Not a Villainess but a Maid

#013 Accumulating Misunderstandings

If we were to pick the most prominent newcomer among this year’s academy students, there was no hesitation in naming her.

The second princess, Amethyst Lupin.

Despite her royal status, her overflowing charm, kindness, and overwhelming physical abilities that surpassed the entire grade made her shine even more.

Excluding magical abilities and focusing solely on physical strength, there were few in this academy who could match her.

It could be attributed to Amethyst’s talents and the results of early education she received since childhood.

She was particularly excellent in wielding a sword.

Among the heroines in the romantic simulation game “Lily Mage Chronicles,” she had the highest swordsmanship stat. If the protagonist’s stat was low, he couldn’t even initiate a conversation with her.

In fact, one of the conditions for conquering Amethyst was to defeat her in a swordfight.

Her initial swordsmanship score was around 80, which meant I had to invest a lot of effort in raising my stats in order to conquer her, considering that the protagonist’s initial score was 50.

Isn’t 50 pretty decent?

That’s only the protagonist’s score, not mine.

Judging by my weak grip and sluggish reflexes, even if I tried my best, a swordsmanship score of around 20 was appropriate for me.

It was the equivalent of an elementary school student who had just started holding a wooden sword.

***

During the afternoon swordsmanship session, my vision went dark as I was struck by the opponent’s sword.

“Clang.”

The opponent, who saw me collapse in disbelief with a single blow to the head, looked flustered and removed their headgear.

“Oh, are you okay? Amber…!?”

Today’s opponent was Dia, and the outcome was decided as soon as the fight began.

She revealed her shining blonde hair hidden beneath the headgear and looked at me with worried eyes.

I reached out my hand, looking at her apologetically.

“It’s okay! I should have dodged it…”

It was natural that I couldn’t win against her in a match.

Dia’s initial swordsmanship score was just the average of 50.

She must have had a score that was more than twice mine.

I wasn’t seriously injured, but my forehead, which was hit earlier, felt slightly swollen.

“If I didn’t have the headgear, things could have been much worse.”

Diligently rubbing my forehead, Diamond sat in front of me and adjusted her eye level to mine.

“Show me where it hurts, Amber.”

“What? Alright…”

She pressed her face close to mine, examining my forehead until her breath could be felt.

“A bit swollen. It’ll go down quickly once cooled.”

“Cooled?”

I wondered how there could be ice in a place like this and found it puzzling how she intended to cool my forehead.

After quietly reciting an incantation, Diamond created a small white ice crystal in her palm. She then crushed it into powder and melted it before wiping her hand.

‘Diamond, a user of ice magic…’

Having played the original work, I knew the magical attributes of the surrounding characters. Ruby Sarka wielded fire magic, Amethyst Lupin controlled wind.

However, I was unaware of Diamond’s magic attribute because the protagonist’s magic varied depending on the choice made at the beginning of the game.

“Well, this is my specialty.”

It seemed that Diamond, in front of me, was adept at ice magic. She brought her magically chilled palm close to my forehead.

“Amber, if it’s too cold, let me know.”

“Alright…”

Diamond’s cold palm touched my forehead, cooling down my warm skin even further.

Her hand was cold, but not chilly.

Beyond the coldness, I could feel the warmth of her hand, creating a subtle sensation. Unconsciously, I closed my eyes and calmly sensed it.

As Diamond’s hand gently stroked my forehead, it felt like my face was flushing.

After closing my eyes for about five minutes, Diamond gently removed her hand and spoke.

“Yes, it has subsided a lot now.”

“Thank you, Diamond.”

“No, it’s because of me that you got hurt.”

She said that and then lifted her palm from my forehead, using her other hand to caress her own.

“I should be the one grateful. Thanks to you, Amber’s forehead is much better…”

“What?”

“Oh, never mind. hehehehe.”

“…?”

After that, we took off all the protective gear and took a break, waiting for the other students’ matches to finish.

While sitting on the floor, I saw other students murmuring and watching something.

“What are they looking at like that?”

Curiosity sparked, and as I approached, I recognized two familiar faces.

Ruby and Amethyst were facing each other, clashing their swords in a duel.

Amethyst, who possessed superior swordsmanship skills, relentlessly pushed Ruby back, provoking her.

“Miss Ruby, seems like you’re not confident in your swordsmanship?”

“…My concentration is being disrupted. Please don’t talk to me.”

“Is it because Amber was watching? I feel even more nervous today.”

“···!”

In response to that remark, Ruby blushed deeply and swung her sword fiercely.

“When did I ever seem nervous···!”

It happened in an instant.

Amethyst, seizing the moment when Ruby’s posture briefly faltered, skillfully knocked her sword out of her hand.

“···!”

Ruby’s sword, now free from her grip, awkwardly tumbled to the ground.

“···I guess I need to work harder. What if you get it snatched away by me?”

···That won’t happen.”

The duel ended in Amethyst’s victory, and the female students watching nearby exclaimed in admiration as they flocked to her.

“Amethyst-nim, you were so cool!”

“Your swordsmanship was exquisite···! Could you teach it to the girl too?”

She was quite popular.

Whether the intentions of those clinging to her nearby were for social climbing or purely wanting to be friends, it was a bit unclear. Nevertheless, there was unanimous agreement that she was the center of attention here.

Amethyst, with a somewhat awkward smile towards them, spoke.

“Sorry, ladies. Could you clear the way for a moment?”

As they stepped back, Amethyst walked straight towards me.

‘Somehow, it feels like she’s coming to me···?’

“Amber. You were watching!”

“Ah, yes…! Amethyst.”

Because everyone’s attention was focused on us, I couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious.

