The Emperor and the Impertinent Maid
I stared in utter disbelief. So Charlene really was a Grim Reaper. That was the first time I’d ever seen her fight for real. Wait… hold on. I hadn’t been too rude to her up until now, right? Maybe I should start treating her better from here on out. Damn it. I might have accidentally hired a monster far beyond my imagination as a maid.
If other people found out Charlene was a Grim Reaper, things would get seriously complicated. They probably wouldn’t believe it at first, but if they did, they’d all try to use her power for their own purposes. In that moment, I realized something important: keeping Charlene’s true identity a secret was my job now.
I let out a long sigh. At least she had protected the city for now. But what were we supposed to do going forward—
“Kailon! Where’s Kailon?”
Huh? Someone was looking for me? That familiar voice… it was Mikhail, the captain of the guard.
“Phew, found you. Kailon, come quickly. His Majesty is looking for you.”
Wh-what? Who was looking for me?
What the hell? It really was the Emperor. Standing beside him were… ahem. The famous Prince Cassian and Princess Mage. As expected of the imperial bloodline, they were both stunning up close. Wait, no—what kind of disrespectful thought was that in a situation like this?
I quickly dropped to one knee. I had to get through this somehow. This could turn into a crisis for me too.
“So you are the employer of the mage who just repelled Sephirot over there?”
It was Emperor Valderic’s dignified yet gentle voice. E-employer? Well… technically yes. Charlene was the maid I had hired, after all.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I am indeed the one who employed Charlene.”
“Oh. So that mage’s name is Charlene? Where did you find such a powerful mage?”
Ahem… telling the truth here seemed like a bad idea. Saying I pulled a Grim Reaper out of a block of ice and that’s how we met would probably get me labeled as insane. And like I had decided earlier, it was probably best for everyone if I kept her identity hidden.
What should I do…?
I thought hard for a moment, cleared my throat, and answered seriously.
“…We just happened to meet on the mountain, Your Majesty.”
Silence.
In the distance, I could hear crows cawing as they flew away. Hmm. Maybe my answer had been too half-hearted?
“Wh-what did you say? On the mountain?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I went up the mountain as usual to gather tea ingredients… That particular mountain is famous for being treacherous, you see. When you go to a mountain like that, all sorts of things can happen, can’t they?”
I thought that was a pretty solid answer. It wasn’t exactly a lie, and it still concealed Charlene’s true identity.
“You insolent fool! Answer properly! Who exactly is this woman called Charlene? Hm?”
The bearded man sitting beside the Emperor suddenly pointed at me and raised his voice in anger. Who the hell was this old geezer…? Ah. He must be the real power behind the empire, Duke Lucas Eisenvelt. That explained why he could raise his voice in front of the Emperor.
Ugh… I was boiling inside, but I held it in. After all, everyone here outranked me. I puffed out my chest with forced pride and spoke.
“…It’s the truth. I went up the mountain and happened to meet Charlene. I needed a maid at the time. Honestly, my shop was just a teahouse with flies buzzing around before that. Oh, by the way, I’m the owner of that teahouse. Haha.”
“A t-teahouse owner? This rude bastard…”
Eisenvelt’s face turned beet red with fury. What was this guy’s problem? Why was he getting so angry? Had I said something wrong?
Princess Mage, who had been watching the exchange, suddenly turned her head and covered her mouth, giggling. Prince Cassian was also struggling to keep a straight face, though he was trying hard to look composed. So my words were funny to the prince and princess, huh? Ahem. I hadn’t been trying to be funny.
And right at that moment—
“Master! My clothes are all torn up. I think I need to buy new ones.”
Whoa? From the other side, Charlene was walking toward us, her maid uniform in absolute tatters. Haha. She really did have quite the figure. Wait, no—what was I thinking at a time like this?
“Oh my. Ugh. Master? Who are these people?”
Charlene covered her front with one hand and took a hesitant step back.
“Ah, Ch-Charlene. Show some respect. This gentleman is His Majesty the Emperor of the empire.”
I spoke urgently while still on one knee. Charlene just shrugged.
“Oh. So this old man is the Emperor?”
…Oh god. I was going to lose my mind.
I shot to my feet and quickly covered Charlene’s mouth. Damn it. I had to fix this situation immediately.
“I-I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty! I have committed a grave offense. It seems I failed to properly educate my maid… Haha. If there is no further business, may we take our leave?”
Even though Charlene had spoken with shocking disrespect, Emperor Valderic didn’t seem particularly angry. Thank goodness.
“No, it’s fine. I’d like to speak with this young lady for a moment. Miss Charlene? Would you spare me a moment of your time?”
