Chapter 215 - The Insolent Maid

"Going from the Empire's far east to reinforce the far western front... No matter how I look at it, it seems strange," Luri said.

"Is there any reason to keep such a tight grip on our technology? I think we could simply give them those rifles and be done with it."

Ferda had thought so too. He had kept his promise to Duke Yurei, and the Heinkel Kingdom was no longer his responsibility. Now that its alliance with the Demons had come to light, he could simply supply magical engineering rifles and leave it at that. It would be the easiest solution.

"I would be supporting Olivia, but at the same time, I would be supporting Ureas."

Ureas was a warmonger mad with lust for conquest. What would happen if Ferda put magical engineering rifles in his hands? A force would quickly be assembled and introduced as an elite unit under some grandiose name like the Imperial Tactical Knights.

"And he'd run wild like a monkey shouting lightning spells everywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"He'd go around threatening people at gunpoint whenever they refused him a banana."

Luri quietly conceded the analogy.

"From what I've seen of that creature Ureas, he's certainly the sort of human who would do that... But isn't it Princess Olivia you trust, rather than that lout of a Second Prince?"

Olivia served to rein Ureas in. Domestic affairs could have gone to hell; they had found some measure of stability only because she held his reins.

"I do trust her. But sometimes that very trust can be frightening."

Olivia stood closer to power than anyone. Would she still feel the same way once she had finished taking revenge on her family? Ferda had always considered her similar to himself. That was why he believed she would struggle to relinquish her power.

After killing his family, Ferda had ultimately gone mad and hated everything innocent. If he considered her a partner he could trust, he must not let everything unfold exactly as she intended.

"Besides, I needed a reason to join the campaign."

"Why do you need a reason to go in person?"

Ferda's answer was more serious. "The king of Heinkel used Legion magic."

"What is that?"

"A spell that embodies the Great Demon Gamigin's vision of an ideal kingdom."

"Hearing you speak favorably of a Great Demon's magic is deeply unsettling..." She narrowed her eyes and asked, "You aren't thinking of learning it, are you?"

Ferda had already learned one form of dark magic. Luri could not allow him to learn another, especially the sinister magic of a Necromancer.

"Of course not. Why would I bother with such a useless spell?"

"Didn't you just say it creates an ideal kingdom? Now you're suddenly changing your tune."

"You don't understand what the word 'ideal' means in magic."

"Well, I've spent my time swinging an axe since before you were born."

"That's all right. Ignorance isn't a crime."

Luri growled like a valiant Chihuahua.

"An 'ideal' spell is one that can only work under virtually impossible conditions. And that particular spell embodied Gamigin's utopia."

"In other words, even Gamigin, a Great Demon, couldn't draw out its full potential."

"Exactly."

Thinking over what he had said, she noticed a contradiction.

"But the king of Heinkel succeeded, didn't he? A human king with no connection to magic whatsoever."

Ferda nodded. "The king of Heinkel, once no more than an ordinary human, met the fiendish conditions even Gamigin couldn't satisfy and became a Great Mage who created a Legion. What do you think others would make of that?"

"If the king of Heinkel could do it... I imagine they'd think they could too."

Those who had tasted power always craved more.

"If that information comes to light, this war will become more than a campaign to punish a traitor allied with Demons."

It would go beyond a simple war against Demons, becoming a struggle for possession born of human greed.

"If I'm right, even the kings who've been acting doubtful will start edging their way in, one by one."

"I see..." Luri was impressed. She had thought the Demons had merely revealed their true intent to throw the continent into turmoil, but there was more to it.

"That's why I intend to join the war under the pretext of supporting Olivia."

"So that's why."

The suspicion in her eyes faded. After pondering his explanation, Luri said, "If you intend to enter the Demons' stronghold, I will accompany you."

"What about attending Her Highness?"

"She has never needed very much. At present, you are Lady Valdrova's greatest worry. If that worry must walk into Godwin's jaws, shouldn't I at least be there beside him?"

"How very considerate."

Recalling how Luri had swept through the Demon riders, Ferda asked, "How strong were those Demons you fought?"

