Chương 314: The Perfect Asset

I got lucky and ended up with a 'mentor' whose sole purpose and intent in being in this manor was not to invade the baron's bed… Although it might indeed sound attractive to a poor woman to gain Hyotrask Devilblood's 'favour', it was nonetheless a short-sighted plan. It is pretty much impossible to fail, it seems, but then what? You're stuck in the same spot with pretty big responsibilities.

Since Devilblood seems to have no intent of actually finding himself a proper wife anymore, he will end up picking some of his bastard offspring to officialise them, meaning that not doing a proper job of raising them could have dire consequences. … And frankly… I just find it disgraceful. They have so little ambition! If I were in their position, I would wrap this guy around my finger and make him marry me! Why settle for short-term benefits that come with heavy baggage when you could aim for so much more?

Of course, this option is no longer available to me for several reasons. So I have to find another way to get close enough to Devilblood and put him out of commission. I don't have to be able to kill him. I just have to be able to have him unable to do anything as the organisation raids the underground ocean below his territory. That is easier said than done, but I am quite the versatile gal… Though there isn't much that I can do right now.

My priority is getting familiar with the layout of the manor, learning the number of guards and servants, and also learning everyone's routines. All the while doing an excellent job as a maid. All of this would take me a few days, even with Nara taking notes on my behalf. Currently, I just got here, and my responsibilities are so insignificant that there is nothing much I can do. I have to follow Velpa around and listen to her. The purple demoness isn't a pain to be around, at least.

Also, I see why the guards feel compelled to rub her head. This woman is indeed impressively cute, not due to her small stature, but the way she walks… I think she doesn't realise it, so I am not going to mention it lest she decide to correct her way of walking. Additionally, it seems like her particular demon species does have more than just purple skin, as I watched her casually walk up a flight of stairs that did not exist. She could walk on air at a whim.

This explained why she was able to clean so thoroughly despite not reaching up to a lot of the furniture. Damn, and here I was hoping that she would ask me to carry her for this…

"You're quite good at this, Leomi. Is this not your first time working as a maid?"

"I used to be the only maid of a small bourgeois family, but… The whole family was a victim of the Nightmare Plague" This background was one that had been carefully thought out. Quite a lot of families had been killed by the Nightmare Plague, so it was impossible to actually find which I was referring to, and besides, Ergonip had thought about what if I were questioned further, so I had a family name ready to be spewed out.

A family that had indeed met their demise because of the Nightmare Plague, and who supposedly had a maid. Though that was only what people believed, when the dusty skeleton raised the family as undeads to check how well they could serve as a cover for me, he learned that while everyone had been led to believe that the widower had a maid, it was actually his lover. He had hidden her to absurd lengths, all to fool his children into believing that he wasn't seeing another woman after their mother's death.

A bit excessive if you ask me. It isn't reprehensible in any way to have a relationship if your partner has passed away, but it does work to my advantage. Alas, Velpa didn't ask any other questions, so my nicely crafted story went without being used… The week passed without anything notable happening. The only worrying times were at night, when I would have to exit the 'Gynoid Form' to let it cool down and recover.

I had emerged with batteries filled with lightning to recharge, stashed away inside both the Gravescape and Mindscape, but unless I was forced to, I preferred to simply let the form 'calm down' on its own and start fresh in the morning. I only ran into an issue once, but that was because a guard mistook my room for that of another maid, with whom he was in a relationship. It wasn't very troublesome. Once the week ended. Velpa told me that I was ready to do work without surveillance.

"You're clearly experienced with the job already, and you haven't made any mistakes. You always show up in advance, and leave later than you're supposed to… I honestly have nothing even remotely negative to say. Good job, Leomi! We just need to figure out what work you will be doing exactly" The short demoness brought me to a room that was filled with maids and servants. On the wall there, there was a huge corkboard detailing the schedules of every single maid, butler, and the like.

"Everyone follows their own routine. Some will often be roaming as their tasks don't take that long, and they are typically in charge of answering the summons of our lord, but of course, if you are right there when the lord needs something, it is natural to put your tasks on hold" Velpa cleared her throat, pointing to specific parts of the board.

"The empty lines are unassigned tasks, and as you can see… Most of them are night shifts. I feel like I don't need to explain why night shifts are so empty, but it's because maids who come here with the intent of seducing the lord often take the night shifts to have an excuse to see the lord at night, and you can see–It is indeed very effective, as all of them are gone now" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Mmh… I assume this is part of the reason why there were new hires?"

"Precisely. We only have one new guard and two new male servants. This recruitment was mostly to have maids""Why not hire only men, though?" Velpa chuckled.

