The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 152
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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 152
My heart raced as I felt heat rushing to my face. Could being complimented on my name just once really be this embarrassing?
“Were you about to carve that name on a cold gravestone? It must be fate that I’ve only learned of it now.”
His serious eyes, devoid of any laughter, as he murmured to himself made my heart ache. To give such meaning to an old name. I leaned my forehead against Lu’s shoulder and muttered.
“But Daisy is prettier than that.”
Lu chuckled softly and strengthened his shoulder so my body wouldn’t sway.
“Which Daisy? The Daisy I made bloom?”
“What are you talking about? I’m the one who raised that Daisy!”
“I’m the one who transplanted it.”
“You must have forgotten, but I’m also the one who transplanted it.”
“That was when you nearly killed it. It was withering because it got no sunlight at all. Isn’t that right, Ash?”
My body trembled for a moment.
“Just call me Daisy. I abandoned that name when I left Quin Island. When I left Quin Island, I never once considered Ash Pager to be my name. Because that name is…”
Ominous.
Ash.
That name meant ashes.
The reason they gave a girl the name ‘ashes’ on a conservative island like Quin Island was simple. On the day I was born, lightning struck right in front of our house, burning the largest old tree on Quin Island to black ash. Even that was something I only learned because a neighbor lady told me when I was young.
I know it’s not such a terrible name. Yet at some point, I came to hate this name to the point of disgust.
Could it be that Quin Island was engulfed in flames because my name was Ash?
Could it be that the warship Andert boarded sank, and ultimately Quin Island burned to black death, all because my name was Ash?
Because my name was Ash.
Because it meant black ashes…
“If that’s what you want.”
Just before I fell into deeper contemplation, a warm hand approached and patted my cheek.
“I can keep it in my heart instead of on my tongue. It’s nice that only I know, isn’t it?”
Lu pulled my waist and seated me on his lap.
“Yes, that’s right… Ash, who has a connection to Dian Ket.”
“How is it? Do you have any idea now?”
“Not at all. It’s strange. If it were a connection made with this much care, there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it. Dian never mentioned a person named Ash, not a hawk, to me even once. It means he’s been hiding it.”
Lu’s gaze turned to the name tag.
“Moreover, this name tag is too old. If it’s true that you two met, it would have been at least 150 years ago. The hawk that was the owner of this cage lived around that time.”
150 years ago would be before even my grandfather was born, wouldn’t it? It’s such a distant past.
To think my traces were carved in such ancient times. How on earth? In what way could that have been possible?
“Could it be that I’m… Dian Ket?”
What if Dian Ket somehow turned back time and space with divine power and became the current me?
It was quite a confident speculation, but Lu’s reaction was lukewarm, even indifferent.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not a particularly interesting hypothesis. I’m not very happy about it either. Let me ask you in advance, Daisy. Even if that hypothesis turns out to be true, don’t tell me. I want to know you only as you.”
I didn’t expect him to dislike the idea of identification that much.
Since Lu was so appalled, I found myself wanting to take back what I’d said.
‘Right, there’s no way an ignorant Inspector like me could be the same person as Dian Ket.’
If I were him, I would have left more definitive traces. For example, something like 【I am the healer Dian Ket. I died but was reborn as Ash Pager. Be proud】 written on this large eggshell.
Lu rested his chin on the top of my head and swallowed slowly.
“If there’s one possibility… it would be the heart.”
I looked down toward the area around my heart.
The heart of a demigod.
The grateful existence that prevents the destruction of my soul.
Certainly, this heart was the only medium connecting me and Dian Ket.
“I’ve encountered a complex puzzle after a long time. I’ll have to return to Kalerpa and do some research with other heart crystals. The most certain thing is, Daisy, you need to collect the last of Dian Ket’s Legacy.”
“I suppose that’s right.”
If I collect all of Dian Ket’s Legacy, ancient magic will activate.
Then somehow I’ll see the results.
Somehow.
* * *
The atmosphere in the great city of Ragal had become quite quiet compared to a week ago.
With the hunting festival over, it felt like the entire city that had enjoyed the long celebration had entered a brief rest. The aftermath of the upper class that had flocked in for a short period ebbing away like a tide was also significant.
I was in a position where I had to stay a few more days for a dinner with the Emperor, but other nobles were different.
In Pen Rota, autumn is usually called the hunting season. When the hunting festival ended, nobles would return to their respective country houses to enjoy long-term hunting. They would spend time there quietly until winter, then return to the city when the weather warmed up again in a repeating cycle.
