Chapter 54

The next day, I trudged around looking for Yulia but couldn’t find her anywhere. Lilian had given me some pocket money, telling me to take a break, but I wasn’t really in the mood to play, so I slowly headed toward the hotel where Lilian was staying.

Where on earth could Yulia have gone? I just didn’t understand. While I aimlessly wandered the streets, I suddenly heard a sharp voice cutting through the air. It was a familiar voice.

“Let go of this!”

“Shut up! You commoner, you paid her, didn’t you? You’re close with that maid!”

…Hmm, that must be about me, right? Casually moving toward the direction of the voices, I spotted two familiar faces. One had a greedy expression packed with arrogance—Charles Garington. The other, looking a bit frowny but undeniably beautiful, was Yulia.

“Catherine is Lilian’s maid! How could I possibly be close to her, given that Lilian and I are at odds?!”

I knew she was making excuses, but it still stung a little. As I looked around, I decided to watch the growing crowd. If Charles Garington was indeed a noble who valued his noble obligation, he wouldn’t lash out at someone in the middle of the street. With that thought, I glanced back at Yulia, who seemed startled to see me too. I tried to wave my hand to reassure her.

“What are you looking at…! You, maid!”

“Oh, crap.”

Busted. Not that it was a problem being caught. Lilian had smoothed over the report made by the neighborhood watch, and Charles Garington was still injured. It would be impossible for someone as weak as Yulia, let alone me, to suffer violence from him.

“Y-you! So you’re all in cahoots!”

As Charles spoke, he raised his hand. This crazy guy, is he even a noble? Suddenly panicked, I threw myself in front of Yulia before my brain could process anything.

*Smack!* My cheek felt on fire, as if it had been scorched by flames. Right after, the pain hit me, and I thought, “Wow, I really got hit, didn’t I?” Why wasn’t my mana reacting at a time like this? Spitting blood on the ground, I glared at Charles Garington. My facial muscles may have been slack, but I still mustered an intimidating glare, enough for him to take a step back.

His noble honor was already trampled into the mud. I wondered how he would act next. Given that he had already hit me, I’d be more than willing to retaliate. With my maid kick and maid punch, I could take down someone like Charles Garington in three seconds flat.

“…Looks good on you.”

“You think it looks good? This is the second time, Count.”

My body shuddered at the chilly voice. Yulia slowly spat out her words, as if savoring them. But Charles Garington arrogantly held his head high, seemingly oblivious.

“What’s it to you, a worthless commoner?”

Yulia’s hands cupped my face, and a warm white light began to flow from them, healing my cheek. The wounds disappeared, and the ruptured capillaries inside my mouth were mended. People began to murmur in amazement. I was witnessing the divine miracle that I had only heard about in tales.

“….”

Even Charles Garington looked surprised and widened his eyes as he stared at Yulia. I turned my head slightly to glance at her. Yulia, usually beaming with sunshine, wiped away her smile and glared at Charles with an icy stare colder than frost. After a moment of staring him down, she firmly grasped my wrist. It didn’t hurt, but the suddenness startled me as I followed her, feeling dazed.

“What were you thinking jumping in like that?”

Her voice was cold, but I could sense her warmth beneath the concern. I played it cool and answered as usual.

“Well, if I didn’t jump in, Yulia would’ve been the one to take the hit.”

“Even so, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“But Yulia, you can’t heal yourself.”

“I can do it.”

Letting out a small sigh, Yulia retrieved a dagger from her belongings. Startled by the sudden appearance of the weapon, I looked at her only to see her swiftly slice her palm. Without even a grunt, she injected her divine power into her palm, which began to rapidly heal.

“You definitely said you couldn’t use it.”

“Now I can. So please, don’t take the hit for me, okay?”

“I can’t promise that.”

With my honest answer, Yulia shot me a slight glare before finally exhaling a long sigh. She looked just like a kindergarten teacher dealing with a hopeless child, which made me chuckle a little.

