The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 8

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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 8

The next morning.

I came out to the backyard to collect the laundry and was surprised by the glimpse of the garden scenery.

In just two days, the small garden of the Weatherwax Estate was taking on quite a decent appearance.

No contractors had visited since the first day, yet all the dead grass had disappeared and the ground was covered with soft, moist soil.

‘I thought he just took on any job with the sole purpose of entering this estate.’

His cooking skills too. Why is he so unnecessarily good at so many things? It makes him even more suspicious.

As I tried to recall his heart-stirring beauty, last night’s message about potatoes came to mind, making me feel annoyed again. At that moment, my eyes met with Lu, who was passing by with a shovel.

He gestured to me as if the timing was perfect.

“Come over here, maid.”

I wanted to ignore him, but.

‘If I want to properly investigate what kind of person he is, I’ll need some degree of interaction.’

I stopped putting laundry in the basket and approached Lu. Then I spoke curtly in a voice that sounded blunt even to myself.

“Daisy.”

Lu, who had been hunched over the foyer steps, looked back at me with puzzled eyes. I opened my mouth again toward his dazzling face.

“My name.”

“…Ah.”

Lu stood before me with that habitual gentle smile of his.

“Good, maid Daisy. After three days, we’re finally having a proper introduction. This is relationship progress that can only be described as remarkable.”

If everything he says sounds sarcastic, is that the speaker’s problem or the listener’s problem?

“I’m entrusting this flower pot to you.”

I inadvertently took the small bronze-colored pot Lu held out. It was a pot filled with moist soil that looked high-quality at first glance.

“Entrusting?”

“Try growing flowers in this pot, anything is fine. But transplanting is forbidden. You must start from seeds, not seedlings.”

“Me? Why?”

When I asked back in disbelief, Lu answered as if I was asking something obvious.

“Didn’t you say you were curious? About me.”

What does that have to do with flowers?

“Coincidentally, my identity is a very, extremely, mind-bogglingly great secret. I have no intention of telling it to anyone for free. In that sense, wouldn’t growing flowers be quite a modest price?”

I looked down at the flower pot cradled in my arms with my brow deeply furrowed.

‘Why flowers of all things?’

This isn’t child’s play.

Is he toying with me right now?

‘Why bother at this point?’

This flower pot was Lu’s first plausible response to my suspicion and distrust. Unlike the first day when he ignored me, it was his only reaction, offering it as a condition for hearing an answer.

Refusing because I felt bad might have been foolish.

“If you don’t want to, 500 gold.”

“…500 gold?”

“The price for hearing the secret without growing flowers.”

Has this swindler gone mad? Where am I supposed to get 500 gold? Does he think that fortune grows from the ground? It’s money I couldn’t earn even working as a maid for 100 years!

I hugged the flower pot tightly with both arms and answered.

“I’ll grow them.”

“Good thinking.”

“Keep your promise.”

Lu smiled warmly and patted my head. It was the lightest and most natural smile he had shown.

“Yes, maid Daisy. I’ll look forward to seeing what flowers you’ll grow.”

Annoying bastard.

I glared at Lu’s broad back, then put the flower pot back in its original place and went back to collecting laundry.

I decided to stop investigating Lu for now.

I hadn’t given up on uncovering his identity. I had just taken a step back.

In conclusion, I judged that watching him for a while, as the Head Maid said, was the best course of action.

I had no people or funds to investigate Lu’s background, the person himself wasn’t the type to open his mouth easily, and he wasn’t someone I could easily subdue to force him to talk.

‘Besides, being suspicious is just circumstantial evidence. He hasn’t actually done anything yet.’

Paying more attention to Lu would be a waste of mental energy and time. For now, let’s be satisfied with cooperating with the assassin butler.

I had become accustomed enough to maid work, so now I should focus on gathering information related to Dian Ket’s relics.

Everything has its priorities, after all.

“Did you collect all the laundry, Daisy?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll do the organizing, so please go buy ingredients. The list of needed ingredients and money are in the kitchen.”

“Yes.”

I checked the ingredients to purchase as I left the estate. It was the same list as last time, except for the addition of eggs.

Although there was no meat this time either, I wasn’t particularly disappointed. Lu would surely fill the meatless table abundantly.

Knowing how to cook.

That talent was Lu’s one and only advantage.

Before entering the market, I stopped in front of a gaunt old man crouched in a narrow alley, selling shabby vegetables.

‘Hmm.’

I saw potatoes in poor condition, but I decided to buy them.

I was concerned about the old man’s shabby appearance, and since the cook’s skills were quite good, I judged that slightly poor ingredients would be fine.

“Seven potatoes.”

The old man, who had been dozing, opened his eyes wide and looked up at me.

“Huh? Oh my, a customer has finally come.”

This old man probably couldn’t go home until he sold some potatoes.

“Thank you, miss. Come again.”

The old man kept bowing his gaunt body, thanking me repeatedly.

After paying for the potatoes, I turned toward the market and checked the count.

‘One, two, three… Eight.’

It’s eight, not seven. The old man seems to have miscounted the potatoes.

I went back the way I came to return one potato.

