IWIAHC Chapter 22

A maid's convenience ultimately depended on the head maid's hand, and this was no exaggeration.

Even without inflicting actual harm, she could subtly manipulate the atmosphere among the maids or torment someone with excessive reprimands and nitpicking.

'Head Maid Angela isn't that kind of person, but I've made mistakes, so earning points can't hurt.'

Besides Lily, two kitchen maids gathered food scraps together and stacked dishes to carry to the kitchen.

In the kitchen lit by cheap candles, Angela called to Lily, who was about to wash dishes while she was at it.

"Deliver those to the wall guards."

Where she pointed sat six snack baskets. Bottle necks containing beverages protruded from beneath cloths covering them to keep dust off.

Lily waited briefly for her to call another maid's name as well. If there were six baskets, that meant making a complete circuit of the wall's key points—doing that alone was frankly absurd.

Just circling the wall's perimeter took considerable time. Since she couldn't carry all six baskets at once, multiple round trips would be necessary.

Alone, this late at night? No matter how irritating she'd been lately, surely Angela wouldn't be that cruel...

"What are you doing instead of going?"

Ahaha! She was supposed to go alone!

Lily wanted to cry. This was too much. She'd merely returned one day later than scheduled.

Of course, it shouldn't have happened, and she'd been the one caught by Angela's eye by fussing about cleaning up when no one asked, but...

The punishment was harsher than expected, and Lily felt miserable.

However, Angela wasn't purely angry only about Lily's unauthorized absence.

She'd been criticized by Wolfram for not managing the maids properly during Lily Dienta's unauthorized overnight stay.

And yet after returning, Lily Dienta had embarrassed herself before capital nobility and then, relying on her superiors, gone to laze about with her grandmother—her anger had doubled.

Had Lily known this, she would have used even her mouth to move those baskets without the slightest delay.

Unaware of the circumstances, Lily merely felt aggrieved as she picked up baskets in both hands.

The courtyard that had been brilliantly lit with glass-shaded lamps when banquet guests were present was now frighteningly dark with them gone.

The light from long-legged braziers lit sparsely for patrol and surveillance illuminated the path.

She could have held a lantern in one hand, but then she'd have to make six round trips. Better to grit her teeth and finish quickly.

"I'm not scared. The Sovereign God is with me..."

Lily murmured habitually, then hesitated.

"Even with the Sovereign God present, souls still get extracted."

She trembled with fear as she carried out her errand.

Thus, after finally delivering the last baskets safely, she was exhausted from tension and untimely exercise.

Lily begged and pleaded at the last point to obtain a lantern. Clutching it like a lifeline, she was returning to the dormitory when the main building's outline suddenly came into view in the distance.

'Should I stop by?'

Lily stood and pondered. This was the first time she hadn't met with Aiden for such a long period, excluding her leave. He intensely disliked being alone—she worried whether he was enduring it well.

The surroundings were conveniently this dark, and she was legitimately wandering the castle grounds. It didn't matter if security had begun. Every single window gaped open.

She stopped for quite a while, then shook her head.

'Never mind. If the head maid catches me doing that, this time will truly be disastrous.'

Lily abandoned the thought and moved on. Since all the important people had surely left, she intended to walk the central avenue.

Short roadside trees lined both sides of the central avenue, with a fountain positioned in the middle. To reach the staff dormitory, she'd go to the fountain then head straight west.

She deliberately ignored the dark shadows beneath the trees. And she talked to herself ceaselessly in her mind to prevent the wicked night's silence from capturing her.

'No matter how I think about it, the head maid was too harsh. Wouldn't it have been better to send along even one person to hold the lamp? I could carry the heavy things alone. I want to go in quickly. I'm scared and sleepy and tired and it's a complete mess... Eek!'

Lily screamed—a small, shrill sound not just in her heart but in reality.

Some man was sitting on the fountain railing!

He'd twisted his body to gaze at the water's surface. Thanks to the pouring moonlight, Lily recognized the person's identity.

'Th-that's the Emperor, right? Should I kneel? Right now? Or when I get a bit closer? Did he see me? If he didn't, should I pretend I didn't see him either and change direction? Wouldn't that be better even if it's a bit farther?'

Lily thought without even breathing.

