One Pain After Another

Without giving me a moment to rest, she dragged me to none other than the training grounds.

It was an enormous, lavish place, with all kinds of weapons strewn about.

This definitely wasn't an ordinary training ground.

"What are we doing here?"

"An assessment of your abilities. Choose any weapon you like. I'll use a sword."

"Haa... All right, then."

I had to test my talent eventually, anyway.

But I didn't want to do it when I was exhausted and in the worst possible condition.

'But what's this person's name? Did she tell me and I just forget?'

I deliberated for a long time in front of the rows of weapons, then made up my mind and picked one up.

"Are you sure you want to use that?"

"Yes."

"Then here I come!"

The sword came straight at me, then sailed right over my head...whoa.

-Clang!

I knocked away the incoming sword with the haft, then brought it down in a single strike.

The weapon I'd chosen was an axe.

A huge, hefty axe, at that.

When I was in the annex, I never skipped training, and the axe had been my favorite weapon.

It cut through my pent-up frustration so satisfyingly that I often used one.

'More than anything, it looks cool.'

I adjusted my grip on the axe and swung it upward.

It was a technique that normally required a great deal of strength, but as my talent awakened, my strength rose above an ordinary person's. For me, this was now as easy as breathing.

-BOOM!

But maybe I'd put too much strength into it.

My opponent took the full force of my attack, flew backward, and slammed into the wall.

"Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine. Let's keep going."

"You don't have to push yourself..."

Please, don't make me push myself. Just let me go rest.

"This time, I'll be serious."

"Yes."

In novels and manga, people always say they're going to get serious.

And every time, I used to think:

'Why not just get serious from the start and beat them?'

It was a very simple thought, but it wasn't wrong, was it?

-Whoosh!

I narrowly dodged the sword coming at me at high speed and swung my axe.

But my opponent easily evaded it, wearing a relaxed expression.

There was, however, one thing she didn't know.

-Whoosh!

"Aaaah!!!"

"Ah, I'm sorry!"

That what had looked like a casual swing just now was actually the full force of my attack.

And there was something even I hadn't known.

Apparently, the wall of the mansion in the direction I'd swung the axe had split apart.

I can't just swing this thing around without thinking, or something terrible will happen.

"Wait here! I'll go change clothes and come back!"

"O-Okay."

And so I was left with yet another endless wait.

At this point, was she doing this to me on purpose?

How many times had I been left waiting today?

"Follow me."

"Yes."

Fortunately, she returned before long, took my hand, and led me somewhere.

The place I was dragged to was none other than an ordinary dressing room.

On a hunch, I looked in the mirror and saw a beggar standing there—and that beggar was me.

My clothes were stretched out and tattered, with tears in several places.

Maybe it was from struggling with Rael.

"Change into these for now."

"Ah, thank you."

"Shall we at least introduce ourselves?"

"Sure."

While I changed into the new clothes, we chatted.

The person put in charge of my training was named Veronica.

She was responsible for training all the maids in the main residence.

'If I can get on her good side, life here should be easier.'

The new clothes were much lighter than my old ones and easier to move in.

After I finished changing, I followed Veronica and began my training.

From combat training to cleaning, then the layout of every room and the placement of everything in the mansion.

She also began explaining everything a personal maid was expected to do.

The thought that I'd have to do all of that from now on was utterly bleak.

"Next, we'll move on to etiquette training."

"Could I take a little break...?"

"Let's finish this, then you can rest."

"Yes..."

Even the rote-learning education in South Korea hadn't been this intense.

My wish to please let me rest turned to dust and vanished on the wind.

The training that began when the sun was at its highest continued until night had fallen and grown late.

By then, my mental state had already been completely shredded.

"That's all for today. You'll start working in earnest tomorrow, so get plenty of rest."

"By the way, where is the room I'll be using?"

"The maids' quarters are at the very end of the first floor."

"Understood."

