Chapter 87

After the confession, Catherine left without saying a word. Sure, Karon was urging her on from nearby, but it was also because Lilian didn’t want to hear an answer right away. Had she really not been able to guess Catherine’s feelings at all? Remembering the perplexed expression on Catherine’s face during the confession, Lilian quietly tried to calm her emotions.

Upon returning to the House of Marquis of Portus, Lilian was leading a pretty normal life. That was mainly because the Academy had indefinitely suspended classes due to the rampage of demons. According to the game, the invasion of demons is usually divided into three stages. The first stage involves sneaking into human society and causing chaos. The Church, which is supposed to be affected the most, seemed strangely resilient at this time.

Although the Pope was a human close to the light, he wasn’t entirely devoid of desires, and it seemed he should have been eating away at the Church’s funds by now. Yet, the current Pope appeared completely oblivious. After Catherine left, the last conversation had him seemingly grateful just to maintain his position, which left Lilian questioning.

An unusually well-regulated Church. Yulia, with more divine power than one should normally have after more than three rounds, usually should be involved in some romantic entanglements with the prince or other supporting male characters, yet she strangely stuck to Lilian and Catherine. Was all of this a consequence of her and Catherine’s reincarnation? The chances were low.

With a slight frown, Lilian headed to the library, with a few maids following her, including Marcia. Just before Catherine left, Lilian could faintly recall where she had heard the name Marcia before. It was the name of a maid who had been with Princess Chloe at the time Lilian was executed. It was only mentioned in passing, and since there was no description of her looks, it had just come back to her mind now.

‘Did Princess Chloe assign someone to me?’

Honestly, that was quite likely. Given that Marcia had joined after she entered the Academy, it seemed like there was a need to keep an eye on her even in the mansion. Unlike her siblings, Princess Chloe was meticulous and relied on her instincts. The fact that such a person was keeping a close watch on her meant something had caught her attention.

Had she done something to catch her eye? As Lilian pondered this, she found herself in front of the library and opened the door. Frankly, it didn’t matter if the demons had assigned her. No matter what Princess Chloe was thinking, it was of no concern to her, as she had no intention of clashing with her.

As Lilian stepped into the library and sought out books about demons, all the maids except Marcia quickly exited. It would have been nice if Marcia had followed them out, but she stood still, showing no intention of leaving. There wasn’t a compelling reason to kick her out, but it was certainly annoying. Clicking her tongue, Lilian thought about that.

“…Is there something uncomfortable?”

“No. I’m fine.”

With Catherine gone, it felt like her mood was sinking. It was as if she might revert to being the ‘old Lilian’ all over again. In fact, if she wanted to, she could still act up like she used to. After all, both her past and present selves were her. Thanks to the memories of her previous life, she could at least act like a person; otherwise, the old Lilian had been just as wild as a beast.

In some ways, she’d been even worse, since, while she did maintain etiquette and basic manners, she would bully those weaker than herself and create chaos. Yet inside this house, the only ones who could rein her in were the Marquis and Marchioness, and they kept quiet. Even if they did know their daughter was a bit of a lunatic, it didn’t matter too much. After all, Lilian was the only direct descendant of the House of Portus.

No matter how much the Marchioness threw a fit, she was ultimately an outsider. Their noble status due to being a princess made the Marquis leave her be, otherwise, if she were merely a Duke’s daughter, she would have been kicked out long ago. In fact, it seemed the Marchioness was about to hand her divorce papers at this point.

After perusing the book for a moment, Lilian felt her mood getting worse, so she finally closed it. Tsk! She clicked her tongue again and tossed the book aside. Thud! The hard cover hit the wall and fell with a dull thud. At the same time, Marcia shuddered. She made all sorts of noises in front of Catherine but couldn’t do a thing in front of me. Thinking that, Lilian lazily looked at Marcia.

What to do about her? Should I kick her out? Honestly, it would be easy to discreetly send her away without her realizing that I had noticed her presence. There was no need to find a reason to throw her out. Just saying “you’re fired” would suffice. But right now, Lilian didn’t want to end things so neatly. Yeah. You started this, Chloe.

Honestly, she couldn’t help but dislike the princess. That sly fox would always be chasing after Catherine. They were distant cousins, but Lilian and Princess Chloe weren’t that close. Their mother, who should have been the link, was like that.

“Marcia.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Could you relay a message to ‘Her Highness’ the Princess? Tell her I’ll accept the declaration of war. But I won’t be handing over my maid.”

“…Yes?”

“Are you pretending you didn’t understand? That’s a bit funny, isn’t it? Did you really think I kept you around without realizing?”

“….”

Marcia’s mouth shut tightly. The embarrassment blooming on her face. But even while seeing that expression, Lilian felt nothing at all. The only person who made her feel something was Catherine. That conviction struck her.

“Understood.”

“Good. From today, you’re to leave the mansion. I’ll inform the head maid.”

“…Yes.”

With her head down, Marcia responded, and Lilian quietly turned her gaze out the window. It was raining.

The blade flashed. Along with it, the head of a man with horns sprouted from his head fell. Simultaneously, it pierced his heart. One life ended, and with it, the deaths of countless others that might arise in the future. But that wasn’t the end; the sword moved again. In mere seconds, multiple heads fell with several strikes in quick succession. Each of those heads had horns on them.

The demons moved in ways that surpassed humans, but they were no match for the woman who had already surpassed humanity. Leading the charge while wielding the sacred sword wrapped in the saint’s reinforcement spell, the woman’s attire resembled something from old legends.

A wide dress mixed with black and white. A cap on her head. Blood splattered across her clothing, yet her outfit remained pristine. The scene was certainly bizarre. A woman in a blood-stained maid outfit darted across the battlefield, beheading demons. Watching this, Yulia let out a small sigh. She recalled Catherine, who had adamantly refused to wear armor, insisting she was a maid.

The blade flashed again. With just one swing of two swords, a demon’s life was taken. It was precisely the kind of scene that felt like something out of an ancient tale. Just like a butcher, she tore the lives of the demons away, one by one. But if she were to express that sentiment out loud, Catherine would say this.

“I’m a maid.”

Given Catherine’s bizarre obsession with her identity as a maid, it wasn’t hard to understand why that strange sight didn’t seem out of place. Moreover, considering how incredibly beautiful she was, there was nothing more to say. In reality, the soldiers were lifting their spirits just from watching her.

Yulia’s divine power spread across the battlefield. The wounds of the injured soldiers healed in an instant, and they rejoined the fight against the demons. As long as they didn’t die instantly, the soldiers wouldn’t face death; a strange circumstance unfolded where there were deaths but no injuries.

Since the demons couldn’t regenerate their wounds unless they were dismembered simultaneously in the heart and head, a similar pattern of deaths but no injuries occurred on their side too. At least one could be relieved by having the Maid Hero on their side.

The enchanted sacred sword shone with a white light as it cleaved through demons. Just from her silhouette, faith spread throughout the battlefield that they could win this war. Only then did Yulia fully understand what being a ‘Hero’ truly meant.

Dressed in armor and raising the holy sword, Jeron couldn’t instill that faith in the soldiers like she could. He had just positioned the soldiers in front of him, preoccupied with taking credit for his achievements.

Claiming to be a maid, yet acting more heroically than anyone else. With such a figure leading the way, Yulia couldn’t help but think, maybe this time, they really could not just seal the Demon King, but actually defeat him. With that thought, she unleashed the divine power swelling within her.