Not a Villainess but a Maid

#010 Enrolling in the Academy!

As Ruby and I tried to board the carriage, Maid Manager Meryl grabbed our hands.

“Both of you must stay healthy there. Miss Ruby, please take good care of Amber.”

“…Yes.”

Isn’t that something usually said to a maid like me…?

Although I thought that way, Meryl seemed so sad that I nodded beside her.

Boarding the carriage, I greeted Meryl.

“I’ll be careful!”

As she gradually faded from view, the carriage headed towards the open road.

Ruby’s detached house, which we had shared for four years.

As it disappeared from sight, the realization of leaving the mansion finally began to sink in.

***

Upon arriving at the academy, I began unloading the luggage one by one.

As I struggled with the heavy luggage, Ruby grabbed it and said,

“…I’ll help.”

“What? You don’t need to, Miss…”

“It’s okay. Most of it belongs to me anyway.”

With her assistance, we dragged the luggage together.

It seemed like Ruby’s personality had become a bit more assertive lately.

Facing the grand entrance of the academy, I tightly held Ruby’s hand and said,

“Miss, there’s something I want to tell you before you start school.”

“…What is it?”

“Please be careful about choosing your friends. Really.”

I had said this out of concern that troublemaking nobles might influence her from the very first day of school.

She seemed a bit surprised by my request but soon agreed.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Ruby and I entered the building together, we saw students dressed in white and black clothes roaming around.

Black uniforms were worn by nobles, while white uniforms were for commoners.

Most of the time, nobles stuck with nobles, and commoners with commoners.

Looking at the whole picture, Ruby and I were among the few instances of a noble and commoner walking together.

I nervously scanned the other nobles.

“Are there any nobles here who have ill intentions toward Ruby?”

So far, no one had shown any particular interest in Ruby, but I couldn’t let my guard down; I didn’t know when they might approach her.

However, even momentarily forgetting my guard, I found myself captivated by the expansive structure and splendid decorations within the academy.

I wandered around, marveling at the academy’s interior that I had only seen as background illustrations in the game.

-Thunk.

After being engrossed in the sightseeing for a while, something bumped into my shoulder.

The person who collided with me was a noble in a black ceremonial robe.

“Oops, my apologies…”

I quickly apologized, but the brown-haired girl looked at me with disdain.

“…Colliding with commoners on the first day. Your luck seems quite bad.”

“I’m sorry. I was looking elsewhere, and then…”

“If an apology could erase the collision, wouldn’t that be convenient? This is what they call the mindset of commoners, isn’t it?”

Continuing her complaints, she suddenly changed her expression and showed signs of anger as she looked at Ruby standing next to me.

“Could you be Lady Ruby from the Sarka family? What a coincidence…”

In response to her question, Ruby answered expressionlessly.

“…Do we know each other?”

“We exchanged greetings at the concert a year ago. I’m Clara.”

‘Clara…?’

I recognized the name, and it clicked.

Clara was the typical second-in-command villainess who clung to the antagonist Ruby. She was the mastermind manipulating her to commit misdeeds.

It also meant she was the number one person you should never get close to Ruby.

I quickly grabbed the lady’s hand, intending to move away from that spot.

“Clara, I apologize. Miss seems to be a bit busy.”

I had thoughts of ignoring her and making a quick escape, but those who seemed like Clara’s followers blocked the way.

“Ugh…”

Whether my actions irritated Clara or not, she openly glared at me and said, “Interrupting a conversation between nobles so recklessly. Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?”

She was a schemer with eloquence, cunning, and a wide network.

Most students knew that and refrained from provoking her.

If I showed any weakness here, I wouldn’t be able to protect Ruby.

‘Hold your ground.’

While she was a noble, the influence of status only applied outside the academy.

I tried to make a strong impression and stared back at Clara.

“…!”

Then, Clara’s confident expression from a moment ago turned pale.

‘Did it work?’

Including Clara, they all took a step back.

“Oh, today, let’s withdraw since we’ve seen Lady Ruby…!”

They quickly left while saying so.

‘Phew, nobles are no big deal.’

Feeling proud that I successfully intimidated them, I looked at Ruby and grinned.

“Miss, I’ll always watch over you. Rest assured.”

“…Yeah. Thanks, Amber.”

“Let’s see, the first class is Magic Studies. The classroom is that way.”

I said so, grabbing Ruby’s hand.

***

As Clara and her companions quickly turned the corner, they breathed heavily as they exited the corridor.