As soon as Veronica disappeared, I sank to the floor right where I stood.

The final lesson had been combat and dark arts, so both my body and mind were practically in tatters.

I barely managed to haul my swaying body upright and head for my room.

Right now, all I could think about was washing up and sleeping.

"You call this being a maid, but it's no different from being a slave."

I wanted to drink and forget everything.

I wished I could just black out completely and remember nothing.

.

.

.

The next day arrived, as it always did.

"Damn it. Why does my back hurt so much?"

I ignored the screams of every muscle in my body from yesterday's accumulated exhaustion and headed to the bathroom.

While washing, I felt a faint pain from the mark on my stomach.

Every time I looked at it, it felt like all the strength drained from my body. It didn't seem to be my imagination.

'I can't let anyone find out about this, even if it kills me. The day they find out will be the last day of my life.'

I steeled myself to never let it be discovered, no matter what, and went to work as I'd been taught yesterday.

My first day as a personal maid involved a simple task that I hated.

I can't believe I have to come here of my own accord.

What I had to do now was help the young duke get ready to go out.

It was something I had to do every morning.

Since things had come to this, I might as well get it over with quickly.

I knocked lightly on the door and called inside.

"May I come in?"

"Come in."

When I opened the door and entered, I saw Rael wearing nothing but a robe.

It didn't take long to figure out what all the clothes strewn around him were for.

I'd seen several maids passed out around the bed.

"Wake those maids up and send them back. Clean the room, too."

"Understood."

Without saying a word, I quietly cleaned the room, woke each maid sprawled there as if unconscious, and sent them away.

My body still wasn't back to normal, but the pain from the mark that had been bothering me all night suddenly disappeared, and I felt a little better.

Just a moment ago, I was burning up and in agony.

"If you're done, come here."

At Rael's command, I approached him, and he immediately wrapped an arm around my waist.

He held me close and pulled me toward his face.

"Let go of me."

"Are you giving your master orders?"

"I never said I'd serve you as my master."

"Then I'll teach that body of yours who your master is."

"Ugh...!"

"You talk like that, but you seem to be enjoying it."

He began groping me and biting the nape of my neck.

I tried desperately to push him away, disgusted, but for some reason I couldn't muster any strength.

Could coercive force be working even in a situation like this?

In the end, I gave up resisting and simply endured everything Rael did.

Even as I endured it, the disgusting sensation and faint pleasure kept gnawing at my mind.

Just as my patience reached its limit and I was about to snap, he stopped.

"We're going out today, so get ready."

"....Understood."

I didn't know why he was acting like this.

If I knew why he was doing it, at least I could figure out how to deal with it.

But how could I possibly know what was going on in this scoundrel's head?

With me in such a thoroughly subordinate position, all I could do was obey his orders.

[Coercive force has increased by 0.9%]

More than anything, this message made one thing certain.

If I refused or tried to resist Rael's orders or actions, my coercive force increased.

So if I resisted carelessly, the coercive force would rise and take away my will.

'I have to find a way. I can't keep living like this.'

Thinking that, I took off Rael's robe.

Changing his clothes and preparing his meals were also tasks I, his personal maid, had to do.

If those seven years had been like heaven to me, then life here was like hell.

After I took off his robe, I saw that his body was better than I'd expected.

I guess it's no lie that he's the protagonist's rival and is called a genius at the academy.

'Why am I even admiring him?'

I snapped back to my senses, fetched his clothes for going out, and dressed him.

This was my first time dressing someone else, but thanks to the crash course I'd gotten yesterday, I managed without much trouble.

"Oh? You're good for a first-timer."

"....."

"Can't you at least say something?"

"Thank you."

"Never mind. You're no fun. Get ready to go."

"Understood."

I had no intention of prolonging a conversation with him.

After what he did yesterday, just looking at his face made me feel disgusted.

'Speaking of which, we're going out.'

I wonder if I'll be all right, since I've never left the ducal estate before.