The Maid Only Protects Her Master
The sun had already set, painting the evening sky in deep shades of twilight. A subordinate noble came rushing into Duke Lucas Eisenvelt's mansion in a panic. Eisenvelt, seated in the opulent living room, received him with a calm gaze.
“So. How are things progressing on the front lines?”
Seated comfortably in his armchair, Eisenvelt posed the question. The subordinate noble bowed his head respectfully before answering.
“My lord Eisenvelt. The situation is far from favorable. Our imperial forces are currently being pushed back with overwhelming momentum.”
At his subordinate’s report, Eisenvelt lightly bit his lip and clicked his tongue in clear irritation.
“I was planning to defeat the Demon King Apocryon and establish a new dynasty... yet it seems the heavens have no intention of aiding me.”
“My deepest apologies, my lord Eisenvelt.”
Eisenvelt rose from his armchair and stroked his beard as he asked again.
“Aren’t Sephirot or Apocryon at least considering our offer of a truce?”
“No, my lord. The envoy we sent to contact Sephirot is presumed to have been executed.”
“So they won’t even entertain the idea. That bastard Sephirot has finally...”
The subordinate noble swallowed hard before responding.
“What should we do? My lord Eisenvelt. If we remain here like this, even the imperial capital of Aurelium will be in danger...”
“There’s no other choice. We retreat south.”
“Pardon??”
The subordinate noble pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and asked again.
“What about His Majesty?”
“The emperor? We’ll take him with us. The prince and princess as well. They might still prove useful.”
“But the citizens of the capital...”
“The citizens?”
Eisenvelt gave a cold, mocking smile.
“In times like these, I have no interest in worrying about such trivial matters. Must I really concern myself with every little detail?”
At Eisenvelt’s irritated and contemptuous reply, the subordinate noble hastily lowered his head. With his hands clasped behind his back, Eisenvelt gazed out the window and continued in a detached tone.
“Send word to the imperial palace immediately. Tell them the imperial family is to prepare for evacuation.”
“Understood, my lord Eisenvelt. But where exactly will we be evacuating to...”
Eisenvelt narrowed his eyes in thought before answering concisely.
“Land routes are too dangerous, so we’ll take a ship to a port city. What southern cities do we have?”
“In that case, Marenost would be ideal, my lord. We can reach it by sea, and with the river directly in front, it offers excellent defensive advantages.”
“Then Marenost it is. Tell the emperor to prepare at once.”
“Yes, my lord Eisenvelt.”
The subordinate noble bowed and withdrew from the mansion. Lucas Eisenvelt stroked his beard once more and muttered with clear disdain.
“That pathetic excuse for an emperor...”
Just as I thought. The war really isn’t going well. Lately, the number of regular customers has suddenly dropped, while more and more soldiers tasked with defending the city have been stopping by the shop.
Wait a second. At this rate, am I going to get dragged off to the battlefield too? Then what about my teahouse... Ugh. Damn it. I can only hope something like that doesn’t happen. I’ve only just managed to get the business on solid ground.
Still, the fact that soldiers keep frequenting the teahouse means I can easily pick up information about the war situation. I’ve grown rather close with Mikhail, the guard captain who’s become a regular.
As expected, the man who’d asked for ice water last time was none other than Mikhail, the one in charge of Marenost’s defenses. Though “in charge of defense” mostly just meant he handled public order...
“M-Mikhail. We’re not actually getting pushed back all the way here, right? Right?”
When I asked in a thoroughly flustered voice, Mikhail, seated at the table, gulped down his ice water and replied.
“If that happens, this empire is finished. This is the last stronghold in the southern region, after all.”
At that, Charlene swiftly collected the cup Mikhail had drunk from and placed it on her tray before speaking up.
“Master. There’s no chance this shop will fall, so please don’t worry too much.”
“Huh? Charlene. How can you be so sure?”
“Because I won’t allow it. The Demon King’s army is nothing more than a bunch of lackeys moving like extensions of the Demon King himself. Those worthless mongrels.”
Oh. Last time she’d been all vague about it, but now Charlene’s saying she’ll protect my teahouse. As expected of my maid. Heh heh.
