205. Mask (3)
205. Mask (3)
- 1 -
The horns sprouting above my head felt awkward.
The slightly greater height, and heels higher than the boots I usually wore, were uncomfortable as well.
But despite all those discomforts, I could pride myself that my posture held not a single flaw.
That was obvious just from the exclamations uttered by the woman beside me.
"Anna unnie. You're really beautiful. How can it be the same face, yet you look like a completely different person?"
The 'younger sister' Ophillius had attached to me, Jessica, whispered in a voice full of admiration.
Under the pouring morning sunlight, her white hair sparkled like silver thread.
"Thank you, Jessie."
I was now her 'older sister.'
A woman by the name of Joanna Isteria.
These sisters were women who had been adopted under the name of Ophillius's deceased younger sibling, and apparently they had formed a political contract to maintain the justification for the title he held.
Separate from that, since Ophillius had sponsored them since childhood, they were also personally close.
"But if I look that different, won't people around us be able to tell?"
"Shh. They wouldn't have noticed at all. Even if they do, don't worry. I'm here, after all."
"Everyone, attention!"
While she and I were whispering our conversation, a presence approached from behind and gathered everyone's attention with a loud voice.
When I turned around, I saw the figure of the Head Lady-in-waiting who had visited the mansion I was staying at recently.
The Head Lady-in-waiting of the Second Demon Queen and the maids following her.
They entered the room and lined up.
'Seems like they haven't noticed.'
Everything except my hair color had changed, so it was only natural.
A Dungeon Lord's body was essentially an accumulation of mana.
If the Lord themselves had sufficient capability, they could freely change that body into a different appearance.
And the result was this.
"Uphold your dignity as ladies-in-waiting!"
As soon as the Head Lady-in-waiting met my eyes, she lifted her chin and addressed the new probationary maids while looking down at them.
The senior maids following behind her were the same.
They all wore the colorless suits characteristic of maids, and maintained a strict discipline as if they had been maids since birth.
It was a sight that made it hard to imagine there could be a spy among them.
"If your mistress does not speak to you, silence is a maid's virtue. To be chattering like this from the very first day... you have a long way to go."
The Head Lady-in-waiting's stern voice cut across the garden.
It was likely meant to break the spirits of the women who had just become probationary maids, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
- They probably do it often themselves...
- She's just asserting discipline.
Most of them, having high-ranking noble families as their backgrounds, merely bowed their heads while still murmuring amongst themselves.
I had the capability to eavesdrop on the message magic they shared among themselves.
'Impressive behavior. They've only just become probationary maids.'
I took note of their insolent attitudes.
The senior maids wouldn't directly restrain them.
Because there was no proof.
But it wasn't as if there was no method.
"..."
The scene of the senior maids lined up with solemn expressions coldly looking down at the women not yet even properly trained.
It was a natural reaction.
'From their perspective, the ones acting clueless and insolent would be more of a hindrance.'
The same would hold true even for those harboring other intentions.
For now, they had to stay low and continue gathering information, so they certainly wouldn't appreciate potential fools who could obstruct that work.
- Shh. Shh...
- They're looking over here...!
In front of them, I could see the bodies of some maids who had been acting insolent just moments ago stiffen.
The reason they could ignore the Head Lady-in-waiting but couldn't ignore this scene was because those maids were also daughters of high-ranking nobles.
On the other hand, the Second Demon Queen was an inept woman who had utterly failed to make her authority an impregnable fortress.
I saw a flash of bitterness pass through the corners of the Head Lady-in-waiting's eyes.
"Ugh..."
In the end, it was the other side that was most decisively affected by this atmosphere.
The particularly young maids near me. I felt the girls' shoulders shrink inward.
I could have ignored it, but it bothered me.
"It's alright."
I said, stroking the shoulder of the child next to me.
The child, who had shrunk back abruptly, looked at me smiling softly and gradually relaxed her tension.
"... Thank you."
