CHAPTER 11
[Scylla, Lowly Peasant Half-breed, Maid]
[Demon Territory, De Gracia—Guest Mansion]
“Is this a good book?”
“Yes, great sir. This one had read that book plenty. In her own free time, of course.”
“You sound proud saying that. Are you asking to be praised, perhaps?”
“Y—yes!” the maid named Yullia flustered. “That book was what this one’s mother used to read to her before she slept.”
The book in question was an old fable based on the Demon Lords.
Its opening lines go as follows:
Demon Lords—bountiful, benevolent.
The Lords, they whom maketh the land palpable and they whom govern it with authority.
The Lords, revered and worshiped beings, need not bowing. Those whom need bowing are not them but those which needs them. Great Lords of Order, Economics, Sciences, and War. They are the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine.
From the South hath the protection of Baal, from the West hath the grace of Paimon, from the East hath the command of Barbatos, and their legions.
Long before the cities, the dwelling of humans, they have already existed. All 72, whom had the Contracts of the Monarch, now reduced to 52. Those whom are not present have reduced off to Death, of Power, or of Title.
They are of reverence. They are of grace.
Demon Lords—bountiful, benevolent.
After the constant wars between humans and demons that lasted for centuries, the Demon Monarch was the one to end those needless wars 500 years ago. This book was created as both a fable and a history lesson for the young regarding the Monarch’s reign alongside the Demon Lords. Due to the Demon Monarch’s power and the near destruction of the human empire, she and the 3rd human Emperor agreed to a peace treaty and proposed that she would let the humans live in the territory if they were willing to trade with the demons.
That was the sole reason the demon territory and the human empire got into a state of peace. Currently, the demons and humans, despite their antagonistic relationship, have come to live—or at least tolerate—one another.
“The reign of the Monarch......”
“Yes, great sir. Did the sir not read this yet? Though I’ve heard that he’s the son of Demon Lord Dantalion?”
“Funnily enough, I have not.”
The young lord closed the book.
“Well, I’ll be taking these with me. Thank you for helping with this.”
“That is no problem, great sir. This one will always be of service to him. Then, without further ado, this one will be taking her leave~”
Yullia bowed and walked out of the library.
“......”
“Have you been waiting long?”
“This one had not.”
The young lord stood beside me as he put another book in my already full hands. I currently hold about 5 books, and the young lord 8.
“What does the young lord plan on getting this many books? Has he not gotten a lot in his room already? If you count this in, then it’ll be around 50.”
“What else? I simply like reading.”
He said as he took one off my pile.
“If that’ll lessen your complaints, then I’d have to carry more.”
“This one was not complaining.”
“Complaint might not be the word......”
The young lord tilted his head for some time, thinking. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
It’s been 3 days since I was tasked with looking after the young lord. In the past few days, we have been going around the city walking somewhat aimlessly, with him checking out stores and not buying anything. He talks to servants casually while having the face of a noble when talking with other nobles. There are also no notable schedules he does, almost as if everything is random.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Even by this time, I’m still guessing what he’ll do.
“......ah, I remember now. It’s jealousy.”
I have still not been accustomed to his eccentricities.
“Well, is Scylla jealous?”
He asked.
“This one was not jealous.”
I sighed lightly.
“Although the young lord had been talking to other maids from time to time, this one was only here to do her duty. As such, by the simple fact that she’s merely here to aid the young lord, this one is not by any chance to have had the emotion to be jealous of others.”
“Hmm.”
Was my explanation clear? Well, given that the young lord likes to do wordplays like this, I suppose I’m trying to humor him by some chance.
“To say that in such a long-winded way contradicts your point.”
It seems like it didn’t work.
“My apologies, young lord. This one thought that the young lord might be inclined to such wordplay. That is why this one had done so, not in the merit of giving away her emotional stance, but to accommodate the young lord’s want for such a thing.”
