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Chapter 5
“Are you alright?”
I reflexively stepped back.
Rakiel Bernhardt, the Empire’s Second Prince.
In every previous timeline, he always ended up losing the battle for imperial power before disappearing. He was the type to manipulate things from the shadows and successfully corner the Crown Prince, yet never become emperor himself.
I flinched and lowered my head.
There was no way he wouldn’t recognize Eveline Rosenthal, the daughter of Duke Rosenthal.
It was an instinctive attempt to hide my face.
“I asked if you were alright.”
“……!”
He didn’t recognize me…?
Maybe because I had my hood pulled down so deeply, Rakiel seemed unable to see my face properly.
And if he hadn’t recognized me, then…
“Yes, I’m fine. I just wasn’t looking where I was going. I’m sorry.”
As expected…!
The words came out on their own.
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
If Rakiel recognized me here, I’d have to start acting like Eveline again. And if I attracted attention like that, this quest would practically be ruined.
Because Eveline would never do something this kind!
“If you were hurt anywhere—”
“N-no! I’m really okay!”
I hurriedly interrupted him and pulled my hood even lower. Rakiel tilted his head slightly, staring at me as if trying to figure something out.
I needed to get away quickly— huh? Why does my hand feel empty?
I lightly opened and closed my hand before finally noticing the medicine bottle clenched in Rakiel’s right hand.
Ah, I almost forgot.
“Ah, um…”
When I stared fixedly at his hand, Rakiel seemed startled and quickly handed me the glass bottle.
“My apologies. I was distracted.”
“No, thank you for catching it. I almost dropped and shattered it.”
This precious medicine that would raise my stats!
My fingertips trembled as I accepted the bottle.
Thinking about how close I’d come to dropping and breaking it sent chills down my spine.
If the physician had been telling the truth that it was really the last one left, I would’ve had to search every herbal shop in the area.
Seeing my trembling hands, Rakiel clicked his tongue briefly.
“Are you really alright?”
“I-I’m fine!”
“No, if you feel unwell later, I’ll compensate you for the medical costs, so come here—”
“I said I’m fine!”
Why is he making such a big deal out of bumping shoulders a little?
After quickly tucking the medicine bottle into my clothes, I grabbed my hood with one hand and shoved Rakiel with the other.
‘What is he, a rock?’
Not only did he not budge, my own hand almost hurt instead.
Startled, I pretended nothing had happened and hurriedly walked around him.
If we talked any longer and he discovered my identity, it’d be a disaster.
‘Whew… that scared me.’
Still, why was a prince wandering around a place like this?
Even after countless timelines, I’d rarely crossed paths with Rakiel.
Several years ago, he had participated in the continental war as supreme commander. Even after returning to the imperial palace, he rarely showed his face at official events.
Besides, Eveline never spared a glance for any man other than the Crown Prince, so at most they might’ve crossed paths at a banquet.
Rakiel had always been a difficult character to read in the first place.
Anyway, clutching the recovered medicine bottle carefully, I headed back toward the shantytown.
When I returned, Ginny’s mother immediately pushed me away suspiciously.
There was a small commotion because she kept doubting me—though I had no idea what exactly she suspected. Still, in the end, she took the medicine.
It seemed she believed me when I said I worked with Ginny.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“W-wait, miss…! At least tell me your name…!”
The moment I turned around to leave the shantytown, a translucent system window appeared in the center of my vision.
Ding!
[Quest 「Maid Ginny’s Worry」 reward has been distributed.]
[Stat +4 (However, reward reduced by 50% if discovered)]
A little earlier.
Rakiel Bernhardt, the Empire’s Second Prince, was quite an optimistic person.
More accurately, he was someone who never let an interesting curiosity slip by.
‘…The Rosenthal Duchy?’
His crimson eyes caught the faint crest embroidered on the back of the woman’s robe.
‘A maid, perhaps.’
Considering how worn and cheap the robe’s fabric looked, it was reasonable to assume she worked for the ducal household.
The way she kept tugging her hood down as if desperate to hide her face was somewhat suspicious, though.
The continental war over the past few years had left scars on many people. Some had suffered injuries not only to their bodies but also to their faces. Perhaps she was one of them.
But Rakiel’s attention was focused elsewhere.