Also, before leaving Ragal, visiting acquaintances’ town houses to invite them to country houses was the final schedule of the hunting festival.
I also had countless visitors coming to see me. After all, I was the new head of the Weatherwax Family, the winner of the hunting festival, and someone who had charmed four men… anyway, something like that!
“Weatherwax Baroness! I’m really sad to part like this. Where are you going this fall? Don’t you have any thoughts of spending time in Calpenweber? Father would really love it. Of course, we sisters would too!”
“Unfortunately, that would be difficult, Miss Tara. After the meal with His Majesty the Emperor ends, I have to return to Midwintry.”
“Ah! My goodness, that’s right. You have such a schedule? A meal with His Majesty… But what kind of conversation do you usually have at such occasions? Will you be able to swallow food due to nervousness?”
“Hey, Tara. You need to watch your words.”
I spread rumors in all directions about when, at what time, and with whom I would visit the Imperial Palace, and what kind of conversation I would have with the Emperor there.
This wasn’t my idea but a strategy the Head Maid came up with.
“Tell as many people as possible and leave as many traces as possible. If more people know exactly where you’re going, the Imperial family won’t be able to easily threaten you either. The fast and exaggerated transmission power unique to high society will become your shield.”
After the hunting festival banquet ended.
I called the Head Maid separately and briefly explained the incidents that occurred during the hunting festival and the biological experiments the Imperial family was conducting behind the scenes.
The Head Maid, who couldn’t easily believe it, only put aside her suspicions after seeing Lu’s wounds with her own eyes. Her sensitive intuition as a mage detected the terrible aura emanating from Lu’s wounds.
“Please look at this map carefully, my lady.”
“…This, could this be the Imperial Palace blueprint?”
“Lord Malicops prepared it. But it’s too old a blueprint, so there are many differences from the current Imperial Palace. From now on, I’ll tell you about the hidden passages and bunkers of the Imperial Palace. As someone who was just a member of the Imperial family, I only know half of the secret passages, but it will surely help you. And most importantly…”
The research facility where biological experiments were being conducted.
“If that research facility is located in the Imperial Palace, there are several expected locations.”
With the help of the Head Maid and Malicops, I crammed the blueprints and maps of the Imperial Palace into my head.
Meanwhile, Lu was busy traveling between the town house, Imperial Palace, and Kalerpa, and Jin devoted herself to rehabilitation.
And before I knew it, a week had passed.
Drip, drip.
Raindrops falling endlessly knocked on the window.
The weather had become much cooler during this time. Late at night, the chill penetrated even inside the bedroom, so we started keeping the fireplace lit constantly from two days ago.
I tied my muffler more tightly and stood in front of the foyer. The sky visible beyond the open door was appropriately dark and gloomy.
The Head Maid said autumn rain always falls in Ragal around this time. After the rain that had been falling for two days stops, fallen leaves accumulated on the ground would roll around, and the cold would begin in earnest. Winter would arrive.
“My lady.”
The Head Maid stopped me just as I was about to step outside.
She handed me a letter I had never seen before.
“What is this?”
“It’s a letter I wrote. If something unfortunate happens to you, please deliver it to Brother Ashneike. You should be able to avoid immediate urgent situations. Probably.”
The Head Maid looked very worried.
‘It’s not like I’m risking my life to charge into enemy territory.’
But as she said, it might be useful. I gratefully took the letter.
“Will it be okay? It might become known that you’re staying here.”
“…I believe Brother Ashneike is a good person.”
After remaining silent for a moment, she soon showed a small smile.
“But if Brother Ashneike has changed, and if you suffer greatly because of it, I’ll be tormented by guilt for abandoning two families for personal peace. I don’t want that.”
So she’s saying such misfortune won’t happen.
I was about to nod roughly and leave when Jin, who had followed the Head Maid, clenched her fists and made a request.
“I’ll be watching continuously near the Imperial Palace. If you need my help, give me a signal in any way. I’ll enter immediately.”
Everyone looks more determined than I do.
This time too, I was about to nod casually and leave.
“Baroness, don’t worry. If anything happens to you, I’ll gather all my connections and send assassins to the Imperial Palace…”
Good grief.
“I told you I’m not going there to die, didn’t I?”
Since I couldn’t delay any longer, I half-listened to Malicops’s concerns and left the town house. The carriage raced through the pouring rain. The weather was dark and it was raining. It was the perfect day for something bad to happen.
And so, at the Imperial Palace I visited again after a week.
“We meet again, Weatherwax Baroness. Your complexion has brightened considerably during the week.”
The Swordmaster was waiting for me.
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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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