"You're assuming the lord doesn't like what a lot of maids come here for. Do you really think they would be able to seduce him so easily if he didn't let it happen? He even leaves the door of his bedroom open at night" Is Hyotrask a rabbit or something? I suppose being a noble and having the opportunity for such things probably stimulates a man's inner desires. My eyes landed on one particular night shift.

Rather than being a patrol, or the task merely being to make sure all candles were unlit, it was marked as if there was a special task associated with it.

"What's up with this one?"

"Most people don't get to know. Only a select few–Which includes me, by the way–I am not allowed to tell you, but you are quite good. I can sneak in a few words to the lord if you are interested. Do be warned, though, it is a big responsibility even if there is frankly nothing much to do" Velpa's words only intrigued me further, so I went ahead and made it clear that I was indeed interested in this particular job. … Two more weeks passed without anything notable happening.

I grew familiar with some of the maids, especially the ones who had been hired at the same time as me, but most of them were only interested in ways to get into the baron's trousers. The same was true for some of the maids who were already present prior to my arrival, and after carefully asking around, I soon realised that only the servants who had been here for a while, and who weren't looking to warm Hyotrask's bed, seemed to know what the 'special' task was about.

Though even then, it was only a small number of the older members who were aware, clearly those the baron trusted… Speaking of the baron, I barely caught a few glimpses of him throughout those three weeks. My schedules and areas I went through were completely misaligned with what he was up to. This prevented me from learning more about him. I had been hoping that he would need someone when I was nearby, allowing me to get close and speak with him, but it never happened.

I had just been doing maid work for nearly a month without much progress, but it eventually paid off.

"Congrats, you got it!" Velpa came to announce the good news in the middle of the fourth week.

"I was able to mention you to the lord, and after some time, he agreed that you seemed cut out for the task–But please be careful. It is a work of extreme importance! Most of the people who tried it ended up getting, huh… Booted""They were killed, weren't they?"

"My hesitation gave it away, didn't it? Don't worry, though. I know you can do it! I performed this task for a while myself, but the lord eventually reassigned me elsewhere… Anyway, follow me" The purple demoness led me down into an area of the manor I had never been in before. The sole hallway leading there was flanked by many suits of armour. These things have a core in their chests–They are animated suits of armour As per usual, Nara's observation skills outclassed mine completely…

What could possibly be here that requires such protection? I already saw the treasury. Velpa was in charge of keeping it tidy, so I had seen it every day during the first week, and the defences there had been good, but not nearly as exaggerated as this. Is there a second, more secret treasury? Velpa stopped in front of a door, turning to look seriously at me.

"Leomi. The lord actually had a son with his late wife" She paused, and I pretended to be shocked.

"But… I thought that-!" I stopped myself as if I needed to collect my thoughts–I am so good. Velpa bought into my magnificent acting without question and began explaining the situation.

"In his many years as a knight, the lord discovered many treasures. Most of them were given to the crown, but he was allowed to keep a few for himself as a reward for his valiant services… It included a sort of cylinder, which had the ability to nurture life""To put it simply, the lady was suddenly stricken by a curse of unknown origins and died within just a week, but she was pregnant at that time.

The lord was doing everything in his power to save her, but she knew that it was useless and that her time had come, so… She went to find this item, sliced her own stomach open, and placed her unborn son inside of the artefact, in hopes that it would be able to nurture him to completion""As you can expect, the lord was devastated… The artefact worked, and so he swore to do even the impossible to make sure his son would live a normal life, alas… The artefact seemed to have another effect…"

Velpa glanced at the door and sighed.

"The young lord is very young, but he appears to be a teenager because of the odd ability the artefact granted him–Everyone who stays in close proximity to him for too long will have their lifeforce, inner energies, and very lifespan drained. When it wasn't known at first, many fell victim, resulting in the young lord's explosive growth" I looked down and spoke up:"I suppose this isn't all…?"

"Unfortunately, yes. If this were all, we would be able to take care of him by simply restricting the amount of time we spend with him, but the more attached he grows to a person, the stronger the effects of his ability. This is why the lord banned me from taking care of his son" Velpa added that only direct members of his family seemed immune to the ability, which explained why Devilblood vanished at times. He was with his son… I bowed slightly.

"I shall do my best, Velpa""I know you will… But remember, if things seem bad for you, don't hesitate to walk out. The young lord knows what his ability does, but he was never made aware that his affection was a death sentence. Nothing hurts him more than to see people die because of him" I nodded, concealing the wide grin that wanted to form on my face. Ergonip knew nothing of this son, but he is a most remarkable asset for my mission.