Milene's Ally? (2)
The money Marie had brought with her was originally meant to buy grimoires or similar books, so it was probably for the best that it ended up with me. But when I handed her the envelope of cash, her eyes widened in pure shock. She grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me violently.
“My lady, where on earth did you get this kind of money?! Where exactly are you living right now?”
“Ah, that’s… well, I have a proper job now, so I’m doing fine.”
“A job? What kind of work could you possibly be doing—ah.”
“What?”
“My lady… no matter what, sob… if you’re selling your body like that…”
Marie’s face twisted in distress. She was clearly operating under a very, very wrong misunderstanding. I shook my head firmly.
“I don’t know what weird thoughts are running through your head, but I have a perfectly respectable place to live.”
“B-but… weren’t you penniless?”
Penniless. That word stung more than I expected. If I wasn’t careful, Marie might try to use Rion to dig into my background again. That would be troublesome. I couldn’t exactly call that guy a complete ally. I couldn’t let him spread information everywhere. Maybe I should have just played dumb from the start.
Still, this girl Marie seemed to miss Milene with an almost painful intensity. Missing Milene, of all people. Honestly, I didn’t feel any particular affection for that trashy otome novel, but if there was one character who genuinely deserved pity, it was Milene. Longing for someone like her made Marie the very definition of a loyal retainer.
Out of respect for that sincerity, I figured I should at least show her that the current Milene was living comfortably.
“No, I’m not. If you’re that worried, just follow me.”
To keep Rion from getting dragged into this, I led Marie to the house the publishing company had provided for me. It was less a home and more of a dedicated workspace, but it was still mine. Ritz should be there right now, so I had no idea how their first meeting would go.
“This is…?”
“The publishing company I work for gave me this workspace.”
When we arrived at the building where I slept and ate, Marie’s eyes grew huge. Sure, it was much smaller than the mansion she used to live in with me, but I genuinely preferred this place. I briefly wondered what it would be like if I somehow cleared my name and returned to noble life. What would it feel like to live as a duke’s daughter, just like Marie imagined?
Since I was stuck living as Milene anyway, maybe enjoying some of the perks wouldn’t be so bad. But if I had stayed in that house… I’d probably have been married off to some decrepit old noble. The thought made my skin crawl even though I wasn’t actually Milene. Imagining a man’s soul trapped in a woman’s body and sold off like livestock? Absolutely horrifying.
Living like this was far better. The house was smaller than anything I’d known in my previous life, but compared to a prison cell, it was practically paradise.
“Workspace?”
“I plan to go independent eventually, but for now I’ll stay here.”
After all, it had everything I needed. The company had even said I could keep using it in Fortmus if I didn’t have a place to live. Since I didn’t want to worry Marie, I decided to explain properly.
“So… what exactly do you do at the publishing company to get treatment like this?”
“Hmm. I guess you could call me an author. I write stories.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m a writer published by Portmus Publishing. The stuff I wrote in prison got surprisingly popular.”
Who could have guessed that scribbling in a jail cell would lead to this? I’d repeated that thought countless times, but the sheer improbability of it still amazed me. It was like I’d written a spin-off in a completely different world from the game’s story.
“What kind of works do you write? I heard the name was… K?”
“That’s right.”
“N-no way… Are you that author K?”
“Probably, yeah.”
The pieces clicked together so neatly. It seemed Marie knew all about K as well. In this world, being a novelist really was like being a rock star. Even a former maid who once served under me had read my books. At this point, they must have spread across the entire capital.
Marie’s eyes suddenly sparkled like stars. She grabbed both my hands tightly.
“Ohhh! I’m a huge fan!”
“A fan?”
“Yes! Please give me an autograph!”
She must carry paper and pen everywhere, because she immediately thrust a notepad and pen into my hands. I didn’t have any particular thoughts about signing, but if she wanted one, it was only polite to give it. I scribbled a simple “K.” This world didn’t use the English alphabet; their script was closer to Cyrillic. Still, I wrote it as K in English letters.
“Have you read any of them?”
“Yes. My little brother said there was a really popular new novel and wanted to read it. We couldn’t afford to buy it, so I borrowed it from the uncle who owns the restaurant where I work.”
“Was it fun?”
She nodded so vigorously her head looked like it might fall off. Was it really that entertaining? Maybe I possessed some incredible writing talent I wasn’t even aware of. On web novel sites back in my old world, there were always hidden gems buried in the depths that turned out to be masterpieces. The circumstances were different, but perhaps I was one of those people who simply never cared about traditional novels—yet secretly possessed god-tier writing ability?
Marie practically spat as she passionately explained just how magnificent my novels were.
“Yes! My brother loved it so much that I read it too, and it was genuinely entertaining.”
“Huh. I guess I’m better suited to being a novelist than a noble after all.”
“Um… Sir K? Who is this person?”
