Chapter 18
Swish—. Swish, swish.
I moved between the pillars of the main building of the Grand Duke’s castle, scanning the surroundings with sharp, hawk-like eyes. Then I gestured behind me.
“Suon, there’s no one here!”
At my signal, Suon—who had been hiding in the darkness under a pitch-black robe—quickly moved toward me.
After checking the area, he spoke.
“It’s quiet.”
Just as Suon said, the interior of the main building was far less crowded than when I had previously sneaked in to rob the merchant guild leader.
According to Garen, a large number of knights had been dispatched outside to deal with the current supply crisis, which likely explained the emptiness.
“Well, thanks to that, it was way easier to infiltrate the main building than we expected.”
Originally, Suon couldn’t freely leave the annex or set foot in the main building because of the Grand Duchess’s restrictions and orders. Even now, there was a high chance he’d be stopped and chased out by knights or guards if caught.
“Alright, Suon. Let’s keep moving without getting detected and then make a dramatic appearance in front of the Grand Duchess and the vassals. Everyone needs to see with their own eyes that you’re the one who brought the information and evidence to resolve this situation!”
I spoke excitedly, grinning, but Suon replied sternly.
“Lin, our top priority right now is to secure the remaining supplies at the site intact. That matters more to the North than individual credit.”
“Yeah, yeah! I know!”
Just then—
“-so—…”
“…-right.”
We heard murmured voices coming from across the corridor we were crossing.
“…!”
“…!!”
We hid our presence and slipped behind a decorative structure in the hallway.
Soon, royal guard knights appeared at the end of the corridor.
“They suddenly reduced the number of internal-duty knights. Because of that, the castle’s security has gotten really lax.”
“I heard something big happened—something serious enough to give the higher-ups a headache.”
“Really? Did magical beasts appear near the Grand Duchy?”
“No, apparently it’s something about suppressing and searching for a bandit group.”
“What? Bandits? What kind of lunatic would come all the way to the North to rob people?”
The knight sounded incredulous.
And reasonably so. The North was cold, barren, and filled with dangerous magical beasts—not to mention it was the stronghold of the Empire’s most powerful military force, the Northern Knights. Committing banditry here was practically insanity.
“Ahem, I heard this from my cousin who got assigned to the search party. It’s classified, so people are keeping quiet, but apparently there’s been a major issue with the food and military supplies that were supposed to come from the merchant group sent from the capital.”
“What?! If that’s true, that’s a huge problem!”
“Exactly. That’s why the higher-ups are extremely on edge right now.”
“…It feels like all kinds of incidents have been happening in the North over the past few years. Is this really going to be okay?”
“Well… ever since the previous Grand Duke passed away, and the heir has been absent from the castle for so long… not just the knights, but even the vassals have started talking.”
“I see… That’s worrying.”
The two knights, their expressions dark, turned the corner and disappeared.
I, who had been lying flat on Suon’s left shoulder, peeked my head out and said,
“Looks like the Grand Duchess’s side hasn’t found any clues about where the supplies went.”
“Seems that way.”
“Hehe, what would they have done without us, right, Suon?”
I boasted smugly, and Suon glanced down at me before saying,
“Thinking about it now, your getting trapped in that birdcage was quite a fortunate coincidence.”
“It wasn’t coincidence—it was luck. Luck that I brought to you!”
Excited, I zipped up into the air.
“Hey, once this is over, let’s demand a huge reward! And first, we’ll completely upgrade that shabby bedroom and food situation! Then we’ll go into town and buy you some new clothes—”
That’s when it happened—just as I turned the corner while chattering.
Thud—.
“Ugh.”
I bumped straight into something soft.
‘W-what?!’
Looking up blankly at what blocked my path, I met a pair of large brown eyes staring down at me.
It was a curly-haired maid who looked to be in her late teens.
“……”
“……”
‘…I’m screwed.’
I froze.
Suon, who had been following behind me, also froze once he grasped the situation—I could see the whites of his eyes.
“……”
“……”
“……”
A chilling silence fell.
‘How do we fix this…?’