In the meantime, new people had taken up space in the alley that had been empty except for me and the old man.

It was somehow an irritating sight.

“Oh my! This old lady finally made some money.”

Three burly men surrounded the old man who had been selling potatoes.

The burly man in the middle showed his palm to the old man.

“Hand it over.”

“L-look here. Just wait one month please…”

“The Merchant’s Union dues are over a week overdue. Did you think we wouldn’t collect just because you’re hiding and selling here?”

“Union or whatever, I’m just an old man doing small business, so I told you several times I’m not joining…”

Suddenly, the man’s leg roughly kicked the old man’s body that was clutching his trouser hem.

The gaunt old man rolled on the ground without even screaming. His forehead, which he had been holding, was torn by the shoe heel and bleeding.

As if that wasn’t enough, the burly man mercilessly trampled on the old man’s curved back.

“This damn, old man, if you don’t, have the means, to pay dues! You should either quit business or get out of our territory!”

Ptui! The man who dusted off his pants spat on the trembling old man’s back.

“That’s enough. We’ll come to collect again tomorrow at the same time, so keep that in mind.”

Thus, the old man’s meager income disappeared into greedy hands.

I looked at the old man’s shabby potatoes. Not even twenty in number. Even after I took eight, only about ten remained, and a couple had green sprouts.

This old man wasn’t selling potatoes to enjoy wealth and glory. He was selling potatoes to avoid starving to death. He was also someone who sold potatoes all day to survive each day.

Look at that gaunt body. If he couldn’t sell potatoes for even one day, the old man would surely suffer from hunger. If he couldn’t sell for two days, the old man would have trouble moving, and if he couldn’t sell for three days, he could reach death’s door.

These men were essentially killing the old man. While claiming ownership of the street that no one could possess.

“Hey.”

The men turned to look at me.

“What?”

I asked them with genuine sincerity.

“Why did you crawl out of the trash can?”

Trash Leader, who wrinkled his brow fiercely, staggered toward me.

“This crazy bitch, where does she think this is. Hey, judging by your appearance, you look like a maid. What are you relying on to act so cocky? Should I make it so you can’t even walk down this road anymore? Huh?”

I carefully examined his arrogant face and then nodded.

Perfect timing, friends. I’ve been quite stressed these past few days.

I immediately raised my hand and lightly struck Trash Leader’s face.

“Kugh.”

Trash Leader, who was embedded in the wall and collapsed, rolled his eyes back and fainted.

I also gave Second Trash, who was standing there dumbfounded and spaced out, the exact same treatment as Trash Leader.

“Kek.”

Third Trash, who finally came to his senses, ran away without looking back.

Should I catch him or not. My deliberation was brief. Instead of chasing him, I crouched down next to the old man and diligently rummaged through Trash Leader’s pockets.

“Oh.”

A bundle of bills popped out from his pocket. Was this the membership fee that had to be paid for being forcibly enrolled in that Merchant’s Union? It seemed to be essentially the same as a protection fee. The amount was even quite substantial.

“Miss, get up quickly. You need to run away before the other guys come, okay? Hurry.”

The old man, who barely managed to pull himself together, was amazed that I had knocked down two grown men, but was desperate to get me up and out of the alley.

Every time he wiped his bleeding forehead, his sleeve turned red.

“They’re very scary people, so never come to this side again. An old man like me dying wouldn’t matter much, but if you get involved in bad business, your parents would be very sad.”

The wrinkled hand that grabbed my arm was still trembling finely.

Fear directly imprinted on the body is not easily forgotten.

I looked at the old man’s face, which appeared tense, then brushed off the potatoes that had been trampled by the trash and were rolling around on the ground in a mess.

If today’s incident were to pass like this, people like this old man would end up suffering again instead.

The thought process of trash was always like that. They take out their anger on the weak. They might raise the protection fee using violence as an excuse while brooding over what happened to them.

The victims would suffer even greater damage, and this old man would end up leaving the city.

“Grandmother.”

“I told you to run away quickly?”

“Do you know where these people hang out?”

The old man, who had been looking at me with questioning eyes, pointed to a first-floor shop with a neat exterior beyond the paved road leading to the market.

『Pub Peace of Land』

The suspicious pub had an atmosphere perfect for thugs who only bullied the weak to hang out.

How strange.

As far as I knew, pubs in the Empire were that kind of space.

A space for hometown and people.

Especially in the southern part of the Empire, which was under the influence of Archmage Mephisto, pubs were no different from the headquarters of vigilante groups that voluntarily gathered to protect their hometown.

Those who gathered at pubs took up arms to protect their hometown, family, and friends. Pubs close to the front lines sometimes took on supply roles by pooling the village’s own strength. The faces in my memory were full of pride and mixed emotions.

‘But a Merchant’s Union.’

Perhaps, at least for me, it might be quite useful. Especially in terms of gathering information.

I returned the potato money that was lying on the ground to the old man.

“Don’t come out to do business tomorrow.”

Then I tore off part of the bundle of bills and crumpled it into the old man’s palm.

“Get your forehead wound treated before it gets infected.”

After dumping the two fallen trash deep inside the alley, I held the bundle of bills to my chest and headed back to the market.

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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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