Taming the Maid
"...As you requested, I'll make arrangements for you to withdraw from the expedition."
"I'm sorry. I know things are difficult right now..."
"It's all right. Our circumstances are not so dire that you need to worry about us, Lady Valdrova."
"Blancaros warned me."
"Lord Blancaros did?"
Erika could not hide her surprise.
As Iorga's representative, she had regularly attended the Grand Council and had met Blancaros more often than most. She prided herself on understanding his disposition.
"If it were him, I would have expected him to want the Demonic Lands conquered. Why would he oppose you entering them...?"
"He's probably more afraid of me than he is of that place."
"Ah..."
Erika felt foolish for even asking.
One hundred and fifty years ago, during the Dragon-Demon War, there had been one dragon who had achieved the greatest feats of all while simultaneously earning the most terrifying reputation.
Valdrova had stood at the center of both Godwin's death and the fall of Silverwind.
Many humans had died.
Many dragon spawns had died as well.
Once dragon spawns experienced death, they never forgot the one responsible for earning their hatred.
The guardian dragons were hardly on good terms with one another to begin with, yet Valdrova had become despised by all sides, regardless of faction.
Erika herself had hated her for a very long time.
Remembering that made the atmosphere between them feel awkward again.
"How is Iorga?"
Erika flinched.
"She is doing well."
"She's suffering badly, isn't she?"
"..."
What was it about this woman?
No matter how Erika tried, she could not deceive her.
Those innocent-looking golden eyes merely stared at her, yet it felt as though they could see straight through to her heart.
"...As you said, Lady Iorga's condition is not good."
In the end, Erika confessed the truth.
"An aura similar to Lord Godwin's is attempting to consume her, so Lady Iorga chose to enter hibernation."
"I see..."
Valdrova's expression grew heavy.
It was obvious that she was genuinely worried about Iorga.
"There's something I'd like to know. May I ask?"
The fact that she was asking permission sounded strangely awkward.
"Please do."
"...Can you tell me why Iorga killed her fiancé?"
Valdrova knew that Iorga had killed him.
All the dragons knew that much, but none of them knew the circumstances surrounding his death.
Erika hesitated briefly.
Iorga was practically her parent.
A child who spoke ill of their parent would surely invite divine punishment.
Erika chose her words carefully.
"As you know, Lady Iorga stands at the pinnacle of magic. The spells wrought by her hands are purer than any others."
"Yes. That's true."
"Because of that, she wished for her partner to be a long-lived and noble being. She therefore chose one of the high elves as her companion."
"Yes."
"...But her companion could not resist the temptation of magic and committed a taboo. He tampered with Lady Iorga's magic. Enraged, Lady Iorga killed her fiancé with her own hands."
Erika continued.
"That incident also caused relations with the high elves to collapse. They claimed Lady Iorga had lured him into a trap and refused to return his body."
She explained everything she knew.
Valdrova lowered her head, picturing the events in her mind.
"...What was Iorga like afterward?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did she cry?"
Erika could not hide her bewilderment.
"Lady Iorga is always unwavering. She bears her duty more seriously than anyone, so she would never waste emotion on something so trivial."
"Really? Yes... I suppose she wouldn't."
Valdrova's answer sounded unconvincing, as though she were hastily covering up a mistake.
Iorga, crying?
To suggest that the cold and rational Iorga had been overcome by emotion was practically an insult of the highest order.
Had Storeus said such a thing, Erika would have protested even at the risk of her life.
But Valdrova was different.
She sounded like an older sister asking after a younger sibling, worrying about her as though they had once been close.
Perhaps Valdrova knew far more than Erika did.
Erika was curious.
But she did not ask.
Simply standing face-to-face with another dragon like this was difficult enough.
Instead, she changed the subject.
"Then do you intend to continue acting as the armored knight, Lady Valdrova?"
"I don't think I can."
"Pardon? Why not...?"
"The armor is cracked here. I think it might shatter if I put even a little more strength into it."
She held out the gauntlet.
