The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 151

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 151

I don’t know where Lu is walking toward.

I fixed my gaze on my dirt-covered big toe and answered.

“I didn’t kill him. Instead, we both ended up looking pretty similar.”

I didn’t add the follow-up that I was actually the one who almost died, since Lu would probably worry about it.

“That’s not a satisfying answer.”

“What can you do if it’s not satisfying? All men grow up fighting and brawling with each other.”

I lived a third of my life as a man too, so let’s say I’m roughly half male.

“Friend?”

Lu snorted as if it was ridiculous.

“Is he really a friend?”

“Yes, he’s a friend, so he can’t die. It would break my heart.”

“What’s lost can be made again.”

“That’s not how that logic works.”

At this point, Lu seemed to genuinely view Raphael with disfavor.

As I pondered what words might reassure him, I gently stroked his exposed shoulder and began speaking.

“These wounds here. I wasn’t particularly happy about them originally.”

“And?”

“They seemed to help calm Raphael’s anger a bit. I feel uneasy about being forgiven through such underhanded means.”

Lu stopped in the courtyard that stood alone to the west of the banquet hall. The wind that had felt rather sharp when I walked alone now felt refreshing like a gentle breeze cooling hot sweat when I faced it with Lu.

“Listen carefully to me, Daisy.”

“Okay.”

“You committed no sin.”

Lu, who declared this so firmly, gripped my tattered clothing tightly.

“The reason you feel guilt toward that man isn’t because you’re a sinner. It’s because you’re kind and good-hearted. If he demands more duty and responsibility from you than that.”

“Kill him?”

“Our Miss Daisy has good learning effects. Though it’s questionable whether you’ll put it into practice.”

“If you can give such warm comfort, why do you keep talking about killing Raphael or not?”

Lu answered with a face that said I was asking something obvious.

“Because he troubles you.”

It was a light remark, but somehow, the inside of my chest became heavy as if a rock had been placed on my heart.

Just then, I heard signs of someone nearby.

A small shadow stood blankly at the path leading from the banquet hall to the courtyard. As the shadow took a step closer, pure white moonlight fell and revealed the hidden face.

“Oh my, Baroness. You were here. I really searched for quite a while. …But surely demons didn’t appear again without my knowing?”

“Baroness Wokhood.”

Baroness Wokhood, who appeared scattering a bright smile, spoke without casting even a single glance toward Count Sereniye.

“Here, this is the handkerchief you dropped at the banquet hall. I recognized it immediately since it was something I gave you. Please don’t lose it in the future.”

I quickly caught her as she tried to withdraw and asked.

“By any chance, is the real owner of the handkerchief staying at the Imperial Palace?”

Baroness Wokhood, who hesitated for a moment, looked back at me with an unchanged smile.

“I’m sorry, Baroness Weatherwax. With this foolish head of mine, I can’t understand at all what you’re trying to say. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Is this something difficult to talk about?

Watching her back as she disappeared into the shadows, I unfolded the white handkerchief I received from Baroness Wokhood.

『Be careful of the food at the dinner with the Emperor』

Lu, who lifted his chin to check the contents, spoke in an interested tone.

“Has Miss Daisy’s sibling changed careers to become a mouse hiding in the Imperial Palace? It seems the Emperor of Pen Rota is plotting poison or something.”

“Or someone other than the Emperor might be plotting it.”

Natasha, for instance.

‘When I was promised a dinner with the Emperor along with the golden trophy, all the nobles seemed quite surprised.’

If the hunting competition winner was given the opportunity to dine with the Emperor every year, they wouldn’t have shown such a reaction.

‘They must have given such an exceptional reward because the winner was me.’

Natasha has a nature of carefully deciding important matters.

She might be waiting for the moment when I’m isolated alone in the Imperial Palace, unable to receive help from anyone, including Raphael. It was a move worthy of Natasha.

“Shall we head back now? There’s no need to stay here any longer.”

“That’s welcome news to hear.”

We returned to the Weatherwax Town House without delay.

At 1 AM in the early winter when cold winds blew, the hunting festival schedule came to an end.

* * *

The time given until the glorious dinner with Emperor Ashneike was one week.

The first thing I undertook immediately after the banquet ended was checking Dian Ket’s legacy.

“Is this Dian Ket’s seal?”

“Yes.”

“It’s too… worn out?”

I took out the heavy signet ring from the old wooden box and examined it closely.

This object was exactly Dian Ket’s seal that had been stored in Calepa.