'No, why is he there alone! Without knights! The ghost... is there. Damn it, what should be here isn't, and what shouldn't be here is. What do I do? What on earth?'

Lily searched for an escape route.

Since he hadn't looked this way yet, she'd quietly hide behind the garden trees. Then circle around to return to the dormitory, or if her feet absolutely wouldn't move, wait until the Emperor left.

Even though the tree shadows looked like demon maws, avoiding the Emperor left no other option.

Lily turned her head back to survey the direction she needed to go. Then, just as she was about to check the Emperor's status one last time—

Lily stopped breathing. The Emperor was staring straight at her. He even pointed at her with his finger. It was an irrefusable summons.

'Oh, Lord Lumion, protect me!'

Terrified, she walked toward the fountain. Then, as she'd done during the day, she knelt on one knee before the Emperor and bowed her head.

"I greet the Empire's Sun."

She hoped the trembling voice would be attributed to meeting the supreme sovereign. Not to having seen a ghost.

'It really is the Emperor's soul...'

The ghost she'd glimpsed through slitted eyes before lowering her head had a face identical to the Emperor's.

Filled with rage and resentment, it glared at the Emperor, and unlike the Duke's soul with its pale blue radiance, it glowed dark red.

[My body...]

The ghost muttered as if grinding its teeth, but the Emperor seemed not to care in the slightest. Either he had quite the strong heart, or he couldn't see or hear souls.

Lily hoped the Emperor would leave her there and depart. Or that he'd keep her kneeling as long as he wanted before going on his way.

She wanted to avoid being permitted to rise and having to look directly at the ghost. She had no confidence in managing her expression.

Being caught noticing this inexplicable phenomenon would truly be the worst possible event among all things that could happen.

Fortunately, according to news the stableman had brought, the Emperor had forgotten how to speak, so there'd be no need to serve as a nighttime companion...

"Rise."

The Emperor commanded in a slow, rough voice.

'Can't speak, they said! Forgot how, they said! That man never brings back a single piece of accurate news!'

Inwardly furious, Lily stood. Her head remained directed at the ground.

"A maid?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor's gaze swept Lily from top to bottom. He rose from the fountain and commanded.

"Guide me."

Every word the Emperor spoke was suffocatingly slow. Moreover, 'guide me'? What Imperial citizen used such vocabulary in daily conversation?

The person inside apparently hadn't practiced Imperial language sufficiently yet. His maintaining silence at the Imperial Palace was understandable.

Lily moved perceptively. The only place the Emperor would go this late was the east building where his bedchamber was prepared. Leading the way meant she didn't have to see the ghost, which was at least better.

The Emperor continued speaking to Lily in clumsy pronunciation.

"Pitiable. The Duke's..."

The Emperor deliberated for quite a while before spitting out, "Loss of consciousness."

Perhaps thinking he needn't watch his words before an ordinary maid, the Emperor showed no intention of keeping his mouth shut.

Certainly, an outsider couldn't imagine that a low-ranking maid running errands in the middle of the night was on the same team as the ducal household's leadership.

Lily answered extremely sparingly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You, do you like? Your master?"

She nearly turned around.

'What is this fake Emperor saying? And I feel like I've been asked this question often lately...'

It was an outlandish question enough to make her exclaim, but since the Emperor asked, she had to answer.

'Think, Lily Dienta, think.'

Too Duke-friendly an answer might offend that thing's mood. But fabricating gossip about the Duke didn't appeal to her at all.

She answered respectfully.

"He is a master for whom I'm grateful."

"Grateful?"

"Yesss... Because he provides daily bread and a place to sleep."

Safe, right? No matter who hears it, it's a safe standard answer, right?

"Grateful to the Duke."

The low voice sent chills down her spine. She had a feeling. Her answer was a disaster.

'That little parasite. Even being merely grateful is unbearable to hear?'

If that fake Emperor was truly the heretical cult leader, naturally even the smallest praise toward Aiden would be unbearable.

However, thinking about it again, Lily didn't want to insult Aiden. Even if he wasn't listening.

She bit her lip.

'S-s-so what's he going to do about it? Being grateful to one's employer isn't even a crime. Surely he won't nitpick over this? Surely...?'

Lily walked diligently toward the east building in fear.