Just as I was thinking that—
“Um…”
The maid carefully opened her mouth.
Her eyes, fixed on me, were sparkling a little too brightly.
“Um… are you perhaps the fairy who lives in the annex?”
“…What?”
Startled, I looked at her again.
‘What? How does she know about me?!’
Then it hit me—the maid looked familiar.
“Huh? You’re…!”
She was the same maid I had seen earlier in the annex kitchen—the one who had said she liked working there.
I muttered suspiciously,
“…Your name was Elda, right?”
The maid’s face lit up with a bright smile.
“Yes! I’m Elda, a maid serving the young lord in the annex! So I wasn’t mistaken that day!”
She examined me up and down with amazement.
“I saw you in the kitchen a few days ago! You were stuck between the ceiling and the wall corner, right?”
“…!!!”
“I thought I imagined it, but it was real! Ahh, this is incredible!”
After that, Elda excitedly chattered, saying I looked exactly like the fairy from a picture book she read as a child and that I was cute, unable to hide her excitement.
Not knowing how to respond, I glanced sideways at Suon.
‘What do we do with her, Suon?’
Suon also seemed at a loss.
‘Should I just knock her out with fangirl powers…?’
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I noticed other servants passing by behind Elda.
I tensed, but Elda spoke.
“Oh, there’s a regular council meeting going on inside, so everyone’s busy.”
“…A council meeting?”
My eyes gleamed.
“Yes. The Grand Duchess and other important figures are attending. They said they were short-handed today, so I got called over too. Oh! What am I doing—I need to deliver these refreshments!”
I looked at the high-quality snacks in her hands.
‘Oh… in that case.’
I quickly changed plans.
Instead of knocking her out, I decided to recruit her.
“Maid Elda.”
I looked at her with a solemn expression.
“You’re right. I am Lin, the fairy who lives in the annex. I am a being sent to this world for Young Lord Suon Luxior.”
“Wow, amazing!”
“I’m here on an important mission.”
“Wow, you’re on a mission!”
“So from now on, you’ll help me.”
“Wow, I’ll help too—wait, me?”
I nodded.
“Yes. You’re originally a maid of the annex, and serving Young Lord Suon is your duty, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
“So you should help us.”
“Us…?”
At my signal, Suon stepped out from around the corner.
Elda’s eyes widened.
“Y-Young Lord?! Why are you here? If others find out, you’ll be in serious trouble!”
Knowing he wasn’t allowed in the main building, she panicked and looked around.
Suon gazed at her and spoke calmly.
“You’re… the one in charge of meals in the annex.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
A brief silence passed.
I poked Suon in the side and gave him a look. He hesitated before stiffly speaking.
“…The soup you make is… decent.”
“…! Th-thank you, Young Lord! I’m so happy!!!”
Overwhelmed with emotion from being praised, Elda beamed.
I quickly stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Alright, Maid Elda. You’ll cooperate for Suon now, right?”
Elda nodded firmly.
“Yes! Fairy! As the Young Lord’s maid, I’ll do my best!”
“Good choice. Just so you know, everything Suon is about to do is for the North anyway.”
“I see! As expected of the Young Lord!”
Elda looked at Suon with shining eyes. Seeing someone admire my favorite like that filled me with pride.
“Hmph, Suon may seem cold, harsh, and blunt on the outside, but as you can see, he’s actually more broad-minded and righteous than anyone.”
Elda nodded vigorously.
“That’s right! He even saved me once before!”
“Huh? Really?”
Elda explained how, when she was newly assigned to the annex, she had been chased by a wild boar in the backyard.
“I thought I was done for, but then Young Lord Suon appeared, drove the boar away, and disappeared.”
‘Ohhh. You did that, Suon?’
I glanced at him—he looked like he didn’t remember at all.
“So please leave it to me!”
“…Good. That’s the spirit. As of this moment, I officially appoint you as Suon’s subordinate.”
“Yay!”
“If things go well, I’ll even make you the head maid of the annex.”
“Yaaay! Thank you! But what should I do?”
“Well, that is…”
I smiled knowingly.