The child whispered her gratitude. The other children around us also observed the mood here, and the strength drained from their shoulders.
Naturally, their attention subtly converged on me.
Pat, pat.
I stroked the child's head, then straightened my back again and looked at the Head Lady-in-waiting.
While political interests were certainly entangled for these children as well, their immaturity could also become my weapon.
Though, of course, my consideration for the children was the greater part of it.
I could feel eyes full of mixed emotions from the surrounding maids turning this way.
The wariness of maids from the same cohort, and the approval from senior maids.
"You're so kind, unnie."
"... Only sometimes."
Even the respect from my 'younger sister.'
'Things are coming together more easily than I thought.'
Looking at her sparkling eyes, I thought that.
While recalling the interview with the Second Demon Queen in my mind.
- 2 -
The moment the Second Demon Queen entered the place where the maid candidates were gathered, the air in the garden sank in an odd way.
The unique wavelength she possessed began to dominate the surroundings.
"..."
When our eyes met, she momentarily revealed surprise only in her eyes, but as soon as I bowed my head and averted my gaze, she turned her head as if nothing had happened.
Of course, the Head Lady-in-waiting seemed to notice that look, as she glanced at me with brief puzzlement, but then merely followed her mistress's lead.
Neither of them could have revealed their doubts in this situation.
"This is Miss Joanna of the Isteria family."
"Joanna... I see."
Stella's voice reciting my name was even, but the mana around her was not.
A subtle tremor that only the Head Lady-in-waiting besides myself would have noticed. Eyes filled with surprise and puzzlement turned toward me.
I simply bowed deeply at the waist.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness."
"... Raise your head."
Complex emotions were layered within the eyes that met mine, but her face bore no expression whatsoever.
"I heard you were recommended by Administrative Office Court Countess Ophillius. Miss Joanna."
"She is the one who has cared for us sisters since we were young. I am an adopted daughter, registered under the name of her younger sibling."
"An adopted daughter, I see..."
Her gaze traveled over my face. Within those eyes was suspicion bordering on certainty.
She would want to confirm whether I was really 'me.' But I merely stood there with a quiet, maid-like appearance.
"Your younger sister also applied with you. Is there a reason?"
"It is the duty of serving the most noble person in the Demon Realm, Your Highness. If we sisters could serve together, it would be the greatest honor for our house and for us."
"That is a lovely thing. And something to be grateful for."
In the end, she did not voice her suspicion.
There were too many eyes and ears around.
"You passed the exam with an excellent score, and your dignity is without fault. But there is one more thing I wish to see."
"Please command me. I shall follow."
The Second Demon Queen raised a finger and pointed to one side of the garden.
Her fingertip pointed to the very spot where she and I had met in the past. There, a single withered flower was visible.
"Do you see that poor child?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Try to revive it."
I walked toward the withering iris.
All the gazes around focused on me. Every single one was a look full of curiosity.
Tending the garden is a gardener's job, done while the queen watches. Yet to be asked to revive a flower during a maid selection.
But I understood the meaning.
'It's a good method.'
She wanted to confirm my identity.
I placed my fingers over the withered petals. A minuscule portion of mana drew a tiny magic circle at my fingertip.
Mana so precise and minute that one couldn't see it unless observing from right beside.
I felt the Demon Queen's breathing beside me disrupt for an instant.
Swoosh.
The iris took in vitality and began to quiver delicately.
The iris, moving not according to the wind but the flow of mana, moved its head like a sunflower following my magical power.
I withdrew my mana and turned around.
"A remarkable talent..."
I saw a flash of interest pass through Stella's eyes.
What I showed wasn't everything, but it would have been enough as an answer to her doubt.
I smiled.
"... Good work. Return and wait for the news."
"I shall wait with anxious longing."
The maid candidates' wariness and suspicious gazes.
The Demon Queen's goodwill and skeptical eyes.
Receiving them all, I bowed at the waist once more.
That was the end of the interview.
And before long, I heard word from Ophillius that an answer had come from the palace.