Amethyst, without minding such things, looked at me with a wide smile and asked,

“Who were you cheering for between me and Ruby?”

“Um…?”

“Between me and Ruby, who were you cheering for?”

Amethyst asked, looking straight into my eyes.

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I looked at her in bewilderment.

“That’s… well…”

Just as I was about to answer, Ruby, who appeared from behind, grabbed my wrist.

“You don’t have to answer, Amber.”

“Miss?”

With a slightly raised eyebrow, Ruby addressed Amethyst.

“Amethyst, please refrain from putting my maid in an awkward position.”

“…”

Although the two didn’t exchange many words, there was an intense atmosphere for some reason.

As the tension seemed to build up, Amethyst first smiled widely and extended her hand to her.

“Sorry. I was just bored and wanted to play a little prank. Relax your expression, Ruby.”

Ruby, who had been glaring at that hand for a moment, sighed heavily and then took it.

“If you want to apologize, do it to Amber, not me.”

“Sorry, Amber. I’ve put you in a difficult position.”

I responded, tilting my head.

“It’s alright. I’m used to it now.”

With a nonchalant expression, I firmly held Ruby’s and Amethyst’s hands.

“More importantly, I hope you two get along well.”

Amethyst chuckled and asked in return.

“What are you talking about? Ruby and I are really close… Right?”

“Well… Sort of.”

The two of them smiled awkwardly at each other, but I wasn’t satisfied.

“Is that really true?”

“Of course!”

“Then, please embrace each other with reconciliatory hearts.”

“What!?”

As they both questioned almost simultaneously, I spoke with a gloomy expression.

“Wasn’t your relationship close enough to embrace each other?”

“…”

Ruby and Amethyst awkwardly faced each other, then loosely wrapped their arms around each other’s waist.

With a strained effort, Ruby asked me.

“Is this… okay?”

“Yes, you two seem close, and it makes me happy!”

Seeing them treat each other with respect made me inexplicably proud.

My goal was simply to transform Ruby Sarka into not the antagonist, but an ordinary noble.

To achieve that, she needed to be on good terms with a variety of friends.

The downfall of Ruby, my master, meant my downfall as well.

As a respectable member of the Sarka family, my fate was unlikely to end well.

***

Parting ways with Ruby for the next class, I was approached by a group of nobles.

“Excuse me, could you spare a moment?”

“Yes?”

They were the nobles who had been clinging to Amethyst just a while ago.

“I heard that you call Amethyst ‘Amel’ or something like that.”

“…”

I was careless.

Casually shortening the name of Princess Amethyst was something only I might do in this entire kingdom.

I had thought to be cautious in public, but in the midst of people watching, that title slipped out like a habit.

“…I don’t know what connection you have with Princess Amethyst, but honestly, it doesn’t look very favorable.”

The girls surrounding me were the opposite of Clara’s group, embodying a different kind of nobility.

They prioritized etiquette and honor above all, positioning themselves in the upper echelons of social hierarchy, so to speak, model students.

It seemed that my, a commoner’s, close association with royalty did not sit well with them.

While they might not resort to direct violence like yesterday’s group, it was clear that stepping out of line would bring no good.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop talking about it.”

First, while trying to appease the atmosphere a bit, I thought I should just gloss over it.

At that moment, someone approached from behind, putting their arm on my shoulder and saying,

“I asked you to call me that way, didn’t I?”

“…!”

It was Amethyst Lupin.

As she appeared, the expressions of those blocking my way in front of me changed perplexedly, and they began to make excuses.

“Amethyst-nim, this is not what it seems…”

“I asked to be called that way. What’s wrong with that?”

They exchanged uneasy glances and then lowered their heads.

“No, it’s not. We didn’t mean to upset Amethyst-nim’s mood…”

“…It’s awkward, really.”

Suddenly, Amethyst wrapped her arms around me from behind and brought her face close.

“Ah, Amethyst…?”

I looked surprised, but Amethyst ignored my expression and warned them.

“I hope you don’t treat my fiancé disrespectfully.”

“…Engagement!?”

The women looked at me in shock.

“Hey, engagement… Is that true…? Amethyst-nim and this commoner…?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

‘What are they talking about right now…?’

I was just as bewildered.

They seemed thoroughly confused, bowing their waists at a 90-degree angle, apologizing.

“We have committed a grave offense…! Lady Amethyst…!”

“No, it’s fine. Just be more careful in the future.”

Though her eyes were smiling, there was an unfamiliar pressure emanating from Amethyst, something I had never felt before.

“We will, um, withdraw for now…”

“Yeah. Go on, be careful.”

As they disappeared, Amethyst released the hand that had been around my waist.

Turning to her, I asked in confusion, “Amé, what’s going on…? Fiancée?”

“What does it matter? It’s not like we’re really engaged.”

She added with an indifferent expression, still smiling, “If things go this way, no one will dare to disrespect Amber.”

“…”

As I silently gazed at her with a complicated expression, she calmly asked, “If you don’t like it, I can go clarify it with them. Would you like that?”

“No… It’s not that I dislike it, but…”

“Alright, then let’s leave it at that for now. See you tomorrow, Amber.”

Amethyst said so and suddenly left.

‘···It happened.’

It was only a matter of time before rumors spread that I was now engaged to the Amethyst Princess, the second princess.

As she said, the nobles who treated me disrespectfully would decrease, but the problem was…

‘What if Ruby finds out···?’

Although I haven’t actually engaged with Ruby, the thought of it reaching Ruby’s ears was quite frightening.

Before explaining the situation, won’t the maid be dismissed···?

The quarrels with the nobles over today have disappeared, but now with a new sense of unease, I stood blankly in the empty corridor for a while.