The Villainess is Retiring

Chapter 6

A scream startled me from my sleep.

No way. There’s an assassin here for real?

Come to think of it, more than a few people wanted Everia gone.

Did one of Kathryn’s men send an assassin?

It was plausible. One of them disliked Everia so much that he cut off an entire territory’s firewood supply, so why wouldn’t someone send an assassin to get rid of her altogether?

Was it Luke? Since he’s the connoisseur of the information guild and rules the black market, sending an assassin would be easy for him.

Yeah, it must be him.

I came to my conclusion and slowly got out of bed. I didn’t feel particularly threatened. The archmage of the azure flame was my pet. What was there to worry about? All I had to do was make a wish to be saved.

I took my time and tiptoed toward the parlor. Harry was already growling ferociously at the person he found in there, but they looked strangely familiar as they floundered in front of him.

Isn’t that Emma?

“Th-this is for you. Please, be quiet.”

Emma handed a piece of chicken to Harry with trembling hands. She knew there was a dog in my room, so she came prepared. He stopped growling and stared at the chicken.

If Harry were a real dog, it would have been a pretty effective way to distract him. Unlucky for her, he was a demon pretending to be a dog. There was no way he’d get distracted by a piece of chicken, but just as I nodded in satisfaction, he gently took the meat from Emma’s hand.

Really? He fell for that?

Stunned, my jaw dropped.

[Harry, how could you take that chicken?]

[I haven't eaten anything since I was summoned by you. I’m hungry.]

[Still, you fell for the chicken at this crucial moment?!]

[You can’t starve me and expect me to work, all right?]

[I didn't know that demons eat three meals a day.]

[Well, I’m glad you know now. Keep that in mind.]

Harry didn’t even pay attention to my scolding. He was busy eating the chicken and scarfing it down as if it was the best thing ever. Watching him eat even made me feel hungry.

“Good. You like that, don’t you?”

Emma let out a sigh of relief while Harry and I bickered. Feeling confident that he would stay calm, she started to move, but she didn’t head toward my bedroom. She walked over to the fireplace in the corner of the parlor. She watched the roaring fire for a moment. Then, she put on a determined face and bit her lip as she lowered her body.

When I noticed the lamp she was holding, I realized what she was trying to do. Is she here to take the fire? As she carefully lit the candle in the lamp, I realized I was correct.

Harry made a fuss about nothing and made me tense for no reason. My anxiety disappeared in an instant. Chuckling, I walked over to her. I figured I might as well ask her to bring me a snack since my sleepiness was shaken out of me, and the smell of the grilled chicken was making me hungry.

“Emma.”

“Aaah!”

A scream erupted from Emma’s mouth when I called out to her.

“Ack!”

“Aaah! What the heck was that?!”

Startled, I screamed too, but my voice was drowned out by an even deeper scream. There was only one person there with such a deep voice. I turned around and looked at Harry. He had dropped his chicken and his eyes were wide open. When our eyes met, I was flabbergasted.

[Harry, you’re a dog. Did you just scream and say, ‘What the heck’?]

Realizing his mistake, Harry averted his gaze.

[I was startled. It was pure instinct. You screamed too!]

[Yes, because I’m a human, but you’re a demon. A demon shouldn’t do that.]

[You have preconceived notions about demons. Aside from being super strong and cool, demons aren't that different from humans!]

[Don't subtly brag about how great you are in this situation.]

Sighing deeply, I looked at Emma. She was sitting on the floor with widened eyes and looked completely out of it. I was sure she was freaked out by Harry’s voice. Had she caught on that I had a talking animal? If so, people would undoubtedly think I was a witch.

I glared at Harry in dismay.

[How are you going to fix this?]

[Um... Just tell her it was you.]

[Do you think she’ll believe that?]

[Then would you like me to kill her? That’s more convenient. Your secret will be safe, and I’ll get to have some fun. How about it?]

Harry spoke to me with a twinkle in his eyes. I could tell how desperately he wanted some action.

[Stop talking nonsense.]

I clicked my tongue and ignored him. Just as I expected, he wasn’t helpful at all. Honestly, I had to take care of everything!

“Emma.” I cautiously called out to her.

She prostrated herself in front of me when she heard my voice.

“P-p-p-please forgive me!”

“Forgive you?”

I tilted my head in confusion. Why was Emma shaking and asking for forgiveness? Was she apologizing for hearing the strange voice? Not knowing what to say, I just blinked.

With even more desperation in her voice, she said, “I’m sorry! I’ve committed a grave sin!”

What grave sin is she talking about?

“It wasn't intentional. I was just desperate. The temptation was too strong to resist. Please, have mercy on me. I will never steal anything again.”

“‘Steal’?”

Certainly, a thief would covet anything in Everia’s room. Any one of the decorative items in there would fetch a lot of money. However, Emma was my personal maid. If anything were to go missing in my room, she would be the first one under suspicion, and she didn’t look stupid enough to get caught stealing that easily.

After exchanging a few words, I could tell that Emma was somewhat educated. It was clear that they had assigned the brightest maid in the manor to assist the duke’s fussy daughter and minimize any problems. Thus, the fact that she tried to steal something could only mean that she was in a desperate situation. I crouched down and put my hand under my chin.

“What were you trying to steal?”

“P-please forgive me, miss. Th-this will never happen agai—”

I cut Emma off by raising my hand.

“No. Stop asking for forgiveness.”

“Eek!”

The blood drained from her face. She must have interpreted my words to mean forgiveness wasn’t an option. It really was amazing how everything I said sounded like blackmail, sarcasm, or ridicule just because I had the face of a villain. I hastened to clear the misunderstanding before it got any worse.