Just as she said, an unnatural crack ran across its otherwise ordinary-looking surface.
Erika suddenly remembered Valdrova stepping forward and clenching her fist earlier.
'The armor Lord Frontesis made cracked just because she clenched her fist once?'
The Bronze Dragon, Frontesis.
He was a godlike blacksmith and the only being capable of working the strongest metal on the Cerdes Continent.
The dwarves worshiped him as a god, and nearly half the legendary treasures appearing in countless heroic tales had been forged by his hands.
'Wait a moment...'
The armored knight was Valdrova.
All the things Erika had been unable to understand suddenly began falling into place.
"Um..."
"Yes?"
"About what happened in the Yin-Yang Chamber..."
"The Yin-Yang Chamber?"
"The underground room you entered together with Regent Ferda."
"Oh. Yes."
"Were you perhaps able to escape because the two of you... shared your affection?"
"Y-Yes?"
Valdrova remembered being trapped inside that sealed chamber.
What came to mind were moist eyes and damp lips.
Yet all Ferda had actually done was tug on her cheeks.
'...Or is that how humans express affection?'
Affection between a man and a woman.
The very words made her heart flutter, but perhaps it was something a dragon could never truly comprehend.
Once she started thinking about it that way, even having her cheeks pulled began to feel unbearably embarrassing.
Valdrova's face turned bright red.
"Maybe... we did?"
Seeing her expression, Erika became certain.
'They did it. They definitely did.'
Even in human society, there was nothing particularly wrong with sharing intimacy with one's fiancé.
More than anything, Erika was relieved to know that Ferda had not been subjected to anything strange.
"Ah."
But Erika was the only person who knew the truth.
"What is it?"
"Do you intend to publicly reveal that the armored knight is you, Lady Valdrova?"
"What? Oh... I probably can't."
Valdrova stammered timidly.
In truth, she was not even supposed to be meeting Erika like this.
She remembered the terrifying look on Luri's face when she had fiercely warned Valdrova never to let Erika or Isabella discover her identity.
"If you continue to hide it, then Regent Ferda may end up in a somewhat..."
"Will there be a problem?"
There certainly would.
Ferda had entered the Yin-Yang Chamber with the armored knight and then emerged with her.
That alone could stain his reputation terribly.
Erika had ordered the expedition members to remain silent, but there was a limit to how long such a secret could be contained.
Rumors traveled faster than feet, and the story was certain to spread in an instant.
"...It is nothing."
Erika concealed the truth.
Nothing would happen.
It had ended as a mere incident at the time, so there was no real need to explain it.
At least, that was what Erika believed.
***
Luri was tidying Ferda's office.
Ferda always managed his office himself, so it remained spotless at all times.
Tidying the room consisted of little more than running a finger across the dust on the windowsill before leaving. It did not even take three minutes.
Even so, Luri had deliberately come inside.
She had no other way to relieve the stress caused by Storeus's pressure.
When she had lived as a warrior, she had vented her anxiety by killing frost giants.
After becoming a maid and living in peace, she had begun dealing with it by eating.
But even those methods had their limits.
The new method she had discovered for relieving stress was Ferda.
Simply lingering near him made her feel at ease.
Of course, Luri herself was not properly aware of that fact.
She merely thought she was behaving as she always did.
'I'm only going to greet him and leave.'
She might end up exchanging a little idle conversation with him, but that was something they always did anyway.
Ferda had probably gone to fetch Mori so they could translate a book.
When he returned, Luri could complain about how he was trying to translate yet another strange book.
There was nothing to be nervous about.
'Perhaps I could talk to him about something like this, as long as it's a book I can read...'
Without thinking, she picked up one of the books he had brought in.
At that moment, the sound of the office door opening reached Luri's ears.
She composed herself, turned around, and prepared to offer a polite greeting.
"Hello, Miss Maid!"
"...It's you?"
The person who entered was Penelope.
"What is with that look? You're staring at me as though I were a cockroach!"
"You are beneath even a cockroach. At least a cockroach can be killed."