When Charlene let out a sigh and answered in a tone laced with contempt, Mikhail seemed to sense something unusual in her aura and asked.
“Miss Maid. Are you perhaps a mage?”
“A mage? No. I’m a Grim Re—”
“A-a messenger? Has a messenger from the imperial palace arrived? Right?”
I hurriedly jumped into their conversation and covered Charlene’s mouth. Ugh... If people found out Charlene was a Grim Reaper, it would get really complicated.
Charlene seemed to catch on to my intention. She simply shrugged and went back to wiping down a distant table with a dishcloth. Fortunately, Mikhail didn’t pay much attention to my reaction and continued.
“Messenger? No. As far as I know, no messenger has come from the imperial palace yet. Still, we need to repel the Demon King’s army from the capital Aurelium as soon as possible—”
Right at that moment, the teahouse door suddenly burst open as someone rushed inside.
“Captain! Captain Mikhail! Where are you?”
A soldier who looked like a lowly grunt came sprinting into the teahouse in a panic.
“What? What’s going on? Has the Demon King’s army pushed this close?”
The moment Mikhail stood up, sword in hand, the panting soldier caught his breath and answered.
“H-His Majesty and the imperial family are coming to our city for refuge. We’re on high alert, Captain Mikhail. Please head to the lord’s castle immediately. Hurry.”
“His Majesty?”
Mikhail didn’t forget to thank me for the ice water before hastily buckling his sword to his waist and dashing out of the shop.
So the emperor’s coming here. Things really are getting worse.
“The emperor’s coming here?”
Charlene asked while washing dishes on the other side of the room. I answered absentmindedly, sounding rather indifferent.
“Yeah. Sounds like it.”
Charlene stacked a bowl covered in soap bubbles to the side, let out a small snort of laughter, and added.
“Looks like I’ll need to stretch my limbs a bit. Master? Do you have another maid uniform?”
“Huh? Why? Again?”
“It’s comfortable to move in. If I have to fight, I want to do it wearing a maid dress.”
Huh? She’s going to fight in a maid outfit?
The emperor really did arrive. Not just him—the entire imperial family and several other nobles had sailed into the city by ship. Charlene and I watched the scene from the rooftop of a tall building near the harbor.
Leaning against the railing with both hands cupping her chin, Charlene asked.
“Who are that young man and woman behind the emperor? The prince and princess?”
“Yeah. That’s right. Looks like Prince Cassian and Princess Mage. They’re the current emperor’s direct bloodline.”
But of course they’d be royalty. Both of them were strikingly handsome and beautiful. Princess Mage’s face practically screamed “I am a princess.” Her elegance was truly...
“The emperor looks really frail.”
As expected, Charlene went straight for the blunt observation. This was my first time seeing the emperor too, but he did indeed look incredibly weak at first glance.
“Yeah. Right now the emperor’s basically just a figurehead. The real power has belonged to a man named Lucas Eisenvelt for a long time. See that person with way more guards than the emperor? That’s probably Eisenvelt.”
“My goodness. Is the emperor really like that? How boring.”
Having said that, Charlene turned around, leaned against the railing, and stared straight at my face.
Huh? Why is she looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?
“Not scared?”
Charlene asked while brushing back her hair that was fluttering in the wind.
“Honestly, I am a little scared. But I’m sure Grim Reaper Charlene will protect me just fine.”
“Haha. How amusing. Yes. Trust in me.”
Charlene gave my shoulder a few light pats. Hmm... The mood’s getting a bit strange.
Charlene, who had been looking down at the imperial family far below once more, muttered quietly.
“I just wanted to live quietly while working as a maid. The human realm is far noisier than I expected.”
“Huh? Hasn’t a Demon King ever appeared before?”
“It seems this is the first time in the last five hundred years. I told you before, didn’t I? The appearance of a Demon King in the human realm is an abnormal phenomenon. I’m sure even in the Divine Realm right now, that old man Hades is watching this very seriously.”
“Does that old man Hades not intervene directly in human realm affairs?”
“The old man doesn’t come himself. If there’s a need to get involved in human matters, he sends a Grim Reaper. Hades is a true god, after all.”