“You’re over-explaining again. I suppose you’re getting good at doing wordplay, but it’s not as refined as someone good at it.” He faced me as if he wanted to convey a lesson. “There should be a kind of pause holding a certain idea and a half-truth you infuse into your words to not only influence but to linger in their minds. Lying isn’t inherently bad, but being able to be true while also lying is a better option than just lying. Sometimes a simple question or even a look can do wonders, you know.”
I stared at him blankly.
Despite the casual façade of the young lord, it feels as if he’s observing every move I make and every word I speak. This might not just be me, but to the other servants and nobles he interacted with. This goes to show how twisted nobles are regardless of their ‘kind’ exteriors.
“Well, that doesn’t matter. My lovely dog’s waiting.”
“......Yes.”
Upon returning to the young lord’s room, the dog he fetched from the slave market greeted us gleefully. It wagged its tail as the young lord pushed it aside, trying to put the books he held onto the table in his room, which was filled with more books.
Despite being pushed by the young lord, the dog didn’t lose its playfulness but did take a seat, knowing that it wouldn’t get to eat if it continued its antics.
“That should be good for the night.”
The young lord sighed as he sat and grabbed the dog, petting it so gently.
“Are you hungry?”
He asked the dog. The food prepared by the servants was on the side of the young lord’s bed. The young lord took a piece of meat and fed it to the dog, who gobbled it up in an instant.
“Wan!”
The dog made a satisfied cry.
“So you were hungry, good boy, good boy.”
After the small interaction between the young lord and the dog, the clock had already ticked the night’s 9th hour.
“Young lord, may this one ask to leave for a while? This one has a duty to sort out.”
“Oh, even today? Just when I thought I could spend more time with you...... hah.”
I nodded.
“This one apologizes.”
The young lord frowned slightly and waved his hand for me to go.
I opened the door, not letting the dog escape, and walked out.
Outside, the room was lit by the orange glow of the eternal candles. It was the usual night, and a routine inspection of the mansion's corridors and servants' schedules was taking place.
A silent nod was given to me by a guard. I didn’t respond and only kept walking. There was no need for me to react. It’s better not to get involved with others after all, as it lessens your burden by not caring for someone else and anything involving them.
That being said, this might be a stressful night for me.
The letter took a considerable time to decipher.
Giving information in such a manner might be safe to some extent, but annoying most of the time. All you can get by with are guesses. If you don’t know how to guess properly, you fail by default. If you’re not confident in your guesses, then you fail to take action, and if you’re going to make outright guesses, then you go nowhere.
‘Four treats have been tossed to the den.’
Stolen goods or possibly a bribe. This section is irrelevant. There’s no need to ponder too deeply into it.
‘The third head is on her trail.’
Demon Lord Barbatos. A warning. The Demon Lords are already going out of their way to uncover the relationship between the human noble’s involvement with the rebellions. Her meeting with the young lord a few days earlier might be connected to that.
‘Two mice have entered the building. Eliminate the mice.’
Targets gathering information for the Demon Lords. In other words, pawns. I’ve already spotted them—there’s no problem here. All I have to do now is eliminate them before they go further. Simple.
And lastly.
‘One goose was let go. Observe the goose.’
“......”
I have a good guess who the goose might be, though I still have doubts. Whether my guess is correct, I’m only here to observe.
I took a turn towards the maid’s quarters and checked my desk. Checking my room occasionally is quite a habit now, even if there wouldn’t be anything to receive. I opened the drawer—another letter.
There's more?
The letter’s seal was hastily done, and even the envelope was crumpled. Its delivery might have been delayed because of certain circumstances. Given that it's already been 3 days since I received the first. Usually, there is a 2-week difference between letters—this is rather quick.
I opened it. The letter inside had the same content as before, but with one singular word standing out, a different word replaced it.
‘Observe Eliminate the goose.’
Hmm.
The goose......
That’s not a problem as of now. I’ll do that last. First things first.
To eliminate the mice.
. . .
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