Phew… I was saved. Since Charlene’s clothes were in such a sorry state, I quickly took off my coat and handed it to her. She draped it over her shoulders and spoke with perfect composure.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Charlene. Before I ask about your identity, I want to thank you for repelling Sephirot.”
At those words, Charlene scratched her cheek and replied.
“No need. It wasn’t a big deal.”
I was going to lose my mind. What kind of tone was that with the Emperor? At this rate, even a hundred lives wouldn’t be enough to save her. All I could do was stand beside her and bow my head in apology.
Still, something felt strange. No matter how lenient and gentle Emperor Valderic was, Charlene was clearly crossing the line with her rudeness. Why was he being so polite to her? Why wasn’t he angry?
The Emperor continued speaking.
“What do you say? The empire will need your strength to maintain peace going forward. Will you fight for us?”
“Hmm. Emperor old man? I mean, Your Majesty. I’m a maid first and foremost. The reason I drove off that Sephirot guy today was to protect the shop. As for protecting the empire—that grand task can be handled by any number of other humans, right?”
“…W-well, even so…”
“I don’t know. Unless my master wants it, that is.”
Ugh. Was she joking? Or was she serious?
Having said that, Charlene spun on her heel.
“We should head back. Master? Let’s go.”
What the—? As soon as Charlene started walking, the soldiers who had been surrounding us all stepped aside at once. They must have witnessed her power earlier… It felt like they were instinctively making way for her out of sheer intimidation.
Everyone watched Charlene with a mixture of fascination and awe in their eyes.
“I-I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. I will make sure to educate Charlene properly. Please forgive us.”
I bowed deeply in apology and hurriedly chased after Charlene.
Phew. What the hell just happened? Seriously.
After Charlene and I left in such an unexpected manner, an awkward silence fell over the area. Duke Lucas Eisenvelt suddenly stood up in irritation and stomped off. The nobles and his retainers hurriedly followed after him.
“Why is Eisenvelt acting like that?” Prince Cassian asked. Emperor Valderic answered in a low voice.
“His plan to use me as a sacrifice to negotiate peace with Sephirot has fallen apart. That young lady called Charlene saved our imperial family.”
At those words, Prince Cassian looked at his father in shock. Then Princess Mage spoke up.
“Father, why didn’t you get angry at Charlene’s disrespectful attitude earlier? It was completely rude, wasn’t it?”
“And why didn’t you get angry at her?” the Emperor asked in return. The princess’s face turned bright red as she answered in a tiny voice.
“W-well… I was curious about her identity… and she did just drive back the Demon King’s forces…”
“It seems we’re the same, then. Besides… from what I sensed, that woman called Charlene doesn’t seem to be human.”
At the Emperor’s words, the prince, the princess, and the nearby attendants all turned to stare at him in astonishment.
“Pardon?”
“I felt a power in her eyes that didn’t belong to a human. I’ve always had a good instinct for these things, so you can trust me. I don’t know if she’s a demon or the Demon King herself, but she doesn’t seem to be one of our empire’s citizens. That’s why, despite her rudeness, I didn’t feel particularly angry.”
The prince looked at his father with wide eyes.
“She’s… not one of our empire’s people?”
“I believe that’s certain.”
The prince and princess stared in the direction where Charlene and I had disappeared, standing there in a daze for a long time.
That evening, I decided there was no point trying to open the shop after everything that had happened, so I closed it for the day.
“Charlene! What the hell was that tone you used with His Majesty? Huh?”
I shouted from outside the bathroom while Charlene was taking a bath. The bathroom door suddenly burst open and Charlene poked her head out.
“Master? What’s the problem? Didn’t I personally drive off that Sephirot guy today?”
“That’s not the point. What kind of way is that to speak to His Majesty? Do you even know who you met today? That was the Emperor—”
“He’s not my Emperor. Even if he is an emperor, he’s still just a human. So what?”
Charlene answered decisively. Ahem… when she put it like that, I had no comeback.
My gaze naturally drifted downward. Ah, she was naked? Whoa… looking closely, she was quite the mid-size—
Charlene must have noticed my stare because she quickly shut the door again.
“Not yet. If you try anything, I’ll turn you into dust.”
Tsk… of course that’s how it was. Then don’t show me your naked body in the first place. Geez.
I scratched the back of my head and headed to my room. Right then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone was pounding on the door outside. Huh? Who could it be? I had put up a sign saying we were closed today.
I opened the window and poked my head out, only to freeze in shock and collapse to the floor.
Pr-Prince Cassian and Princess Mage?!