The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 53

Young Esmela’s gaze followed the voice to a woman sitting up in a white canopied bed.

First impression? A delicate woman in her late twenties, as fragile as a flower about to wilt.

Originally, her blonde hair would have shone brightly, and her skin would have glistened like a flowing river.

However, illness had turned her beauty into something thin and gaunt.

Nevertheless, the way she smiled at her daughter with her disheveled hair and white nightgown still held the grace of a noblewoman.

“Esmela.”

“Yes, Mother.”

When Lady Herve called Esmela’s name again, Esmela answered with a cheerful voice and scampered over to her bedside.

“Mother, can I sit next to you?”

“Of course.”

Before Lady Herve could finish granting permission, Esmela had already hopped up and planted herself beside Lady Herve’s head.

“Mother, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling much better. Plus, I’ve gotten to see my lovely Esmela, which gives me even more strength.”

“Hehe.”

Esmela giggled at her mother’s response.

Lady Herve looked at her innocent smile with a wistful gaze.

“But Mother, you said you had something to tell me?”

“Yes…”

Esmela tilted her head as she watched her mother hesitate before speaking.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um. It’s nothing. Esmela, do you remember the maid with the black bobbed hair among the servants?”

“Of course, I know her. She’s the one who always attended to you. But I don’t like her very much.”

“Oh my, why is that?”

“She’s scary. She speaks coldly and always glares at me.”

“Oh… I see, someone who doesn’t know her might feel that way. But Esmela, she isn’t a scary person. It’s just her natural voice and looks that give off that impression; in reality, she’s someone who works diligently for the House of Herta.”

“…Hmm~”

Even with the Duchess’ explanation, Esmela merely pouted while swinging her feet back and forth, her heels a good two hands-width above the floor.

“Well then, Esmela. Do you know her name?”

“No…”

“Then you should know it now. Her name is Elina.”

“Does she not have a last name?”

“No… not for now.”

“So, is she a commoner then?”

“Well…”

Lady Herve trailed off, avoiding a clear answer with her ambiguous tone.

“But Mother, why do you ask about that maid?”

“I want to ask you one thing regarding Elina.”

“What is it?”

“Starting tomorrow, she will be attending to you. So…”

“Wh-What!?”

Esmela gasped in surprise, crawling up the bed to bring her small, red face close to Lady Herve’s.

“Why suddenly? Why?”

“Esmela, your mother is talking.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

With a gentle yet firm reprimand, Esmela shrank back to her original spot.

“As I mentioned earlier, Elina is a trustworthy servant. Even though you might find her scary now, you’ll come to realize how loyal and reliable she really is if you spend time with her. And, remember how you wished your father would have a personal maid?”

“That’s true… but…”

“Oh, Esmela. Do you still dislike her?”

“No. If you like her, then I do too. But still, I don’t know anything about that Elina maid…”

Esmela replied, sticking out her lower lip.

“Ugh…”

Lady Herve sighed softly, as if contemplating something, and then seemed to make up her mind.

“Then, Esmela, if I tell you about her, do you think it might help you be less scared of her?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good. So, what do you want to know about her?”

“Um…”

Little Esmela rested her chin on her finger, deep in thought.

“Then how did that maid come to our mansion?”

“Ah, good question. Let’s see… the first time I met her was about nine years ago, shortly after I married your father and moved into this mansion.”

As Lady Herve reminisced about the past, Esmela crawled up to sit snugly next to her mother again.

Because Esmela loved listening to her mother tell old tales.

“Probably, it was snowy that day… I had gone out to run an errand in the royal capital’s shopping district, and was on my way back. While walking the streets to get back into my carriage, I came across Elina. Yes. I was genuinely surprised then.”

Lady Herve’s eyes glazed over with memories.

“Why were you surprised?”

“Well, I unexpectedly locked eyes with a girl standing quietly, staring at me from deep in a dark alley, how could I not be startled? At first, I thought she might be a beggar hoping for a penny, but when I got closer, I realized that wasn’t the case.”

“Why not?”

“She was wearing a black dress.”

“A dress? Just like us?”

“Yes. Although it was an old style that had become out of fashion for a long time, and the dress was worn down and poorly maintained, it was indeed a dress that we nobles would typically wear, just in a very dark form fitting to her hair color.”

“So, that means that Elina was watching you from that alley in her black dress?”

“Indeed, it was quite eerie. So, I carefully approached the girl in the worn black dress and asked her about her situation.”

“What did she say?”

“At first, she didn’t tell me anything except her name. No last name, no origin, no information about her parents. She simply said that her mother treated her too harshly, and unable to bear it, she had run away from home.”

“And then?”

“Unsure about what to do, I couldn’t just leave her alone in the cold streets, so I brought her to the mansion. Initially, I intended to let her stay for just a little while and then seek out her parents… But strangely enough, no matter how hard I searched afterward, I couldn’t find her parents. I used the names and family she reluctantly shared to search within the royal capital and even outside with our family’s information network, but… I couldn’t find her home in the end.”

“Maybe she was lying?”

“Perhaps… I don’t think so.”

“How can you be sure?”

“According to the story she told me later… there were no families that she could dare to falsely name.”

“Hmm…”

As the story got more complicated, Esmela seemed to grow bored, snuggling closer into her mother’s embrace and rubbing her face against her.

“Oh dear, Esmela. Are you already tired of the story?”

“Still, in the end, you brought home a stranger from the streets.”

“Yes, I had no choice but to take her in as a maid. Fortunately, she proved to be quite skilled and has done her job excellently for the past nine years.”

“So, you still don’t know who that maid really is?”

“Hmm, well… After getting to know Elina a bit better, I have heard some other stories from her that she hadn’t mentioned back then.”

“Isn’t that good enough?”

“Well, it’s rather hard to believe. Of course, Elina didn’t lie; however…”

Lady Herve looked troubled.

“What kind of story?”

“It might not be a story I can easily share with you. If what Elina said is true… it’s not something that could be taken lightly.”

“Just tell me.”

“Oh, you mustn’t. If one day you become close with her and trust one another, that will be the time you should hear the story from Elina herself.”

“Ugh… boring.”

By now, cradled in her mother’s arms, Esmela pouted like a child.

“My dear Esmela. Even though you’re still young and may not fully understand what I’m saying, don’t forget. One day, it’s a story you must remember. Now that the story is finished, would you like me to read you a fairy tale instead?”

“Really?!”

“Yes. It seems it’s been quite a while since I read you a fairy tale. Which book should I read?”

“[The Twin Wizards Who Became Stars]!”

“Oh dear, that book…”

“Why do you say that?”

“Perhaps that’s fate as well. Alright then, could you fetch that book from the shelf over there?”

“Yes!”

“Just a moment.”

After Esmela finished her story, I tried to sort through the jumble in my mind.

“Lady Herve said that story happened 18 years ago.”

“Yes, I was six years old.”

“And you mentioned that you first met the Head Maid nine years before that. How old was the Head Maid back then?”

“I don’t know her exact age, but she looked like she was more than ten and less than fifteen.”

“That means… even at the lowest estimate, the Head Maid must be in her mid-thirties to early forties…”

Crazy.

Anyone would see the Head Maid as a young woman of similar age to Esmela.

I’ve seen both of them together plenty of times to vouch for that.

“Unless something’s being manipulated through some strange magic, that cannot be… ah.”

A sudden realization struck me, and I hastily looked at Esmela.

Esmela quietly nodded in agreement, affirming my hypothesis.