“We almost got into big trouble. As expected of the notorious Lady Ruby…”

When Clara threatened the commoner with pink hair, Ruby’s expression changed in an instant.

“I thought I was going to be devoured by her gaze…”

With jet-black hair shining like darkness and red eyes glaring at them, everyone instinctively felt a primal threat and stepped back.

Clara gnawed at her thumbnail, deep in thought.

“We had plans to capture Lady Ruby on our side, but because of that commoner…”

Ruby seemed to hold the commoner woman in high regard.

“Weird. I always heard Lady Ruby usually goes around alone…”

If her thoughts were correct, Ruby was supposed to be strictly on her own.

However, today, there was a commoner accompanying her.

“This could potentially jeopardize our position.”

Regardless of what the commoner had done, she didn’t seem fit to be by Ruby’s side.

“I’ll change the plan a bit. It seems a bit challenging to directly persuade her.”

In order to somehow distance the girl from Ruby, Clara decided to try a different approach.

***

As I entered the classroom with Ruby, familiar faces came into view.

“Amethyst, Diamond!”

They knew that both of them would be entering the school together, but it was the first time seeing them within the academy.

As we greeted them, they turned towards us and returned the greeting.

“Amber! Where have you been? You’ve been with Ruby, huh?”

“Both of you look good in the school uniform.”

“Thank you!”

It seemed that Ruby and I were the last to arrive in the classroom.

There were only two vacant seats, Amethyst’s seat and Diamond’s seat.

Amethyst gestured to me, pulling out the empty chair next to her.

“Amber, let’s sit together. I saved you a seat!”

I looked at Ruby with a sense of awkwardness.

“I think we should probably sit separately, Miss.”

“Yeah… can’t be helped.”

Ruby walked confidently towards the empty seat next to Amethyst after hesitating for a moment.

Amethyst, with a somewhat awkward smile, spoke to her.

“Miss Ruby, I mentioned that this is Amber’s seat…?”

“Amber is my maid, so this is also my seat.”

“…That’s how it is then.”

“Is there something wrong with what I said?”

I passed by the two bickering people and took a seat next to Dia.

Dia smiled at me and said, “…They still get along well. Those two over there.”

“Yes, don’t you think so? I’m so glad Ruby has found a friend like Amethyst.”

“hehehehe, I agree.”

As Dia and I chatted about this and that, a woman who looked like a professor entered the classroom.

“I guess it’s time to start the class now, Dia.”

The content of the class was about the basics of magic.

Various types of magic and the differences between each attribute were covered, along with a lot of specialized terminology.

“I’m so sleepy…!”

I desperately pinched my thigh to keep myself from falling asleep.

Whether it was this world or the other world, I just hated studying.

“Finally, it’s over…”

After finishing the class, Ruby and I left the classroom together.

If it weren’t for Dia waking me up from time to time, I would have been caught sleeping on the first day of class.

There were no more classes today, so now we could rest in the assigned dormitory.

We slowly examined the room assignment list posted on the dormitory wall.

“It seems that Dia and Amethyst are in the same room. And Miss and I are too.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

I must have informed the academy that I was her maid, so they must have arranged the rooms like this.

“Fortunately. Now I’m together with Miss.”

“…Yes.”

If anything unusual happened to Ruby, she could immediately know, and she could also monitor whether she was making friends with bad people.

They could spend even more time together than when they had separate rooms in the mansion.

As they entered the room, two inviting beds came into view.

“Wow, it’s more spacious than I thought?”

Just lying down on the bed, it felt like sleep was gently pouring over.

Maybe it was due to adapting to the new space, but the fatigue from all the previous activities accumulated.

‘… Somehow, I feel sleepy…’

***

“Amber. First, change your clothes…”

“…”

“Amber?”

With no response, Ruby noticed that Amber was already asleep.

Ruby approached her.

“…You’re too careless.”

Looking at Amber, who had her top pulled up, exposing her belly, Ruby covered her with a blanket.

‘…’

Sitting on the bed across from her, Ruby remembered what she had said a while ago.

[ Fortunately. Now I’m together with Miss. ]

‘Being together like this…’

How could Amber make such an embarrassing statement without changing a single expression? For Ruby, it was quite intriguing.

She lay on the bed, listening to the faint rustling breath from her maid, contemplating Amber’s strange declaration.

“…Sleep well, Amber.”

No matter what happens, she vowed to protect Amber with her own hands within this academy.