"They were easy. That king of Heinkel did use some strange magic, but I've fought more than enough enemies who rely on numbers. It wasn't difficult. As long as you don't do anything reckless, I can rescue you whenever necessary."

"That's reassuring."

Ferda once again recalled her outstanding performance in the king of Heinkel's territory. Thinking she deserved some sort of reward, he reflexively reached for her head.

SMACK!

His wrist was knocked away. Something had struck it so swiftly that it had nearly broken the bone. Judging by Luri's stance, she had slapped his hand aside.

Clutching his stinging wrist, Ferda asked, "... What was that for?"

He meant to ask why she had reacted that way when she could simply have said something. She had objected before, but she had never resorted to violence like this.

Luri gave him a prim look. "I know everything."

"Know what?"

"Do you take me for a fool who can't see through your intentions?"

"... Again, what intentions?"

Each time Ferda expressed his confusion, the certainty on her face grew.

"I now understand precisely why you keep trying to touch my head. I've realized that there is more to it than simply treating me like a child."

Pointing a thumb at herself, she declared proudly, "And through research, I've discovered how to protect myself completely. I call it '15 Ways to Protect Yourself from a Pervert.'"

Her silver eyes shone. "And I intend to add another thirty-four."

"...?"

Ferda could not understand what she was talking about. Was this yet another difference between humans and Dragon Spawn that he could never hope to understand?

"Could you tell me exactly what you've discovered?"

"Who would willingly reveal their strategy to the enemy?"

He hadn't understood a word of this, so would she please just tell him?

"Whatever the case, you'd best abandon any dream of treating me like your servant. My body is mine, and only my mistress may command it!"

Ferda was dumbfounded, but at least pretended to agree. Whatever this was, he had no desire to keep playing along.

Seeing his response, Luri bowed, looking thoroughly satisfied. "Then I shall take my leave, Master Ferda."

"... Very well."

Luri left. Staring at the door she had gone through, he muttered, "... I don't understand."

He thought he had treated her exactly as he always did. What had changed?

Just then, he felt a couple of pokes. Mori, who had been sitting quietly, responded to his words by showing him something. Wondering whether she had something to say, he looked and found a lengthy passage.

-Do you know, Gilbert? To tame a beast, you must teach it hunger. Hunger makes it angry, doesn't it? Once that anger passes, helplessness takes its place.

That is when you gain the upper hand. Give it food, little by little. The important thing is to feed it with your own hand. Make it believe that the hand that feeds it is a good hand, and slowly accustom it to your touch. In time, it will naturally realize how powerless it is, and tremble with anxiety whenever you do not touch it.

Taming that insolent creature is no different. Teach her her place, then slowly turn her into a female.

"... What is this?"

Ferda asked Mori about the deeply disconcerting passage she had written out. She answered:

-An excerpt from Chapter 3 of 49 Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.

"What is that?"

-An erotic novel.

"Hmm..."

Ferda was at a loss for words. Wasn't this the first time Mori had ever used the words "erotic novel"? More importantly, he could not understand why she was suddenly showing him a passage from one in this situation.

At last, he made a choice. In a situation so ripe for misunderstanding, he decided not to probe the details.

"All right. Thank you."

And so Ferda lightly stroked Mori's head and decided he had never seen the passage.

* * *

Luri Silverwind, Valdrova's faithful attendant, always followed the same routine. After a hard day's work, she would pop some honey-preserved fruit into her mouth as a reward for her efforts, then lie down on her bed.

Normally, with nothing else to do, she would have gone to sleep. But things were different now. Reading was an essential accomplishment for an intellectual woman.

And so Luri began to read. The book's title was 49 Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.

She finished each of the obscene books Ferda had brought on the very day it was translated, but she had been reading this one for over a month. Not because it was difficult to get through.

When something tasted good, you wanted to save it, rolling it around in your mouth a little longer to savor every last drop of sweetness. That was what this book was like.

It told the story of Lulu, a proud woman from a knightly family, and Phelan, a court mage. The headstrong Lulu was a female knight who had failed to protect her liege. She had wanted to choose death over life, but could not. When Phelan told her that the princess she was sworn to protect still lived, she decided to live to fulfill her duty.

