily speechless at the sound logic. She looked like a teenage girl struggling with her identity.

Well, this time it was a lie.

Asher is beautiful even from an objective perspective. After all, she deserves the praise that she is one of the best in the empire.

I’ve just been locked up for too long to be interested in the female body.

“I… wasn’t I actually pretty?”

It seems that beauty and intelligence are inversely proportional. At least now, I resent the world that has achieved balance in such a useless way.

I asked, undoing Ashe’s corset.

“Ashe.”

“… Why.”

“I certainly do not mean to disregard the minimum standards of human nature, but just in case, I have a question. Do you know how to wash?”

…

……

A sudden silence fell over Maid A’s room.

Strangely enough, an optical illusion occurred.

As I unbuttoned the corset from behind, I could see Ashe’s face, her eyes wet with shame.

“… You don’t know.”

“Don’t use that pitiful tone…! The royal family doesn’t even need to know about such things, they will take care of everything!”

Asher repeated once more in a crawling voice.

“Everything… I did it for you…”

“You should be able to do it yourself now. It can’t be helped since the dress is hard to put on alone.”

“But… what should I do…”

The answer didn’t come easily. I was afraid that this poor woman might slip on the wet floor and die suddenly.

Once the absurd assumption was made, Asher began to look more and more like a puffer fish.

“… I’ll give you a choice.”

“Tell me.”

“First, either let me take a bath for you. Second, learn for sure today. Choose whichever you prefer.”

“It’s like a rotten mansion…!”

I really sympathize with you. I hope Asher will tear down this rotten mansion soon.

Anyway, her answer was set.

“… There’s also something like a leather pouch, but no automatic cleaner?”

“Well, maybe I’ll find out someday.”

It was a half-sarcastic answer.

Thanks to that, Asher screamed with a bright red face like a volcano reaching its limit.

“Ugh… Okay, I got it. You just have to learn it…! Bath!!!”

This heroine has a long way to go.