"Wow. What a terrifying insult. Comparing a demon to a cockroach?"
Luri gave her a look of utter contempt and waved her hand dismissively, shooing her away.
"Stop loitering around and get out of here. Everyone else is working right now."
"Oh, don't say something so hurtful. I'm working too, you know?"
"You're spouting lies that wouldn't fool a child."
"No, I'm serious! Didn't you know? Despite how I look, I am none other than the—da-da-daaah!—Head of Product Planning for the Hestia Association!"
The company was clearly doomed.
If Luri could still breathe fire, she would have unleashed a satisfying blast right then and there.
Unfortunately, all she could produce was a sigh, so she settled for letting one out.
"Anyway, as Head of Product Planning, I've prepared a wonderful gift for Regent Ferda!"
"What is it?"
"Ta-da!"
Penelope had brought a banner.
Written across it were the words:
—CONGRATULATIONS ON THE GRAND OPENING.
Luri tilted her head at the message.
"Did someone open a tunnel?"
"Yes. I heard rumors spreading everywhere that something had finally been opened up."
What in the world was she talking about?
The smile on Penelope's insolent face bothered Luri for some reason.
And certainly not in a good way.
"I wanted Regent Ferda to be the first to see this. Where did he go?"
"He went to fetch the scribe because he needs a book translated."
"Oh, that cute blonde girl with two mothers?"
"Two mothers?"
"You know. The woman with glasses and the gloomy woman."
She meant Isabella and Echidna.
"Whenever I tried to approach her, both her mothers came over and threatened to kill me. Was I actually allowed to go near her?"
"Do not assume everyone behaves as you do, low-ranking demon."
"Oh, that's so mean. I could be useful too, you know."
Penelope pouted, spoke in a nasal whine, and rubbed her fists against her eyes as though wiping away tears.
Luri seriously considered punching her.
Penelope crept closer and glanced at Ferda's desk.
The books lying there had been brought from the East.
"Huh?"
Penelope recognized the writing.
"These are Eastern characters."
"You can read Eastern writing?"
"Yes. Back when I had nothing better to do, I used to spend my time reading human novels... Huh?"
Penelope's voice abruptly stopped as she read the title of the book.
"What? Why is this here...? Wait. Don't tell me this one too?"
"What is it?"
"No, it's just... a little startling."
Penelope noticed that Luri was holding a book as well.
"Don't tell me that book is also..."
She glanced at its title, looked back and forth between the book and Luri, and broke into a sly grin.
That expression finally struck Luri's reverse scale.
"Why are you making that face?"
"Well, I can't exactly help it. Seeing a dragon spawn even more vicious than us demons holding a book like that somehow suits you. Maybe it's because you have the body of a young girl, but you look like a maiden right in the middle of puberty."
"Should I interpret that as a request to have your spine folded in half?"
"Oh, no, no~ That's not what I meant. Ah, should I tell you? Once I say it, there'll be no going back~"
Penelope's lecherous smile did not fade.
When Luri advanced with the genuine intention of folding her spine, Penelope finally opened her mouth.
"Stop, stop! You don't know how to read Eastern characters, do you?"
"Would I be standing here like this if I did?"
"So you don't even know what the book you're holding is about?"
"No."
"Mm-hmm. Right, of course you don't. That's why—Gack! Fine, I'll tell you! Let go of me! You're crushing my throat! It's going to collapse like a hollow rice cracker!"
She only listened after violence was applied.
Luri loosened her grip.
"...First of all, these are novels."
"Novels?"
"Yes. See this book here?"
Penelope pointed at the book on the desk.
"The title is The Dream of Nine Clouds. You still have no idea what that means, right?"
"What does it mean?"
"Translated loosely, it reads: How I, a Lowly Third-Rate Scholar, Reincarnated as an Invincible General and Slept with Forty-Nine Beauties."
"He became a general and did what?"
"He slept with forty-nine women."
"By slept, you mean..."
"This."
Penelope made an obscene gesture with her hands.