The answer was to stay at the Demon Queen's palace.
- 3 -
My duties as a lady-in-waiting began the very next day.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I..."
At dawn, just before morning, the probationary maids gathered in the garden of the eastern palace huddled in small groups, murmuring.
Of course, that free time didn't last long.
"Attention."
The sharp voice of the Head Lady-in-waiting rang out through the garden.
The expressions of the senior maids lined up behind her were as infinitely solemn as ever.
"Your duties will now be assigned. When your name is called, step forward."
The Head Lady-in-waiting held a thick stack of documents in her hands.
She slowly turned over the first page, then, glaring at one side with her monocled eye, called out a name.
"Camilla in Ardelia."
The first one called was the maid who had been whispering about something via magic with someone who seemed to be a relative just moments ago.
'She was of the Jealous Duke's bloodline, wasn't she.'
The middle name 'in,' symbolizing the bloodline of the Jealous Duke.
Among the women beside me now, there would be others bearing the lineage of the grand dukes, marked with names like 'Archi' or 'Ir.'
'What could be the reason for taking in these maids while accepting such spies?'
The Second Demon Queen I had seen was a woman with dignity but neither power nor drive.
Even if she were to meet death, one might turn back once to look, but that would be all.
Since she showed favor toward me, I intended to hear her out... but if I judged the conversation to be worthless, this relationship would end there.
"Jessica Isteria."
"Yes!"
As I was thinking that, that name was called out.
The name of the woman who was now my 'younger sister.'
"I'll be back, unnie."
When I silently gave her an eye greeting, she winked playfully and walked out, standing properly before the Head Lady-in-waiting.
"You are appointed as a letter-writing maid. You will be responsible for document management and correspondence composition."
"It's an honor. I'll work hard!"
"Follow your senior."
One of the maids who had been standing motionless to the side led Jessica away.
Now only I remained in my place.
While the Head Lady-in-waiting checked the list to ensure no one had been missed, I looked around.
"Come this way, please."
Other senior maids were likewise leading their own fledgling maids away.
'How many of them will remain, I wonder.'
I could see those whose eyes met mine turn their gazes away, one by one.
Whether their eyes contained interest or wariness. Except for a very few, they couldn't withstand my gaze.
When I left this royal palace, not many among them would successfully settle in as ladies-in-waiting.
"Joanna Isteria."
"Yes."
The Head Lady-in-waiting's voice calling my current name was a bit stiffer than when she called the others.
A voice that gave the feeling of deliberate strictness.
Clack. Clack.
I walked slowly with a straight posture.
Just as Louise had taught me last night.
In a place without one's master, a maid must also maintain a loftiness that does no harm to her mistress's standing.
"From today, you will attend Her Highness directly. As a direct probationary lady-in-waiting."
In an instant, murmuring filled the garden.
No matter how many maids there were in the royal palace, the position of a personal attendant to the highest personage was naturally extremely rare.
It was also rare for a probationary maid with no proper training to become a probationary personal attendant right away.
That was the reason for the gazes of envy and jealousy directed at me now.
"It is an honor."
As I bowed to give my greeting, the Head Lady-in-waiting's voice continued in front of me.
"This is a directive personally issued by Her Highness. No one may raise any objection."
The Head Lady-in-waiting's sharp gaze swept the garden, but the jealous stares did not subside in the slightest.
Only the young maid I had comforted a little while ago came over and whispered.
"Congratulations, unnie...!"
Her voice was filled with sincere respect.
"Thank you."
Amidst all the hostility, just two... no, only three, glances of goodwill.
But I had already expected this much.
I met the gaze of the Head Lady-in-waiting, who was looking at me with curious eyes. She gave a very slight smile, then spoke again with an expressionless face.
"Follow me. You will be accompanying me."
"Yes, Head Lady-in-waiting."
The moment my first life in the palace began.
I could not know what events would unfold in this palace from now on... but at the very least, it would not be boring.