He quietly observed the woman before him. Judging by the trembling hands with which she accepted the medicine bottle he had picked up for her, she still seemed affected by the impact from their collision.
‘Controlling my strength is difficult.’
On the battlefield, there had been no need for restraint. Everything before him was an enemy, every encounter a would-be assassin to cut down.
“Tch.”
Rakiel clicked his tongue softly.
‘…I should compensate her for treatment.’
Even knowing it was his fault, he couldn’t comfortably ignore it.
“Are you really alright?”
“I-I’m fine!”
“No, if you feel uncomfortable later, I’ll pay for your treatment, so come over here—”
He reached into his clothes to pull out a calling card.
“I said I’m fine!”
The woman suddenly shouted and shoved him hard. Of course, he didn’t move an inch, and she flinched in surprise at that fact before quickly fleeing from him.
“……”
At that moment, Rakiel’s crimson eyes gleamed.
It was the face of a child who had just discovered an entertaining new toy.
She rejected money? And someone going into a place like that?
The place the woman headed toward was the district commonly called the shantytown—the slums.
A place rotting with poverty and despair.
An ordinary person would never willingly step foot there.
Yet she confidently climbed the rickety wooden stairs that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Rakiel followed after her like a shadow, keeping enough distance not to be noticed.
By the time the long walk made him frown slightly, the woman finally stopped in front of an old shack.
‘…Oh?’
The corners of Rakiel’s lips curved upward.
To his surprise, the woman handed the medicine bottle he’d picked up to another woman who appeared to own the shack.
‘They don’t seem acquainted.’
Judging by the way the woman in the shack repeatedly refused before anxiously accepting it, the two didn’t appear close.
‘Was it simply charity?’
There were occasionally people like that. People who helped others and sacrificed themselves without expecting anything in return. Even during the impoverished years of war.
At that moment, the woman turned her head.
Rakiel reflexively lowered himself.
After disentangling herself from the woman who clung to her asking for her name, she left the house, and Rakiel quietly followed again.
His eyes sparkled with interest.
‘What an interesting woman. I should at least ask her name.’
And afterward, he could tell the duke and have her rewarded.
Feeling pleased with his plan, Rakiel followed after her.
Once she left the slums and entered the road leading toward the Rosenthal estate, Rakiel quickened his pace.
He caught up to her quickly.
Wearing a satisfied smile, he was about to call out to her.
“Hey, wait a moment. I wanted to talk—”
SMAAACK!
“……!”
Caught completely off guard by the sudden impact, Rakiel stumbled backward.
The hooded woman had headbutted him directly in the chin.
“Kh…!”
Rakiel realized he had let his guard down completely. Against a woman he’d considered more fragile than a rabbit, he had failed to react at all and taken the hit directly.
But her next action shocked him even more.
“KYAAAH! A STALKER!”
“A-a stalker…?”
Since they were now in the central district, passersby began turning their heads one by one.
As the bewildered Rakiel stared wide-eyed, she spun around and bolted away at full speed.
“What is this—?! H-hey! Wait! That’s not what this is!”
Rakiel clutched his chin and hurried after her, but he could already feel the judgmental stares around him.
Several people were whispering while looking his way, and he even spotted someone running off, perhaps to summon the guards.
In the end, Rakiel couldn’t bring himself to chase after her further.
The last thing he saw was the small, cute back of her hooded head disappearing into the distance.
“Huff… huff…”
Only after sprinting full speed into the ducal estate did I finally gasp for breath.
Damn, I seriously almost died.
Still, getting caught would’ve been worse than punching him and running away!
…Probably.
If Rakiel learned my identity, he’d definitely twist today’s events into something malicious, whether it was a good deed or not.
Besides, the quest condition clearly said the reward would be reduced by 50% if discovered!
My lips twitched upward.
I quickly opened the status window and invested all the stats I’d just earned into Freedom.
Ding!
[Congratulations! has reached Lv.1.]
[You may now perform a wider range of actions.]
“Kuhuhuhuhu……”
It increased!
I threw back my hood and burst into laughter.
This time, I’m definitely going to survive!
“What are you staring at?!”
I snapped at the maids who were looking at me strangely before heading up to my room.
Inside my head, endless fantasies of a future where I had finally attained complete freedom kept replaying over and over.
