Chapter 28 – Maid Number 2
by Polar Bear
It might not be the best time to say this, but…
For something I blurted out in panic, it was quite a decent suggestion.
Well, thanks to my disgustingly bad luck, I ended up seeing Sophia feeding, and if left alone, she’d obviously turn evil. Rather than that, controlling her as a maid would—
“Haha.”
That’s impossible, right? I know it’s absurd. This is different from Ishia. With Ishia, it was a fair fight. This is practically blackmail, so there’s no way it would work.
“I guess it won’t work after all?”
“Right.”
Sophia said with a bright smile. She’s disgustingly pretty. Damn it.
Eventually, spears of blood shot up from beneath my feet. There wasn’t even time to dodge. Even if there was, I couldn’t have dodged anyway, but the spears criss-crossed around me as if to bind me, barely missing.
I almost wet myself.
[I didn’t do anything, meow.]
Not Lachesis then. Did Sophia do this? As if answering my question, she walked toward me step by step.
Her friendly smile was gone now, replaced by a frozen expression as she approached slowly. What should I do? I really might wet myself.
I’d rather not soil my pants at age 25.
“You saw?”
Of course I did. Well…
“I thought I said I’d pretend I didn’t see?!”
“You saw?”
Ignoring my words? She seems to be asking ‘Why did you look?’ I didn’t want to see either. If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have done such a thing.
“Why… did you look?”
“I didn’t want to see either? But? I respect you. Vampires are also a race. Don’t be too disheartened, and maybe you shouldn’t think too extremely. Let’s think about this rationally. The future, right. For the future—”
“If you saw, I have no choice but to kill you.”
She’s not even listening to me. I gave such hopeful words too. I’m so scared I’m automatically speaking formally.
“I definitely put up magic. To prevent entry.”
I can’t tell her I broke it. So I whistled while looking elsewhere. I don’t know anything.
“But. But why? What are you going to do? My efforts? All my efforts to blend naturally into human society? What are you planning to do about that?”
“If you become my maid, I’ll take responsibility—”
“Yeah. Die.”
She smiled brightly as if she didn’t even want to hear it. Not the friendly smile from before, but a frozen smile.
Before I could even get goosebumps from that smile, something shot out from Sophia’s hand.
Dripping saliva, sharp fangs, fierce eyes and savage howls.
A wolf. A wolf shot out. Summoning without incantation isn’t magic but a vampire’s authority.
“W-Wait?! Let’s stay calm. Killing me won’t solve anything. It’ll only make things worse?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make everyone forget you with my Demon Eyes.”
“Would that even be possible?!”
Did my cry, my desire to live, reach her? Sophia paused briefly and seemed to think deeply about something.
“Yeah. I guess that wouldn’t work after all.”
Oh. Is she finally being reasonable? Good. Let me explain the situation. If you become my maid, I absolutely won’t tell anyone you’re a vampire—
“Then what should I do. I’ll just kill you and die too.”
“What?”
I asked back in shock, but Sophia spoke as if it was nothing. Her eyes look dead? There’s no life in them?
She seems to be having extreme thoughts right now?
“Humans can’t be trusted. That’s what I’ve learned living for over 10 years. Now that I’ve been discovered, I have nowhere to go. Rather than going back, I might as well kill you and die too. It’s all over now. It’s all over.”
What kind of distrust is this? Sophia stretched out her arm. There’s no hesitation. She really seems intent on killing me.
Oh. God.
Am I going to die like this? Still, I should struggle.
“Lachesis—!!”
[Meow.]
I hear Lachesis’s response at the same time as my call. The wolf running toward me doesn’t—fall?
“”Huh?””
The word came simultaneously from both my and Sophia’s mouths.
“Kiii… kiing…”
The wolf cowered in fear. I looked at Lachesis in confusion, but.
[It’s not me, meow. I haven’t done anything yet, meow.]
What is it? Has my inner conqueror’s aura awakened? Should I now easily subdue the wolf and say ‘Too slow’?
[Little one. You seem to be in danger.]
And as if mocking such foolish thoughts, a voice was heard. A beautiful tone.
A voice neither male nor female, both solemn and benevolent.
It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a while.
[I wake up briefly and you’re almost in big trouble.]
***
“What, what’s wrong?! Carolus Parvulus!!!”
Is that really the wolf’s name? It’s not, right? If it is, reflect on your naming sense. Please. Because I’ve never named a wolf?
Because that wasn’t my doing?
“What did you do to Carol!!”
Sophia glared at me and shouted. I didn’t do anything. The cause is probably—
[That child is a vampire. A True Ancestor vampire. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one.]
This one, right? Because it’s a being that reigns several dimensions above that wolf. It seems to have cowered just from the unconsciously emitted mana.
“Benia. Can’t you come out of the inventory?”
[I could. I could, but if I do—]
She seems to want to say that demons would detect her location. Hmm.
“Then. Fear?”
[Fear should be fine.]
“Good.”
“Who are you talking to? Right now? Even if you call for reinforcements, it’s useless.”
That’s not it. With Benia’s appearance, it seems Sophia has finally decided to talk. I’m glad the wolf cowered.
“Sophia. I really have no intention of telling anyone.”
“Liar.”
It’s true. There’s nothing good about telling – it would only speed up your turn to evil.
“Then let’s do this. I’ll tell you one of my secrets too. Let’s call it even. It’s time for that secret-sharing game high school girls like. You know the truth game?”
“Are you playing with me right now? I can kill you even without Carol.”
That’s true. I’d probably die instantly from one magic hit. But you know. My secret is quite big.
