Not a Villainess but a Maid

#012 Dia in Crisis

It was a volatile situation.

Clara, fueled by anger, raised her hand, and instinctively, I stepped in front of them.

“Wait!”

As Clara and I locked eyes for a moment, her eyes widened, and she laughed as if in mockery.

“What’s this, aren’t you the commoner from yesterday?”

First of all, I managed to escape, but I had no idea what to do next.

“Jumping out to protect a friend. Truly a tear-inducing friendship.”

‘…What should I do?’

The odds were 5 to 2, with Clara’s side of 5 being much more favorable.

Just by looking at their physique, the opponents seemed much larger, and engaging in a fight could lead to a serious beatdown.

Moreover, there was a slim chance, but there could be a magical showdown if things continued this way.

In principle, unofficial confrontations were prohibited, but here there was no risk of being caught, and they didn’t seem to care about such rules in the first place.

And, despite the threatening expression I had been making since yesterday, Clara and her companions paid no attention.

Have they adapted in just one day…

If we went into a fight, our defeat was evident.

In the end, the best course of action for me was to get out of this crisis with as little conflict as possible.

There had to be some move that could completely turn the situation around…

‘In the original work, what happened at this point?’

Originally, this event was an Amethyst Lupin favorability event towards the protagonist.

When in a precarious situation, the second princess Amethyst was supposed to appear, but I unintentionally took on that role.

In the game, Amethyst blocked their way and said:

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not particularly trying to protect this guy.”

‘Yeah, let’s go with the same lines.’

I recited the lines verbatim.

“…Don’t get me wrong. I’m not particularly trying to protect this guy.”

“…”

The expressions of Clara and the others turned chillingly cold.

‘Ah, right. The tone.’

Considering my commoner status, I should have switched to formal language, but I kept speaking informally, making things awkward.

Clara, upon hearing my response, asked in a puzzled tone.

“…So, what’s the intention behind this? And, about that tone…”

At least I had succeeded in unsettling them.

The problem was what came next.

‘…This is bad, just when I need to be composed…’

Due to my tendency to blank out when nervous, I couldn’t think of Amethyst’s next line in the game.

“Diamond is…”

As I pondered on what to say next, I blurted out without thinking.

“Diamond is, my buddy…!”

The atmosphere around me froze astonishingly.

I glanced at Diamond out of the corner of my eye, and she seemed somewhat flustered too.

Clara, with an embarrassed expression, asked me as if probing.

“…Buddy, huh? A commoner-like lowly expression. So, why is she your ‘buddy’?”

Since I had already gotten myself into this mess, I decided to maintain the confident tone.

Now that it had come to this, let’s keep going with the current atmosphere.

“You all might think I’m close to Diamond, but that’s a big misconception.”

“Is it a misunderstanding?”

“Because, this woman is thoroughly using me.”

I casually placed my hand on Dia’s shoulder and leaned against her with the most nonchalant feeling.

“I told her to give me the answer in today’s class. Right, Dia?”

Sending a sidelong glance to Dia, she seemed slightly puzzled for a moment but quickly grasped my intention and began acting.

“Yes… that’s right.”

“There, heard that?”

While I thought Dia did a great job in acting, she didn’t stop talking.

“And handling Amber’s homework is also my responsibility. If not, every day she…”

“Huh?”

I raised my arm unconsciously with a puzzled expression at the lie that seemed to have gained weight. Dia sat on the floor, covering her head.

“Heek…! Please don’t hit me today…! I was wrong, Amber…!”

Watching her tremble and stammer, anyone would find it hard to believe it was a lie.

‘Is this acting for real…?’

Clara, with a confused expression at Dia’s appearance, spoke.

“It can’t be… a commoner commanding a noble…? That can’t happen…”

She, who had been thinking something deeply on her own, glanced at me and muttered quietly.

“Come to think of it, that girl was said to be Ruby’s servant… Why would she keep such a person around…”

Recalling Ruby’s stern expression that she had forgotten, Clara involuntarily hugged her shoulders.

Then, hurriedly turning around, she started engaging in a lively conversation with the other girls.