“Just take it. Whatever it is, take it.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Whatever you wanted to take, it’s yours. I'll give it to you.”

“Wh-what?”

Emma was stunned in a completely different sense by that. Shrugging my shoulders, I scanned the parlor.

Everything was shiny and pretty. However...

“I doubt whatever you wanted to take was very precious to me.”

Then again, maybe it was worth something to the real Everia. It could be a gift from someone or something from her childhood, but since I’m not her on the inside, nothing in that place meant much to me. The only meaning they had to me was that they were expensive, but many of Everia's possessions were valuable. Giving one to Emma wouldn’t break the bank.

Although the things in there were meaningless to me, if something in that room was special enough to drive my maid to do something reckless, why not just let her have it? I had enough things.

“I’ll give it to you, so just take it.”

Besides, I could just use it as a bribe to buy her silence about Harry screaming. That seemed like a fair trade. Pleased with the plan I had come up with, I smiled. Of course, even that smile probably looked menacing.

“You’re letting me have it?” she asked suspiciously.

I nodded firmly to reassure her as Emma’s face filled with hope.

“You’re really going to let me keep the fire?”

“Yes, I’ll give it to you. You can have my fire.”

As I nodded, I realized something was off.

“Wait, what? Did you just say ‘fire’?”

Not art, not a silver candelabra, not jewelry, just... fire?

“You wanted to steal the fire?”

Confused, I asked Emma to clarify several times. The hope that had filled her eyes quickly disappeared.

“Oh, I can’t have that, right?”

Her shoulders fell and her face became sullen. I was stunned to see her give up so instantaneously. I couldn’t believe she wanted to steal the fire. She even asked for my forgiveness as if it was a grave sin.

“That’s it? If you needed fire, why didn’t you just ask me? I thought you came in here to steal jewelry or something.”

I picked up the lamp and candle that Emma had thrown to the ground. I lit the candle and put it inside the lamp, and the bright flame illuminated the darkness.

“Here. Take it.”

I offered the lamp to Emma, but for some reason, she didn’t take it.

“I thought you came here to get fire.”

“But... how can you give it away like this?”

“Why not? It’s just fire.”

“It’s a mysterious flame that burns black steel wood.”

“Still, it’s... fire.”

Fire wasn’t something that diminished or disappeared after sharing it. Why not give it to anyone who needed it?

“Come to think of it, the butler took some this afternoon and said he’d give it to others. What happened to that?”

“The baron ordered everyone not to take the fire outside of the manor. And even within the manor, the fire was distributed only where it was needed. Maids like me don’t have access to it.”

I was beginning to understand the situation. The baron was tightly guarding the fire, which was why Emma tried to steal it from my room. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand why he was controlling access to the fire. Wouldn’t it be nicer to distribute it so that everyone in the territory could stay warm?

Many nobles didn’t like to share things with their subordinates, but the baron didn’t seem like that type. I was sure there was a good reason for it.

Still, what could be more important than preventing people from freezing to death? I thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t understand the thought process of the person who managed the estate. I eventually stopped trying to and stood.

“Get up, Emma. Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Where do you think? Wherever that fire is needed.”

“Wherever it’s needed, miss?”

“The baron didn't order me not to take it from the manor."

I smiled and waved the lamp I was holding.

“Besides, this is my fire, so I can do whatever I want with it. Just promise me you’ll forget everything you’ve seen and heard tonight. All right?”

“Everything I’ve seen and heard, miss?”

“Yes. Everything,” I said while subtly glaring at Harry.

She gave a slight nod to confirm that we had a deal.

* * *

Emma looked tense as we left the manor.

“I’m not sure if it’s all right for us to do this. The baron said that under no circumsta—”

“Emma, you snuck into my parlor to steal the fire. Do you think you have any right to say that now?”

“I just walked in there quietly!”

“In other words, you snuck in.”

“Well, you have a point, but...”

Soon, we reached the entrance of the mansion. The baron must have tightened security. A knight in uniform was guarding the entrance, and upon seeing him, Emma's face darkened.

“As expected, there’s a guard,” she whispered in my ear.

“Right. The baron must have ordered them to stand guard.”

“Once he sees the fire, he won’t let us walk out the main gate.”

“How were you going to take the fire out then?” I asked.

Emma hesitated for a moment.

“There’s a doggy door that only the servants know about...”

“‘A doggy door’? That doesn’t sound very appealing.”

Why would I use a doggy door instead of the big, fancy one right in front of us? I confidently walked toward the gate.

“M-miss!”

Swallowing her scream, Emma caught up to me.

“What are you going to do, miss?!”

“What do you think? I’m going out.”

“But there’s a guard at the entrance!”

“Right, I see him.”

“If you see him, why are you heading that way so boldly, miss?”

“What’s going on?” A deep voice called out.

Just as Emma put her hand across her chest in frustration, the knight guarding the gate approached us. He looked kind of frail for a knight. In fact, he looked so frail that I was questioning if he could actually wield a sword. He had the face of a background extra.

Despite Emma’s nervous glance, I walked toward him and innocently greeted him.

“Gosh, you’re working late.”

“Miss Everia?”

Realizing who I was, the knight greeted me with a surprised look. Seeing how frightened he was to see me, I could tell he was aware of my notoriety. I casually accepted his greeting and pointed to the gate with my chin.

“I need to go for a walk, so open the gate.”

“You’re going out for a walk in the middle of the night?”

“Yes, I am.”