“Let me tell you, my secret is bigger than yours. So big that after knowing it, you’ll have to become my maid. How about it? Don’t you want to know? Isn’t it tempting?”
“Not at all.”
She’s deploying magic again. Looking at the mana gathering around Sophia, I opened my [Inventory]. Further dialogue seems pointless. Since Benia is awake, let’s do this easily.
What’s the easiest way to untie a thoroughly tangled string?
It’s pulling the string. Just crush it with force.
[Little one. I’ll protect you with my blessing, but be careful.]
“Yeah.”
I thought it wouldn’t be much, but it didn’t take long to regret this action.
Should have gone about this more carefully.
[You resist the status effect “Fear” due to the Dragon’s Blessing.]
I almost drew a map in my pants.
***
True Ancestor vampire.
In other words, Vampire Lord.
A being different in rank from the beginning, born destined to reign over all vampires.
That’s why True Ancestors are all arrogant and presumptuous.
And for good reason – how often in their lives would they meet beings of higher rank than True Ancestors?
Dragons rarely leave their nests. Demons cannot directly rule the human world.
As they say, in a cave without tigers, the fox is king.
Sophia was the same.
She was arrogant. Presumptuous. She lived thinking there were no beings stronger than herself.
But.
What kind of situation is this? Her snow-white knees touch the ground. Her heart, which she thought would never race, is beating wildly.
The despair, anger, and emptiness she felt until just now are all gone.
She feels only one thing.
Fear.
The primal scream that her very existence could disappear. She can’t breathe. The knees touching the ground tremble. When she forces herself to raise her head and look ahead, she can’t see.
All she sees is the black-haired man. However, she can see.
The sharp eyes characteristic of reptiles.
A higher being looking down at her.
She could instinctively understand. This isn’t power that man could produce. This is.
“Dragon.”
“Now you know my secret too? We’re even?”
When Lee Seonghoon grinned, as if by magic, the pressure crushing her body disappeared. Her trembling body regained stability, and her wildly racing heart calmed down.
Sophia could only look up at Lee Seonghoon. Her body still wouldn’t move well.
“You. What exactly are you?”
“Is that important right now?”
Lee Seonghoon approached Sophia, who was kneeling with both knees and leaning forward in what’s commonly called the little mermaid pose.
The spears that were binding him had melted away like snow at some point.
“Will you be a maid? Or not?”
“…..”
When she first heard about being a maid, she thought it was absurd. She felt anger to the point of wanting to kill him, and had promised herself to break ties with human society.
—Let me tell you, my secret is bigger than yours.
It was true. It wasn’t a lie to escape the situation.
A secret related to dragons. What exactly is this man’s identity?
‘I see.’
Now she understands. The scattered puzzle pieces fit together in her head.
Being able to resist her Demon Eyes, being able to defeat Ishia. The reason he could enter the room she had blocked with magic.
The reason the blood spears just disappeared.
If it’s dragons, it explains everything. For unknown reasons, he is with dragons.
But that doesn’t mean she can trust humans. If he gets bored after playing around with her as a maid.
The future is obvious. She’ll be abandoned and buried in human society.
Should she cling to hope with a predetermined future, or shake it off and disappear right now?
“Hey. Looks like you’re thinking strange thoughts.”
“…?”
Lee Seonghoon squatted down, breaking through Sophia’s serious thoughts.
“I’ll swear on the dragon’s name. That I won’t tell anyone about you being a vampire.”
“What..?”
Swearing on the dragon’s name. That means being bound by the “Dragon’s Word”.
Dragon’s Word.
Dragons blessed with mana can cast magic just by speaking. Therefore, covenants made with them become contracts, become shackles. Because dragons value promises, the price is also severe.
It could mean losing magic power, losing martial arts skills built up over a lifetime, or losing one’s life.
Why go that far? She couldn’t understand. But there was no hesitation in his eyes.
“Will you be a maid?”
At the question asked once again, Sophia could only nod.
If he would go that far, maybe it would be okay to trust him just once. Just this one time.
“Good, looking forward to working together. Maid Number 2. From now on, address me as Master or Sir Seonghoon.”
Should I quit?
***
[Little one. Such words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly.]
“I know. But it’s fine. Because I really won’t tell.”
She wouldn’t have believed me otherwise. Think about it. Sophia is a mid-boss.
What I mean is, if I take care of her and prevent her from turning evil, Kim Taehyun’s opportunities to get stronger will decrease.
The Sophia episode was probably a story where Kim Taehyun would gain a new skill and grow mentally while defeating Sophia.
Isn’t it simple to think of it as stealing one skill? Plus, isn’t having Sophia as a maid like gaining a powerful army?
She’s strong. Because she’s a mid-boss.
I should make her fight instead of me when it’s dangerous.
I thought that while smiling broadly. I reached out my hand to help up Sophia, who still couldn’t get up.
“Th-Thank you very much.”
“Huh? Why suddenly so formal?”
“Because I’m a m-maid now… sir.”
“Ugh. No. No no. Don’t do that, it’s cringy. I already have a formal-speaking duo making things confusing, so just speak like you usually do.”
Sophia nodded at my words. She’s become strangely obedient. Dragon power is amazing.
“Whoa?! What happened to the club room?! We just cleaned it!! Seonghoon, what did you do?!”
“What’s this.”
Speak of the devil – looking at the formal-speaking duo who had returned somehow, I said.
“Kids, let me introduce you. This is our Maid Number 2.”
“”What?!””
It’s a bit awkward when they’re both surprised at the same time.
I knew she would immediately regret it. XD