Phelan promised to tell Lulu more if she became his maid and served in his mansion. And so Lucy became a maid.

Outwardly, Phelan was an admired, intellectual mage. Beneath that facade, he was a sly schemer whose strategies had earned him the emperor's favor. Yet he had a sordid side even the emperor knew nothing of, and he indulged it with Lucy, his new maid.

The repeated acts of sadism and humiliation were enough to make even the reader blush with embarrassment. But Luri did not so much as blink.

'I'm only doing research.'

She could not forget the many hints that Phelan and Lucy were developing feelings for each other. She had reread and savored the scene where Phelan fed Lulu one morsel at a time over and over. But she was only doing research.

The story and sensual descriptions were merely incidental. Truly.

Luri removed the bookmark, opened the book, and continued reading their journey.

-Lulu Feldragoon, today I shall have a taste of you.

"So you're finally crossing that line, you beast..."

For no particular reason, Luri's heart began to pound. She turned the page.

-To be continued in the next volume.

"...?"

After reading that final line, she tried to grasp the next page. But her fingers closed on empty air.

"...??"

She flipped it back and forth several times, even tearing off the cover she had made to check whether there was more behind it. All she could see was her bedsheet. She was no mage, and she had no power to conjure a final page that did not exist.

"Hah."

An incredulous sigh escaped her. As emptiness filled her heart, Luri felt an urge well up from deep within. Suddenly, she wanted to patrol the castle.

Deciding to get right to it, she picked up a lantern and rose. In the course of her patrol, she happened to reach Mori's bedroom, and happened to find Mori asleep.

Mori was sleeping soundly, breathing softly. Her breathing was even and her heartbeat normal, but Luri still needed to check whether she was alive.

"Miss Mori."

After shaking her awake several times, Luri established that she was alive. To make sure she was all right, Luri asked her a question.

"Do you remember the books I asked you to translate?"

-I remember. I translated sixteen out of fifty-two volumes.

"Among them, there was that... book about a maid, wasn't there?"

-49 Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid?

"Yes. I'd like to ask whether you're certain you translated all of it."

-I have completed the translation of everything in the book.

"Then 'the next volume' means... there is another book?"

-Yes. The series consists of a first and second volume.

"You're saying this is the first volume?"

-Yes.

"... Was the second volume not among the books I showed you?"

-It was not.

Luri pressed her fingers hard between her eyebrows.

"Even with that thing inside your head... is there nothing you can do?"

-Books from the east are not stored there. I require sleep to perform my duties as a scribe tomorrow. I am obliged to report any cause of inadequate sleep to Regent Ferda.

A faint threat lurked beneath the words: leave me alone.

"Understood. Go back to sleep."

No sooner had she given permission than Mori's head dropped, and she immediately fell asleep with soft, steady breaths.

Luri left the room and trudged away. Everything felt utterly hollow.

"It's just a stupid book."

She decided to let go of her obsession once and for all.

'Still, I've learned sixteen ways of taming someone. That should be enough.'

That meant she could easily fend off sixteen of Ferda's sinister advances. Armed with countermeasures, Luri was invincible. That alone was enough. That alone...

"...isn't enough."

The wildness deep within her rejected every rationalization. Research, her ass. She was going mad with the need to know what happened next.

A maid who stubbornly defied her master and looked down on him. A master who had that very maid dancing in the palm of his hand. After all that taut tension, they had finally reached the scene where it would erupt. She was desperate to know how he would make the maid submit, and how she would surrender to him.

'I want to read it, whatever it takes.'

The instant that thought crossed her mind, a chill ran through her entire body. Good heavens.

She had become a woman who wanted to enter the Land of Demons for a single erotic novel. The vulgar woman Valdrova was always talking about was right here. Here stood someone no different from Lulu, who had grown so accustomed to binding herself that she did it without even being ordered.

Mocking laughter echoed in her ears. It sounded rather like Penelope's laugh. She had to vent this humiliation somehow.

"I'll kill you, Penelope, you child of Sitri..."

Once again, Penelope found herself the target of murderous intent. She was asleep in her room, scratching her belly.