Right on cue, Ritz appeared. She must have been out shopping. Talk about the meeting of the former maid and the current maid. Well, technically Marie had been Milene’s maid, and I was Milene but not really Milene. Most people would assume the master had simply changed, right?
Maybe Marie had interpreted my transformation as the natural result of becoming a commoner.
“Oh? And who might you be?”
“She’s a slave I bought to free, but she didn’t want to leave, so I’m employing her as the housekeeper.”
“Housekeeper?”
Marie’s aura suddenly grew chilly. Her eyes turned ice-cold as they fixed on Ritz.
“Yeah. Housekeeper. Basically a personal maid who gets paid.”
“So you’re employing a maid who isn’t me?”
“Ah, so you were Sir K’s former maid?”
Ritz looked visibly flustered. But Marie was the one acting like a betrayed lover. Just looking at her face made me feel guilty, as if I had actually abandoned her. Even though I had absolutely nothing to do with the original Milene. Tsk.
“Well, after I got kicked out, I couldn’t keep employing you, could I?”
“Even so, someone like her—?”
“What do you mean, ‘someone like her’? That’s incredibly rude!”
The two of them were already fighting.
“That’s enough. Besides, you’re working at a restaurant now, aren’t you?”
“If I had known you were here, my lady, I would have quit the restaurant and served you instead!”
Serving was one thing, but why was she getting so angry about it? Was this what they called women’s solidarity? Or perhaps unwavering loyalty? Come to think of it, the original story never properly developed the supporting characters because Milene was the kind of villainess who got removed early only to make a brief comeback later. So Marie acting like this was probably perfectly natural.
“No, that’s not really—”
“That’s right. I’m already here, you know.”
“Even if you are, you’re originally a slave, aren’t you? And you’ve only just become a maid. Obviously someone like me—who endured even Duke Holpert’s impossible demands—would do a much better job.”
Why were they fighting so fiercely?
“I can’t stably employ you right now—”
I stopped mid-sentence and thought for a moment. It wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, I was earning money steadily now. Maybe hiring Marie as a maid wasn’t such a bad idea. Honestly, Ritz and I were already splitting the workload. Not that I hadn’t given her tasks, but… the girl was an absolutely terrible cook. Having someone who could handle the kitchen would be nice. And Marie had been a dedicated personal maid. She was probably quite elite, having served the Holpert family. She likely knew how to cook properly too.
“Um… should I hire you then?”
“Really?!”
“It won’t be the same salary as when I was a noble, but I can pay you a decent wage.”
I had more than enough money. Hiring Marie didn’t seem like a bad decision at all.
“I can keep working at the restaurant on the side. It’s fine.”
“Then what about me?”
“Well, Ritz, you’re already here. You’re, um…”
I hesitated slightly. After all, Ritz lived with me for my sake—and to leech off me. I had to think this through carefully. Saying something like this could deal a serious blow to a girl who was trying so hard to be useful.
But in the end—
“You’re really bad at cooking.”
There was no helping Ritz’s crestfallen expression. After all, if I was going to eat, I might as well eat something delicious. There was even a saying that people lived on the strength of their meals. It was nice that Ritz tried so hard to prepare menus for me, but she simply couldn’t compare to a professional maid like Marie. The look on her face was one of utter shock. I’ve never been good at sugarcoating things. Maybe if I were dealing with those arrogant nobles, but this was someone living with me. And food directly affected my daily life. I needed to eat properly, at least.
“T-that can’t be…”
Why was she taking it so hard? Being a bad cook wasn’t a crime. Well… maybe it was, in a way.
“It’s just how it is, so don’t look so devastated. Anyway, does that mean you’ll be living here too, Marie?”
“I just need to check on my brother occasionally. Yes, that’s fine.”
“Then I’ll give you a spare key so you can come and go as you please.”
And just like that, Marie had joined my household. Now all I had to do was sit down, grab myself by the collar, and write.
Around that time, Tiana from the romance division burst into President Hugo’s office, practically foaming at the mouth with praise.
“President! This is a revolution in the romance genre! It’s groundbreaking!”
“Hmm. If even you’re saying that, Tiana, it must be quite something. Still, I never expected the author of that hero party story to write romance as well.”
Hugo puffed on his cigarette with a satisfied smile. She really was an incredible woman. Who would have thought a mere noble daughter possessed such literary talent? Come to think of it, if she had that much ability, marrying that empty-headed prince with flowers growing in his brain would have been the real poison. Being condemned and broken off from that engagement was clearly heaven’s way of telling her to live as an author.
“She’s amazing. Of course we’ll have to see how the plot develops, but they say a strong start is half the battle, right? This is going to be a massive hit!”
Tiana clenched both fists, her eyes sparkling with excitement. For the usually composed romance editor to react this strongly, Hugo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and looked at her seriously.
“I thought you were quite stressed about the romance submissions lately. So it’s that good, huh?”
“Yes. This one is a sure thing. It’s perfect.”
To be honest, calling it merely “good” didn’t even begin to describe it. They had to secure the rights to publish this no matter what.