“Well then, try to get hurt in front of me at least. I’ll heal you. Just like last time, don’t get hurt and left behind somewhere. Got it?”

“Cough syrup usually does the trick; no need to use divine power.”

“….”

At my response, Yulia flashed a little smile. The usual warm sunshine smile was replaced with a blizzard-like grin, and I quickly nodded in response. Then, with a smile just like her usual self, she gently took my hand.

“Yeah. Good. I want Catherine to value herself more.”

“I think I value myself just fine already.”

“I want you to value yourself even more. More than Lilian or me.”

Hmm, that’s rather difficult. As I hesitated to respond, Yulia’s expression turned slightly sad, and she added, “Forget it.” What was with that expression? I couldn’t understand.

“Oh, right. I was actually looking for you.”

“Looking for me? For what?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s a bit awkward to talk about here. Is there a place where not many people go?”

“…Hmm, how about my room?”

After a moment of contemplation, Yulia added that it was nearby. Her room, huh. Since it was just a hotel room, it didn’t matter much. I nodded, and Yulia smiled, intertwining her arm with mine. Off we went toward Yulia’s room.

#

Yulia, casually locking her arms with mine, studied Catherine’s expression. Granted, Catherine’s face was mostly emotionless, but she still revealed small emotions. Feeling slightly frustrated by Catherine’s blank stare, Yulia pressed her body against her. Her soft chest pressed against Catherine’s slender arm.

Though her face burned slightly, Yulia didn’t let it show and wore her usual smile. Catherine, however, seemed to feel no discomfort as she subtly moved her arm away from Yulia. Hmm, maybe I overstepped? Yeah, definitely, went too far. With that thought, Yulia chuckled a little.

Catherine. Throughout this cycle, she had always remained by Lilian’s side, a maid with inscrutable intentions. The deadpan expression was one reason, but her often unpredictable actions didn’t help either.

It hadn’t been long since Yulia discovered that Lilian was half-controlled by Catherine and a prince from the duchy. It was probably due to their clandestine maneuvers in darkness, but Yulia’s lack of interest in another’s affairs also played a role.

As long as she behaved properly, all evidence against Lilian would surface, and she would disappear like morning fog. Did Yulia care for such people every round? Absolutely not. Though curious about why Lilian hated her, she had no intention of digging deeper.

Yet within the relentless loop, feeling exhausted, Yulia began to investigate, ultimately landing upon the two. More beautiful and dignified than any noble—Catherine was one of those rare beauties.

Having encountered plenty of handsome men and beautiful women throughout the cycles, Yulia found that Catherine was among the rarest of beauties. Suddenly, a thought struck her: What if Yulia attempted to woo Catherine?

Of course, it wouldn’t be an easy path. Although Yulia had plenty of experience in relationships, every one of those relationships was platonic, with not even a kiss in sight. Plus, Catherine was solely devoted to her master, making Yulia’s attempts to get close end in failure again and again. By the last cycle, she had pretty much given up…

“Yulia, Yulia?”

This round, something had clearly changed with both Lilian and Catherine, as they both were acting quite differently than usual. Catherine’s expression remained vacant, yet her demeanor seemed warmer, and Lilian maintained her poise as an aristocrat but acted much more kindly.

Was it a trap? Yulia briefly considered that, yet past experiences told her neither was the type to be duplicitous. Especially with Catherine’s actions today, Yulia felt reassured that they weren’t putting on a facade.

“Yulia!”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Turning at her name, Yulia noticed Catherine pointing toward the room door.

“We’ve arrived… What’s wrong? You look so spaced out.”

“Oh, sorry. Just lost in thought for a moment.”

“Ah, that happens.”

Seeing Catherine nod at Yulia’s excuse, Yulia felt a little embarrassed and quickly opened the room door to step inside. As the door slowly closed behind the two, they disappeared inside.