Chapter 4: No, It’s Definitely A Dark Fantasy (4)
It’s truly a bone-chilling sight.
The mid-boss and the hidden boss of a chapter are glaring at each other, engaged in a battle of wills.
“Hoh. How dare you, you insignificant thing?”
“Watch your tone. I am the acting head of the household. Right now, you are merely a maid in this house, and I am the head maid who manages those maids.”
If it weren’t for the fact that the target of this confrontation was me, this would undoubtedly be a terrifying situation.
In this awkward and embarrassing situation, I couldn’t help but slowly realize that Eliza had changed.
‘After all… is Eliza not normal either?’
Let me reiterate, Eliza is an incredibly frightening woman in the story.
She kills without hesitation, and her strength when confronting the protagonist in the story is truly terrifying.
That’s why I’ve always been afraid of Eliza, but lately, my perspective has been shifting.
‘She’s not as scary as she used to be…’
Should I say I’m not as afraid of her as before?
That’s the feeling I’ve been getting.
Of course, saying I’m not afraid doesn’t mean I’m not living in constant fear of death every day.
That maid is still a terrifying presence to me, without a doubt.
However, it’s also undeniable that the fear has somewhat diminished.
‘She suddenly changed at some point, but why did she change?’
Why on earth did she change like this?
I really can’t figure out the reason.
I’ve just been doing my best to survive every day, that’s all.
###
‘That filthy black cat.’
Eliza, she was born into an assassin family and was considered a prodigy from a young age.
She grew up as an emotionless killing machine.
She was the masterpiece that the assassin family had longed for, the perfect creation.
Even Eliza herself probably never expected she would end up like this.
‘To think she’d already be trying to take my master away.’
Who would have thought she’d get this angry just because she felt like her master was being taken away from her?
‘I was a genius…’
In the past, she grew up in an assassin family.
There, she lived through hellish days and grew up as an assassin.
As someone who was revered as a genius and had high expectations placed on her, she was supposed to have a bright future as the head of the assassin family.
Unfortunately, that future was never granted to her.
Because she was too strong.
‘They tried to kill me first. It was self-defense.’
From a young age, Eliza could defeat skilled assassins, which made the elders of the assassin family uneasy.
Assassin organizations are, by nature, extremely conservative.
They are groups created to produce tools for killing, and her existence was simply too much.
They didn’t want a sword like Excalibur.
They just needed a blade that would obey their commands.
Her existence was something they couldn’t accept, and despite her genius, her strength went beyond common sense, so the elders eventually decided to eliminate her.
Of course, they failed and ended up being killed by her instead.
‘I feel no guilt.’
After slaughtering her entire family and being left alone, she felt no guilt.
After all, they had attacked her first.
She had only acted in self-defense.
Besides, weren’t they evil?
Even if she hadn’t done it out of a sense of justice, there was no reason to feel guilty for killing evil people.
In that sense, she didn’t dwell on it much, but…
‘What is this feeling?’
She felt an emptiness somewhere.
It was as if her chest had been hollowed out.
She couldn’t understand what this feeling was.
The assassin family hadn’t taught her about such things.
‘Still, I’d like to try living a normal life once.’
Putting aside the inexplicable feeling, she decided to look into finding a job.
It wasn’t like she couldn’t continue living as an assassin, but…
She wanted to live a normal life, even if just once.
‘Is this the house where I’ll live as a maid?’
There happened to be a family looking for a maid, didn’t they?
It didn’t seem like a particularly great household, but given her circumstances, she wasn’t in a position to be picky.
She decided to work here.
‘I’m not expecting much.’
Of course, she didn’t have high expectations.
To her, this was just a pastime.
She could stay here for a while and then move on.
With that mindset, she decided to work as a maid.
‘If I don’t like the master I’m serving, I can just kill them.’
That said, she had no intention of tolerating any mistreatment.
If anyone tried anything even slightly suspicious, she wouldn’t hesitate to act.
Having already wiped out her own family, she believed she could easily do the same to this household.
The family seemed a bit shady anyway, so it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
That’s what she thought.
‘But…’
However, life here turned out to be quite pleasant.
Despite being a new maid, she was treated surprisingly well.
She lived comfortably as a maid.
‘Why is this man being so kind to me?’
The reason she could live like this was simple.
It was all thanks to the master she served, Rovan.
He was always kind to her and took care of her needs.
Of course, Rovan was an outcast in the family, so there wasn’t much he could do, but within his means, he did his best to provide for her.
‘He couldn’t possibly know who I really am.’
Why was he being so kind to her?
She honestly couldn’t understand.
If he had discovered her true identity, she could have understood.
He wouldn’t dare mistreat a prodigy from the assassin family.
He’d have no choice but to treat her well.
But there was no way he could have found out.
She wasn’t revered as a prodigy in the assassin family for nothing.
In that sense, she was certain he didn’t know her true identity.
No, there was no way anyone could know.
She wasn’t that careless.
‘Why is he being so kind to a mere maid like me?’
And yet, this man did his best to treat her well.
She truly couldn’t understand.
Why was he being so kind to a mere maid?
Moreover, despite being ostracized and struggling within the family, he always cared for her, a maid, with love.
It was impossible for her not to be puzzled.
‘This feeling is new to me.’
But still, it felt good.
The more she received her master’s love, the more she felt something filling the void inside her.
Ever since leaving the assassin family, her heart had been hollow.
There was a gaping hole that couldn’t be filled.
But at some point, that hole had been completely filled.
It was filled with a warm and comforting feeling.
‘The person who truly treats me well…’
That’s why she couldn’t help but grow fond of him.
Her master…
###
‘I really don’t get it…’
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand why Eliza treats me this way.
Of course, it’s true that I’ve always done my best to treat her well since she was young.
Even in difficult situations, I made sure she wasn’t struggling and took care of her.
But that was just me doing my best to survive.
‘At the time, that was the best I could do.’
After all, she was my personal maid.
If anything happened, I would naturally be the first to die.
In that situation, how could I not treat her well?
My actions were entirely within the realm of common sense.
‘No matter how I look at it, this is excessive.’
But does it make sense for her to act like this just because I treated her a little well?
This world is a dark fantasy, after all.
It’s not a romantic comedy where a little kindness makes affection levels skyrocket.
If it were possible to raise her affection, the protagonist would have already recruited her to his side.
In the story, she never once opened her heart to anyone.
All I have is a measly F-grade skill.
There’s no way that’s enough to raise her affection.
That’s why I can’t understand the current situation, but for now, I can only express my gratitude.
“Eliza, thank you. You saved me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
There was a battle of wills, but Eliza emerged victorious.
My sister, the former acting head, couldn’t respond when Eliza pressed her about whether the family’s rules could be broken.
Eliza’s argument that the family’s rules couldn’t be broken because she loved the family led to her victory.
Regardless, thanks to her, I managed to escape a rather tricky situation.
I expressed my gratitude, but…
“Master, please don’t look at me with those eyes.”
For some reason, Eliza seemed displeased with my thanks.
“Huh? Why?”
Why is she acting like this?
Did I do something wrong?
I couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
“It’s because… when you look at me like that, my womb trembles, and I can’t control myself.”
Yes?