It was worn. Definitely worn. The seal part that should have been carefully engraved was half scraped away, and the other half was crushed. I pressed it into melted wax to see what shape would appear, but I couldn’t extract any useful information.

“…It doesn’t say Ash, does it?”

“Not at all. It’s closer to a picture.”

Good, you’re eliminated.

Next, I opened Dian Ket’s diary. I certainly opened it boldly, but…

“Lu.”

It was all in a foreign language, so I couldn’t interpret it at all. Lu, who was sitting across the round table, laughed softly and took the diary back.

“There’s no way you could read Astrosian. It’s okay, you’re cute even when ignorant.”

“Didn’t the earrings you gave me definitely have translation functions installed?”

“Only for what you hear.”

Lu’s long fingers slowly turned the pages of the diary that had yellowed with age. He said he had read this diary once right after I collected it from the Willow Forest.

“Here.”

The pages that had been turning leisurely suddenly stopped with a snap.

“Why? Is there an important story written there?”

“【Finally, that day has come.】”

That day?

I lowered my breathing and concentrated all my nerves on my hearing. Perhaps the key to solving my questions…

“【Penny gave birth safely. There were 8 babies total. 4 females and 4 males. Ah, what a magnificent creature!】”

…Are you kidding me?

When I turned my head with a completely deflated expression, Lu threw the diary onto the round table.

“Don’t be disappointed. Dian Ket was originally a frivolous fellow. Ash is mentioned exactly twice in this diary, and both times refer to the name of a hawk he raised. Swift like Ash, I miss Ash… There doesn’t seem to be any special meaning hidden.”

“Do you remember the hawk that Dian Ket raised too, Lu?”

“Vaguely.”

“Wasn’t there anything special about it?”

“Something special.”

He pondered his memories with a serious expression, then his golden eyes flashed.

“It was ugly.”

Ah, how very special indeed.

I carefully surveyed the items scattered in the bedroom.

Dian Ket’s seal.

Dian Ket’s diary.

Dian Ket’s birdcage.

Dian Ket’s eyeball.

‘…Come to think of it, only this eyeball is out of place.’

Including Dian Ket’s hand mirror that the Swordmaster would possess, all the legacies except the eyeball have one thing in common.

The fact that it was an object used in real daily life.

I placed my hand on the egg that radiated warm heat and the pulse of life. Even after thoroughly examining the smooth shell, there were no traces of ‘Ash’. I double-checked the magical interpretation through Lu, but it was the same.

“Why is the magic incantation 【Don’t die, Ash】?”

Lu chimed in with a halfhearted voice at my muttering.

“Maybe they wanted to revive a dead hawk.”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

Lu asked while touching the hawk’s tag dangling in the cage.

“Why? Just because the handwriting on this piece of leather is the same as yours?”

“…”

“Daisy, I’ll admit that this handwriting isn’t just similar to yours—it’s identical. But making claims based on something like this is nothing short of speculation.”

Speculation. Yes, I admit it. Claiming a past connection based on handwriting alone was close to speculation, even by my own standards.

Lu’s gaze demanded ‘give me a proper reason then.’ Gently and calmly, rather than forcefully.

“Hmm. You’re quite stubborn this time? Well, if you don’t want to talk, you can keep your mouth shut. I suppose it’s not the right time yet…”

“Ash.”

Ah, I hate this.

I don’t want to reveal it.

But it’s Lu. Not anyone else, but my mage.

“It’s my old name. Ash, Ash Pager…”

Tap, tap. Lu’s hand that had been touching the tag stopped. At the same time, Lu’s face that had been staring at me went blank. It was a reaction of complete surprise.

‘Seeing that expression, I think I did well to tell him.’

If not now, when would Lu ever show me such a face?

I brought a notepad and pen from the drawer and wrote the letters 【Ash】 to show him.

“No one in the world has written my name more than I have. See? Usually when writing this last letter, the end tends to curve to the left. But when I write it, it curves to the right like this. I’m left-handed.”

So, the ‘Ash’ on this tag is definitely my trace. No doubt about it.

I looked at Lu triumphantly, but he just quietly stared at the letters ‘Ash’ that I had written. For dozens of seconds straight.

“What are you doing?”

When I nudged him thinking he might be dozing off while sitting, Lu raised his head.

“It’s pretty.”

“What is?”

“Your name. It’s beautiful. So much so that I want to hide it in my mind forever.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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