While we were exchanging words like that, the imperial family made their way toward the lord’s castle under the protection of their escort troops. Charlene, who had been staring intently at the sight, suddenly tilted her head and listened toward the distance.
What now? She closed her eyes, focusing on some sound, then lightly wrinkled her nose and spoke.
“Looks like the Demon King’s army is heading this way. I can sense their demonic energy.”
“What?”
“The Demon King’s forces are targeting the emperor.”
Wh-what? Oh no...
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
When I asked, Charlene leaned against the railing, looked up at the sky, and murmured.
“At most, they’ll be here within three days. There are quite a lot of them. My goodness. How will these foolish humans defend this place?”
“W-wait, what? You clearly said you’d protect me.”
When I answered in a hurry, Charlene let out a bright laugh and replied.
“I said I’d protect you and the teahouse. I never said I’d save every single human.”
Ugh. This rookie Grim Reaper is at it again... Is she toying with me?
Anyway, it looks like things are about to get really noisy around here. I wonder if there’s any way I could gain power like Charlene. Just relying on her to protect me doesn’t exactly look good.
That afternoon, inside the castle where the lord of Marenost resided. Given the circumstances, the atmosphere of the meeting was deadly serious.
“Duke Lucas Eisenvelt. Since you’ve brought us all the way here, what exactly is your plan now?”
When Princess Mage asked with clear contempt, Eisenvelt let out a relaxed chuckle and answered.
“There’s no need to be so sharp, Your Highness. Shouldn’t we establish a defensive line here and prepare for a counterattack?”
“You dragged the imperial family here by force without any particular plan at all?”
At Princess Mage’s words, Lucas Eisenvelt seemed irritated as well. He tilted his head slightly and replied.
“If you wish to live a long life, you’d best listen carefully to what I say. This is an emergency situation. Anyone who speaks or acts against military law will be punished without exception—even a princess.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
At those words, Prince Cassian flared up in anger.
“Duke Eisenvelt. Just what kind of tone are you using with the princess?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Even in that situation, Emperor Valderic merely let out a low groan, his face twisted in discomfort as if suffering from a headache.
Right then, the door burst open and a soldier came rushing in.
“Duke Eisenvelt! A messenger pigeon has arrived from the capital Aurelium!”
The fact that even a mere soldier reported directly to Eisenvelt instead of the emperor clearly illustrated the current state of the empire.
Eisenvelt stroked his beard as he read the note the pigeon had carried. His expression darkened.
“This is bad. The Demon King’s army has not occupied Aurelium but is advancing straight toward us.”
“What??”
Everyone in the conference room was shocked. Even Eisenvelt, who rarely showed disturbance at ordinary matters, seemed genuinely surprised.
“It appears their target is the imperial family.”
At that, Emperor Valderic answered in an uncomfortable voice.
“That bastard Sephirot holds a grudge against me. He’s probably after my head.”
A grudge? Hearing those words, Eisenvelt smirked and responded.
“I don’t know what kind of grudge it is, but if that’s the case, it’s fortunate. If Your Majesty makes a noble sacrifice, wouldn’t peace come to the empire?”
“Wh-what?!”
Emperor Valderic, who had been holding back Eisenvelt’s rudeness until now, finally exploded.
“Duke Eisenvelt. What kind of remark is that? How dare this insolent man...”
“I am merely considering the worst-case scenario. If Your Majesty’s sacrifice allows the empire’s citizens to survive—”
Unable to endure any longer, Prince Cassian drew his sword.
“You arrogant bastard!!”
But at the same time, all the guards surrounding Eisenvelt drew their swords as well. The sharp sounds of blades sliding from their sheaths—*shing, clang, clang*—instantly filled the conference room. An overwhelming number of swords were pointed at the prince.
Eisenvelt stroked his beard and muttered leisurely.
“Even a passing child could tell who holds the real power right now. Why don’t you sheath your sword, Your Highness? Do you wish to die here?”
Surrounded by an overwhelming number of blades, Prince Cassian finally let out a frustrated grunt and dropped his sword with a clatter.
Letting out a loud laugh, Eisenvelt spoke in his characteristically arrogant tone.
“Very well. Let us use His Majesty as a bargaining chip here and attempt one final negotiation with the Demon King’s army.”