Home/How That Extra Maid Survives/ch39

Chapter 39

[The splendid platinum blonde hair that symbolized the Leveridon imperial family proved he was of royal blood.]

That description applied to Heald, but it also referred to another.

'Damian di Leveridon.'

I had rushed out of the secret passage, thinking I mustn't be later than Rahan, and met him as if by fate at the entrance to the mansion.

He had the same platinum blonde hair as Heald, but his eye color was different.

While Heald had the Emperor's red eyes, Damian had brilliant emerald-green eyes, a perfect mirror of his mother, Pionia.

Damian had straight, flowing hair, and was slightly shorter and smaller in build than Heald.

Compared to Heald, that is—his physique was still better than the average person, making you suspect he had a villain's buff.

That made sense, as he was a prince who preferred reading books indoors to swinging a sword outside.

Thanks to that, his skin was more translucent and fair, and with his upturned eyes, he looked quite sharp.

'Of all places, why here?'

In reality, the sharp-tempered prince had a nasty personality.

Despite being as handsome as Heald, there was a reason he was so disliked.

'Why does misfortune seem to gather?'

I try so hard to be careful, yet why does hardship keep finding me?

I hurriedly bowed my head, hiding my dark expression.

My eyes were fixed firmly on the ground.

When I first arrived in this world, I'd been careless, thinking "Would they really make such a big deal out of it?" But now I knew how dangerous that was.

Even if not, I didn't want to draw attention by accidentally making eye contact.

His footsteps, which had been passing me by, stopped.

'Why is he coming this way?'

The shadow that returned to stand before me was unusually dark.

I was tense, wondering what madness he might pull, when Damian suddenly grabbed my chin and roughly lifted it.

"Ugh…!"

'…Is he crazy?'

The muscles in my chin, yanked up rudely, pulled slightly.

At the same time, anger flared up, but my life was precious, so I acted like a trembling little animal.

'I will definitely repay this humiliation.'

I don't forget even the smallest slights.

I vowed that one day I'd grind that wrist under my heel.

"…Ugly, aren't you?"

Tsk. His dismissive evaluation left me speechless.

Ignoring my reaction, he tilted my head this way and that, appraising me, then let go.

He then took out a handkerchief as if he'd touched something dirty, wiped his hands, and tossed it to his attendant.

At that series of actions, my pride began to crumble.

Lexi's face was quite pretty, so it wasn't to the point of being treated as ugly.

And to touch someone's face so casually and then act as if he'd touched trash—my blood boiled.

'Ha! If that's how you feel, why touch me at all?'

Suddenly, I spotted something that caught my eye.

My head cooled.

'A little revenge should be fine, right?'

Yeah, yeah. This much is nothing.

My gaze passed over Damian and aimed at the sky.

My roaming eyes finally settled on the third-floor window of the mansion.

Quietly, I stared there for a few seconds, then my expression darkened.

As if realizing the prince was there, I hurriedly lowered my head again.

That was enough.

The prince, who had taken the bait, roughly grabbed my shoulders.

"You… why…!"

His already pale face turned even whiter.

The attendants escorting him looked puzzled, wondering what was wrong. But the prince's mouth, which looked about to explode, clamped shut in a straight line.

The grip on my shoulders tightened, but seeing his satisfying reaction, I barely felt the pain.

'What a coward.'

Damian's weakness.

'Uncertain, non-existent things.'

In other words, ghosts.

The exact time isn't revealed in the original, but as a child, Damian once saw someone already dead here.

He'd fainted at the sight that only he could see, and after that, he became a coward who feared nothing more than uncertain things.

'That's why he doesn't go out much, they said.'

And that was the reason he started reading books.

Anyway, the place where he'd seen the ghost back then was the third floor of this very mansion.

That's why Damian looked down at me with surprised, fearful eyes.

'I did draw some attention, but….'

This was the imperial palace where Heald resided, and Rahan's private property. He couldn't do anything to me.

I was a bit worried about meeting him again in the future, but by then, he'd be weakened enough that his reputation would suffer if he acted rashly.

As I gauged how far I could go, I weighed the value of repaying his rudeness.

Damian, showing emotional instability as he bit his red lips, leaned his face close to mine.

"You… saw… it, didn't you?"

Without a word, I rolled my eyes at his trembling voice.

His grip on my shoulders tightened.

His fear grew stronger.

'See? Why provoke someone who was minding their own business?'

I held down my lips, afraid they'd curl up.

"You… you can see it… can't you?"

'Huh?'

His tone was strange, wasn't it?

As if he could still see it….

"Your Highness, what brings you here?"

A voice sharp as frost cut between me and Damian.

Slightly pulling back his head, Damian looked alternately at Rahan, who had come out after finishing his conversation, and Marquis Selfios.

In the meantime, Rahan stepped naturally between me and Damian, whose hands were still on my shoulders, and Damian's grip fell away.

'How is he so strong?'

As the thrill of revenge faded, my shoulders ached belatedly.

Meden had told me not to come anymore since I was healthy now, but today I definitely needed to visit the physician.

"I heard Marquis Selfios was here, so I came."

"It must be important business."

"Yes, it is important. Why, are you curious?"

Showing his displeasure at the clumsy interruption, he asked with a crooked smile.

"No. If it were something I needed to know, Your Highness would have come to me."

"Ahem. Your Highness Damian."

At Marquis Selfios's call, the gaze that had been boring through me over Rahan's shoulder finally fell away.

