IDSFTV 08

The Villain’s Future Is Making Me Anxious 

When I turned my head, I saw the maid who had been diligently tending the fire earlier crouching on the ground, clutching one of her hands.

Huh? What’s wrong? Did she get hurt?

Concerned, I kept glancing back at her as I pulled my cart.

As just a maid, if I stepped in to help someone who was injured, it would only make my own life more troublesome.

I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen anything and walk past.

But my slow steps eventually came to a complete stop.

I’d been acting like Garnet Willinger for so long that maybe I had actually become Garnet. Whenever I saw someone injured, I couldn’t simply ignore them without feeling guilty.

There isn’t anyone watching anyway.

I parked the cart to one side and walked over to her.

“Are you okay? Let me see.”

Startled, she flinched and looked up at me.

With gentle-looking brown eyes and bright red hair braided on both sides, she looked about my age.

Her face was soaked with either sweat or tears, and the back of her hand was swollen red where she’d apparently burned herself on the heated pot.

“Just a moment.”

I took a small jar of ointment from my waist pouch and carefully applied it to the burn.

She simply stared at me blankly.

“It’ll sting, but don’t scratch it or touch it. Just leave it alone so it doesn’t get infected.”

“Yes… Do you know medicine?”

“When you pull carts every day, you end up getting blisters on your hands all the time. That’s why I carry this around.”

“Oh.”

She nodded at my awkward explanation.

The eyes looking at me were clear and innocent, completely free of malice.

They were the first sincere eyes I had seen since coming to this world.

Just then, the sound of someone yawning lazily echoed from the distance.

Seeing the other maids beginning to gather for work, I quickly put the ointment away.

“Be careful not to get it wet. Take care.”

I hurried back to where my cart was parked.

As though nothing had happened, I began pushing the cart again and quietly left the area.

* * *

As I transported today’s shipment of ingredients, something about the atmosphere inside the castle felt different than usual.

That’s strange. Did something happen?

The servants were whispering among themselves, and the restless mood in the air didn’t feel normal.

I kept glancing around.

Suddenly I grew nervous, wondering if something had happened that I didn’t know about.

Carefully steering the cart through the crowd so it wouldn’t tip over, I suddenly found people rushing toward me all at once.

Soldiers were controlling the area, preventing anyone from getting too close.

Their rigid discipline made it seem as though someone of extremely high status was passing through.

“Move over! Stand aside!”

As people packed into the already narrow space, I lost my balance while pushing the cart.

“Uh… ugh…!”

Then someone backing up crashed straight into me.

The cart tipped over onto one side.

“N-No!”

The vegetables and fruit piled high inside spilled onto the ground, rolling beneath everyone’s feet.

As I stared blankly at the disaster before me, I could almost hear the Matron Witch shouting at me in my head.

‘You clumsy fool! Forget about eating dinner tonight!’

Making me do hard labor and then taking away dinner was practically the same as telling me to die.

I spread out my apron and desperately gathered up everything that had fallen.

Soon the cart was piled high again.

Everything was covered in dirt, but fortunately nothing seemed badly damaged.

Let’s see… Did I miss anything?

Squatting among everyone’s feet, I looked around with wide eyes.

Then I spotted a single red apple that had rolled far away.

Well, well. You little thing. When did you roll all the way over there?

Completely focused on the apple, I practically crawled between people’s legs.

Just as I reached out to snatch it—

A long, pale hand grabbed the apple first.

“Hey, wait! That’s—”

I was about to tell him it wasn’t his and to give it back.

But instead, a dazzling face—whether halo or aura, I couldn’t tell—was silently looking down at me.

For a moment, it felt as though every sound and movement around us had stopped.

It wasn’t just my imagination.

Everyone watching the scene had frozen like statues.

The one looking down at me…

…was Grand Duke Shiraz.

So startled I nearly fainted, I collapsed onto the ground where I stood.

Why is he here?

Within the castle, the areas where nobles and servants moved were strictly separated, so servants rarely ever saw the Grand Duke.

I’d heard that he occasionally came out to inspect the castle.

But of all times…

Why now?

The soldiers who had been controlling the crowd were looking at me with troubled expressions.

No wonder.

I’d thought the atmosphere felt strange from the moment I crawled over to pick up the apple.

I’d been so busy staring at the ground that I hadn’t noticed what was happening above me.

Instead of the military uniform I’d first seen him wearing, he was dressed in comfortable clothing that revealed his sleek, muscular physique.

With his languid appearance, he looked like a young and handsome god who had just stepped straight out of Greek mythology.

Standing beside Grand Duke Shiraz was his aide, Huey, quietly watching me.