Luri struggled to keep hold of her reeling mind, as though she had just been subjected to a demonic mental attack.
"...So you're saying it is an obscene book?"
"It's erotic fiction."
"...All of them?"
"Yes."
Luri's vision seemed to darken.
Had Ferda gone to fetch Mori so he could read these erotic novels?
He intended to make a young blonde girl translate such filthy content?
'He must not know.'
Ferda possessed common sense.
Even if Mori lacked a proper sense of self, would he really force such a young girl to perform something so indecent?
Her instincts refused to accept it, yet her mind kept trying to rationalize it, creating a terrible sense of dissonance.
"And do you know the reeeal reason I was laughing?"
"...What is it?"
"The title of the book you're holding is..."
Penelope leaned in and carefully whispered the title.
The instant Luri heard it, her usual impassive expression shattered.
"...Do not joke with me."
"I'm not joking. Don't you think this might be fate?"
"Shut up!"
"Gack!"
Losing all reason, Luri seized Penelope by the throat.
"You damned demon! How dare you mock a dragon spawn? I'll kill you right here and correct everything!"
"G-Gack! Help! Somebody help me! Zed! Ferda! Lady Valdrova! Save me—Gweck!"
"...What are you two doing?"
She failed to kill her.
Ferda and Mori had suddenly entered the room.
Ferda's voice startled Luri, and Penelope used the opening to break free.
Luri remained standing with her back turned, while Penelope scampered toward Ferda after finding an escape route.
"Y-You're here! My savior!"
"Speak from a distance. Why are you here?"
"Why else? I am diligently carrying out my duties as Head of Product Planning for the Hestia Association!"
"What duties?"
"I suppose you could say I came looking for inspiration."
Ferda understood immediately.
She was saying that she had been loafing around exactly as she appeared to be.
"Leave if you have no business here."
"Yes, I was just about to. After all, you're about to have some verrry important business of your own, nyahaha—Gueh!"
Penelope's body flew sideways just as she attempted to leave with a smarmy laugh.
Luri had kicked her hard in the ribs and sent her flying.
"You are more violent than usual."
Luri remained silent with her back turned.
"Luri?"
Luri raised her head and looked at Ferda.
Ferda was even more startled when he saw her face.
The businesslike dragon spawn was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, there was only an innocent girl in a maid uniform who looked utterly flustered.
Her silver eyes trembled as though an earthquake had struck, and her face had turned as red as a carrot.
Her lips parted as she released the breath swelling within her startled chest.
Ferda looked at her and reached a conclusion.
"Have you caught a cold?"
"..."
"So even dragon spawns can catch colds. Perhaps you should rest today."
"Isn't that my book in your hands?"
Luri instinctively hugged the book tightly against her chest.
The cursed words Penelope had spoken echoed through her mind.
The title of that book was—
"Give me back the book."
Forty-Nine Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.
Ferda looked as courteous as ever.
That polite demeanor only unsettled Luri further.
Even though she knew how gentle those hands were, they suddenly looked rough and enormous.
Her heart pounded just as violently.
"N-No...!"
Her pronunciation slipped foolishly.
"I need to read that book."
Forty-Nine Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.
"You cannot!"
"Whether I can or cannot, it belongs to me."
"I belong to Lady Valdrova!"
Ferda wondered what nonsense she had suddenly started spouting.
"I brought it here, so the ownership rights belong to—"
"I said no!"
Luri shrieked.
She was so flustered that the horns and tail she normally kept hidden emerged and threatened Ferda.
Ferda stepped back slightly, unable to understand what was happening.
Taking advantage of that gap, Luri scooped every book off the desk into her arms.
Her hair fluttered aside, revealing her face.
"You...!"
With an expression that looked ready to burst into tears, she shouted:
"You perverted masochist!"
After hurling the sudden insult, Luri shot away.
She vanished like the wind before Ferda had a chance to say anything.
Left standing awkwardly, Ferda and Mori looked at each other.
"It seems we no longer have anything to do."
"..."
Mori looked deeply disappointed.
Ferda silently patted her head.
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