"…Follow me."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Marquis Selfios followed behind Damian.

Now only Rahan and I remained in the quiet garden.

"Are you alright?"

"My shoulders hurt a bit. He must be strong."

At my contradictory answer, Rahan's brow rippled like a wave.

"I apologize. I never expected His Highness Damian to come this far."

"Who could have predicted that?"

I waved my hands, comforting Rahan, whose broad shoulders had slumped in gloom.

My gaze naturally drifted to the third floor of the mansion.

It was just the quiet facade of an ordinary building—nothing out of the ordinary.

'It leaves a strange aftertaste.'

I shook my head, shaking off the lingering unease like a hangnail.

---

Hurrying out of the Rohambriga family's private grounds, Damian looked back again.

With the distance, he could no longer see the mansion clearly.

It was still an unpleasant place.

His brow, naturally furrowed, tensed. Marquis Selfios, who had been watching silently, asked cautiously.

"Your Highness, why did you call me…?"

"His Highness Heald has gone to the prison. That woman asked me to tell you."

At the mention of a visit from Ambrose, Marquis Selfios's face darkened.

If he'd gone so far as to ask Damian to summon him, the matter was serious.

'Did he notice the forbidden magic? No, there's no way he could have realized it yet….'

He entertained the worst-case scenario, then shook his head.

That couldn't be. But confirmation was needed.

Marquis Selfios bowed deeply.

"May I take my leave now?"

"Go."

There was an agreement with Ambrose, so he'd agreed despite the bother. Damian had no interest in whatever Marquis Selfios did.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Forgetting all dignity, Marquis Selfios quickly left the scene.

Damian's mind was elsewhere.

'Was that Princess Vinet?'

The jewel of the empire, the most beautiful woman the world would ever see.

Though Damian was ignorant of the world, many in the palace talked about it, so he naturally recalled what he'd heard, and thought of the woman he'd seen earlier.

Though it was a very long time ago, Damian vividly remembered the days he'd encountered the Duchess of Rohambriga.

The woman wearing the same clothes she had worn back then had caught his eye.

Had the Duchess come all the way here?

At that absurd thought, Damian stopped.

"…Ugly, aren't you?"

To be precise, she was on the pretty side, but she was different from the dazzlingly beautiful Duchess.

A sigh of relief escaped him.

She wasn't the Duchess.

But Damian froze at the princess's subsequent actions.

'Can she see her too?'

The Duchess, still standing there?

He didn't know.

He hated uncertainty.

So he had no choice but to find out for sure.

She'd appear in high society soon enough—it wouldn't take long.

---

"You cursed me out."

"…Why are you picking a fight when I'm just sitting here?"

Startled, I feigned composure, having been silently cursing Vinet in my mind just moments ago.

"Your reaction was slow! So you did! You cursed me!"

"Did what!"

"What did you do to be so proud!"

I'd made a mistake.

I should have sworn Rahan to secrecy, but I hadn't, so news of the Keor incident had reached Vinet's ears.

There's no way she'd think I was just a victim. She knew I must have had some scheme.

Unlike Rahan, Vinet knew me too well, and she nagged me endlessly, saying I shouldn't do such dangerous things no matter what.

If it were just that, I could have taken the first verse to heart and let the rest slide, but Vinet preached about the dangers of the world for three days straight, not letting me go.

'I haven't even seen Rahan's shadow.'

There were so many things I needed to watch and take care of, with Rahan and the servants.

I needed to move efficiently, but thanks to Vinet, I was stuck.

'Who knew I'd get another safety lecture.'

Still, I couldn't ignore Vinet's words, since I had indeed done something to worry her.

My kind nature, unable to coldly ignore Vinet, who was on edge because of my recent kidnapping, was also a problem.

"Listen carefully, even if it's annoying!"

Day one, she thoroughly explained the dangers that could happen in everyday life.

Day two, she explained the dangers of nobles you might encounter by chance on the street.

And today, the third day, Vinet split portraits Ailet had brought into two groups.

The nobles on the right were those to be wary of.

And those on the left were the decent ones.

"Ailet said Lady Cardela is very kind. She said the amount she donates to orphanages is always in the top three."

First, the source being Ailet lowered my trust.

'Being generous with donations doesn't always mean you're kind.'

I itched to object, but fearing Vinet's academic fervor would prolong her speech, I just nodded without complaint.

"Stay away from Count Hipporas at all costs. They said there was a problem just recently…."

Her passionate lecture lasted a full three hours.

"Remember this well. In a big city like the capital, if you're naive, you'll lose everything you have."

Said the princess of the second-ranking family in a big city.

"Don't worry too much. It's not like we'll be staying in the capital forever…."

'Oops!'

I tried to calm Vinet, but some truth slipped in. I quickly covered my mouth.

"Huh? You… you're leaving?"

Startled, I rolled my eyes. Vinet looked as if she'd been hit on the back of the head.

"…You're leaving too, aren't you? You're going back to the duchy, right?"

I quickly recovered.

"Ah! Right!"

Vinet sighed in relief, but her face darkened again.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Ah! I just remembered something—I'll be right back."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Finally, free time.

I answered vaguely and was about to get up when Vinet pushed my shoulder down, making me stay seated.

"You stay here and memorize all of this! I'll be back soon."

Her smile was strangely pressuring.

Defeated by her momentum, I sat back down and started flipping through the portraits Ailet had brought.

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