The Villainess Is Too Difficult

Muriel once tried to leave the Walpurgis mansion. Since becoming Ariel’s personal maid, her days had turned into daily arduous trials.

Even when Ariel woke up, Muriel’s only concern was how to get away from her as soon as possible. Even if she had lost her memories, a person’s essence doesn’t change easily. No one knew when she might return to her tyrannical behavior.

That’s why Muriel tried to make the first move and disappear quickly. But it didn’t go as planned.

[Excuse me, Head Maid?]

[What is it?]

[Um, could I possibly qui-]

[What do you need?]

From Matilda’s attitude of pretending not to hear, Muriel could instinctively feel it. Ah, they have no intention of letting me go here. Especially Matilda.

The second person she approached was Fritz, the head butler. Although Muriel’s direct superior was Matilda, Fritz was also in a position to manage the servants, just in a slightly different jurisdiction.

[Excuse me, Head Butler?]

[Muriel, is it? Has something happened to the Young Lady?]

[No, it’s not that…]

[Then please return to your post. It’s about time the Young Lady will be looking for you.]

This side was even worse. He didn’t even listen to what she had to say. She tried to say she wanted to leave, but neither of them even considered listening. In normal circumstances, she would have been indignant, asking how they could do this, but Muriel had no choice but to return with a heavy heart.

Right. It’s just that the Young Lady has just woken up, so someone needs to be by her side. If her personal maid were to disappear right away, it could have a bad effect on the Young Lady, so they’re just keeping her until then, right? That must be it, right?

Muriel desperately tried to change her thoughts to be more positive. But even so, a firm resolve remained in a corner of her heart.

They say Ariel used to be kind, but that’s just an old story. I won’t let my guard down. People get betrayed because they have expectations. I’m forced to stay now, but I’ll find a chance to escape. Especially if the Young Lady throws a fit before that, it would give me a good reason to leave.

However, it didn’t take long for Muriel’s thoughts to change.

[This is delicious, thank you.]

Not only did she smile and say thank you when tea and snacks were served during tea time, when she would have thrown a fit and thrown things before,

[I-I’m so sorry!]

[No, it’s okay. Are you hurt anywhere?]

Even when mistakes were made, instead of scolding, she worried about the other person. There wasn’t a hint of deceit on her face.

[Ouch!]

[A-are you alright, Young Lady?!]

[I-I’m fine. It’s nothing.]

‘Hmm…’ly speaking, hasn’t she changed too much? Muriel began to feel increasingly confused.

After observing Ariel’s condition for the past few days, it was clear that she had amnesia. She hesitated not only with her own name but also where this place was, what the name of the maid beside her was, and even the names of the family members she had once yearned for so much.

Perhaps because of this, Ariel had been noticeably well-behaved lately. Perhaps because of the casually dropped mentions of learning sword and magic, she trained every day without fail, started studying after hearing about the academy, and sometimes took walks in the garden or enjoyed tea time – she was living such a wholesome life. There were no instances of her hitting servants or spouting abuse as she had done before.

Of course, perhaps as a reaction to this, she had become somewhat careless, falling in corridors, bumping into things while spacing out, or trying to take naps on the training ground floor – strange behaviors were increasing.

As a result, among the servants, various rumors were spreading, such as the Young Lady has become a bit rounder lately, she seems like a different person, it’s become difficult to deal with her in a different sense than before.

But there’s a limit to how much someone can change, right? Even if she’s lost her memories, can a person change that much? Muriel couldn’t understand it.

But a person’s essence ultimately doesn’t change. Muriel came to realize this fact in a slightly different direction.

“Is Father in his study today as well?”

“Y-yes…”

Answering Ariel’s question, Muriel couldn’t help but feel inner pity. The wariness she had felt towards Ariel recently had already faded, and her heart was in the process of changing. Seeing Ariel like this now, how should she put it, she felt incredibly sorry for her.

Ariel nodded lightly at Muriel’s answer and picked up her utensils. That lonely back view seemed to be crying out for loneliness, even though she didn’t say it out loud.