Even in that brief moment, it seemed Huey had recognized exactly who I was.

I’d worked so hard to stay invisible…

And now all that effort was about to go to waste.

“I-I’m sorry!”

I hurriedly scrambled to my feet and quickly pulled down the towel wrapped around my head.

Keeping my gaze lowered, I stared only at the ground.

‘Well, well. If it isn’t the wife of the traitor Willinger.’

I was terrified that those words would come out of the Grand Duke’s mouth.

The decision he’d once made to spare my life…

…could change at any moment.

Shiraz was a villain whose moods changed as quickly as boiling porridge.

Fortunately…

He showed absolutely no interest in a lowly maid.

As if I were completely invisible, he didn’t look at me even once.

Instead, he casually tossed the apple up into the air a few times before suddenly clenching it tightly in his fist.

“Marcus.”

“We should crush that bastard’s skull just like this.”

I had no idea what the two of them had been discussing before I arrived.

But the Grand Duke uttered those chilling words while staring at the apple he’d crushed beyond recognition.

It felt less like he was crushing an apple…

…and more like he was crushing my skull.

I instinctively shrank back.

Only after I flinched did his gaze finally settle on me.

Perhaps my terrified expression amused him.

He looked at me and grinned.

To him, I probably looked like nothing more than a frightened little maid trembling in fear.

One corner of his lips curled upward.

That crooked smile sent chills down my spine.

Avoiding his gaze, I slowly continued backing away.

Just a little farther…

If I could blend into the crowd, maybe his eyes would finally leave me.

“Stop right there.”

The instant the order left his lips, my retreating feet froze where they stood.

“Take it.”

He casually tossed the apple toward me.

Acting purely on instinct, I spread out my apron and caught it.

My mind had gone completely blank.

Without even looking back, I clutched the apple and shoved my way into the crowd.

Abandoning the cart I’d worked so hard to reload, I fled as fast as I could.

Even while running away, my heart pounded so violently I feared Shiraz might suddenly recognize me and call me back.

* * *

After that day when I ran into Shiraz, I constantly kept looking around me.

I was determined never to make such a ridiculous mistake again.

But before long…

A strange atmosphere began surrounding me.

As usual, I entered the dining hall for lunch.

The moment I walked in, the entire room suddenly fell silent.

What is this…? Why does this feel so unsettling?

Although I sensed something was wrong, I acted as though nothing had happened.

Soon the silence dissolved back into quiet whispers.

Seeing the unfriendly looks from the maids serving food onto my tray, I immediately realized something troublesome had happened concerning me.

Sure enough—

“I’m surprised such pig’s porridge suits the refined palate of our noble lord’s wife.”

The maid dropped a ladle of soup onto my tray and sneered.

Giggles immediately spread throughout the room.

“But now she’s no different from the rest of us.”

“Having to eat with lowly people like us must make her feel even more miserable.”

Another maid tossed a piece of hard bread onto my tray before adding,

“Food as hard as a rock wouldn’t go down your throat anyway. It’d be a waste to let it go uneaten.”

She took the bread right back.

I opened my mouth to say something…

…but in the end, I simply picked up my tray and walked to a table.

If I caused a scene and it reached the higher-ups, my plan of quietly living as though I didn’t exist would be ruined.

It seemed word had spread among the maids.

That before becoming a maid…

…I had once been the lord’s wife.

Without knowing anything about how I’d actually lived, they openly showed hostility toward me simply because I’d once been a noble.

Even so, I couldn’t very well explain my entire miserable situation here.

Sighing, I picked up my spoon.

I’m hungry. I’ll eat first and think later.

As I spooned up the soup, I thought,

Who could it have been?

Who spread the rumor?

That soldier? Or the Matron Witch?

Whoever it was, the damage had already been done.

I won’t be staying here much longer anyway.

I’ll just endure it a little longer.

Once Shiraz leaves for battle, I’ll run away too.

Thinking that, I forced myself to cheer up and took another bite.

Just as the sharp, hostile atmosphere directed toward me grew even heavier—

A piece of bread was suddenly placed onto my tray.

Huh?

I looked up.

A familiar face was smiling brightly at me.

“Thank you so much for helping me the other day.”

“Would it be okay if I sat here and ate with you?”

I nodded before I could even think.

But I couldn’t help worrying whether it was really okay for her to treat me so warmly.

Looking around, I saw the hostile, thorny stares that had been directed at me now shifting toward the woman sitting across from me.

Whether she was simply oblivious…

Or genuinely brave…

She acted as though she didn’t care about those hostile looks at all.