It seems like we were too hasty in our judgment. The maid chosen by Lady Ruby must possess extraordinary power…

…That may be true, but judging by appearances, she seems quite ordinary.

As I anxiously observed that scene, suddenly, Diamond tapped my waist and whispered.

“Amber, try casting a spell.”

“What? What kind of spell?”

“Anything will do, as long as it’s something threatening.”

Unable to resist her demand, I raised one arm and cast a spell.

“…Zap.”

A dazzling spark shot up from my fingertips.

It was a technique I called ‘welding’ because similar flames popped up when welding, but in reality, it was a less effective skill than an electric flyswatter.

However, Diamond’s reaction to it seemed as if she were facing a life-threatening crisis.

“Eek, spare me…! Lady Amber…!”

As she screamed, Clara and the other women’s attention turned towards Diamond.

“Please endure being shocked by electricity…! Rather, pull out my teeth instead!”

Diamond kneeled, fervently begging, and I found myself unnecessarily drawing attention.

“Lady Clara, what should we do…!?”

“…”

Clara and the others, hearing Diamond’s cries mixed with screams, eventually took a step back.

“…We’ll just retreat for today. It’s not because we’re scared of you, absolutely not!”

Following Clara’s hasty retreat, the women behind her exclaimed with choked voices.

“I’m not at fault…!”

“I won’t do it again!”

There, Clara’s angry retort echoed.

“You shouldn’t show such humble attitudes to commoners like that…!”

What made Clara’s words even funnier was that her voice was trembling noticeably.

As they retreated and concealed themselves in the corridor, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“…Phew. I thought we were going to get caught and die.”

At that, Dia smiled and said with a mischievous expression.

“Me too, Amber.”

“…Considering that, you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, didn’t you?”

“What? Me? No way.”

Anyway, if it hadn’t been for Dia’s inspired performance, we would have been in big trouble.

While Dia and I leaned against the pillar, someone in the distance waved and approached.

“Amber! I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Amethyst appeared a beat late, her white ponytail fluttering.

She looked at Dia and me and asked in a puzzled tone.

“What’s going on? Both of you don’t look well.”

“…There was something.”

“What, is it a secret just between you two?”

It is a secret indeed.

If I were to be discovered, it would be an impossible secret to guarantee my life.

“Wait, wasn’t this event originally a favorability increase event for Dia and Amethyst?”

Amethyst should have stepped forward and embraced her, but I intercepted and took on that role.

“So, what happens to the favorability?”

Just as I was thinking that, Dia took my hand and spoke.

“Thank you for saving me, Ember.”

It wasn’t the first time our hands had touched, so I replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Dia played a bigger role anyway.”

“…I’ve said it before, but you’re really kind, Ember. Even though you were trembling so much earlier, you gathered the courage to come and save me.”

“…Was I really trembling that much?”

“Yes. I thought someone had cast an earthquake spell.”

“…”

I was relieved that Clara didn’t catch us.

If they had found out, this operation would have been a complete failure.

Dia moved her hand that she was holding onto casually, and gently touched my hand with her fingers.

“Do you know? Ember, you were like a hero.”

“…A hero?”

“Yes. A small and cute…my very own hero.”

There was something strange in the way she looked at me, but it was probably just my imagination…

“Include me a little too. You two keep talking alone. It’s boring.”

Amethyst watched us and forcibly separated our hands in the middle, grabbing one each.

“Yes?”

Perplexed, both I and Diamond had our hands held by Amethyst, and we found ourselves strolling in the backyard as if being pulled along.

“Let’s take a walk! Until lunchtime like this.”

In response to her words, Diamond smiled and replied, “A walk? Sometimes that’s nice too.”

The three of us walked diligently, and the incident from earlier quickly faded from our minds.

The problem was that Amethyst’s idea of a walk and what we had in mind seemed to be different.

“Before eating, we should run, right? Both of you think the same, don’t you?”

“Amethyst, a short break, please…”

“Come on, let’s run again!”

That day, until lunchtime, we were forced into a sprint through the garden, held by Amethyst’s hands.