Muriel doesn’t know about the time when Ariel used to crave affection. She wasn’t at this mansion then. But she knows well enough about how Ariel was back then from hearing about it so much from her seniors that she’s sick of it.

And seeing Ariel now reminds her of those stories, making her heart ache without realizing it. She lost her memories. She forgot her family’s faces and names. But she keeps coming to the dining room, eating alone, waiting for her family.

Not once had Ariel said she wanted to see her family. She had already been given a rough explanation about the Walpurgis ducal family. Even Matilda had stepped in to teach her, so it’s fair to say she knows pretty much everything there is to know.

But despite this, Ariel showed no curiosity about her remaining family members. Names, roles, general activities. Surely that’s all Ariel knows about the Walpurgis ducal family. She didn’t even ask how these people were doing lately, let alone say she wanted to see them.

Sometimes, not knowing anything allows you to see things more clearly. From the sight of family members who didn’t show their faces even once when their only ducal daughter woke up from a comatose state, Ariel might have intuitively felt something.

Ariel always went to the dining room when it was mealtime. In the dining room that was too large for one person to use, she ate her meals alone and left. There were times when she looked around as if expecting something, but she didn’t do that anymore. Her appearance looked so lonely that it made onlookers feel sorry for her.

“It was delicious today as well.”

As she spoke while elegantly wiping her mouth with a napkin, she looked like a flawless young lady on the outside, but Muriel unconsciously clenched her fist, wondering how much she must be hurting inside.

Muriel is Ariel’s personal maid. As such, she’s almost always by Ariel’s side unless there’s something unavoidable, but as she’s also a person, there are inevitably times when she has to leave her post. But since she usually returns quickly, it’s not wrong to say she’s almost always by her side.

However, since waking up, Ariel had given a strange order for a noble, saying that Muriel didn’t need to worry about being around when she was resting or sleeping.

[Muriel. You don’t need to always be by my side.]

[Pardon?]

[You must need your own time too. When I’m studying or training like now, you can have your own time.]

[B-but I’m your personal…]

[Even if you’re personal, you don’t need to be with me all the time. You can ask someone else to cover during your free time, so rest during that time.]

A proposal so radical it seemed to paralyze her mind. Until now, she would have welcomed it with open arms. If it had been Muriel from the past who wanted to get away from Ariel’s side as soon as possible, she would have seized this opportunity to leave her post and spend a pleasant time gossiping about the Young Lady with her fellow maids.

But not anymore. Honestly, she’s worried about what that Young Lady might do if left alone.

However, an order is an order. Muriel, who was (semi-forcibly) kicked out of the room, didn’t go to the servants’ quarters but lingered nearby.

‘This isn’t right. How did it come to this…’

Even she doesn’t understand why she’s acting like this. She’s not in her right mind right now. Good heavens, to be worried about that Young Lady! If her past self knew, she would jump up and down asking if she had gone crazy.

‘But what can I do. The Young Lady is like that.’

She looks back at the door with eyes overflowing with lingering attachment. What is the Young Lady doing in there? She said she was studying, so she’s probably reading a magic book or something. She’ll probably stretch occasionally, and if she loses concentration, she’ll move her body a bit before sitting back at the desk.

The problem starts from there. Memories of actions that were hard to believe coming from a ducal daughter flashed through Muriel’s mind, like resting her chin on her hand while reading a book, or spreading her legs.

Of course, as if she noticed it herself, she would correct it with an “Ah,” but such attitudes, learned from who knows where, looked so precarious. Moreover, the current Ariel was, how should she put it, like watching an explosion spell on the verge of detonating. She’s living as if nothing’s wrong now, but if she explodes big once, irreversible things might happen then. Muriel’s intuition was ringing loudly.

However, it seems that intuition was ringing in a different direction.

“Mu-Muriel? Tell the Young Lady right now!”

“Lily? What’s wrong?”

From the sight of her fellow maid running breathlessly, Muriel sensed that something unusual was happening. For Lily, who usually laughed good-naturedly and didn’t budge for most things, to be like this, something big must have happened.

“His-His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

“What…?”

And as expected, the news she delivered was exactly what burst the ominous feeling Muriel had been sensing.