Life As A Tower Maid: Locked Up With The Prince

The stairs went on and on. It was better when I was descending the steps, but it became overwhelming to keep going up like this.

I’ve been using the spell ‘Run’ since we entered the imperial palace, but I couldn’t do it now because I had been constantly on the move.

“Let’s take a break.”

The woman in front of me was carrying two entire adults over her two shoulders, but she didn’t even look tired at all.

Her thighs, as she was leaning against the stairs, looked rock solid even underneath that armor. She had a body which she evidently trained over many years, and she looked really nice.

Wasn’t she the very pinnacle of a girl crush? While I was still working at a company, my only exercise was breathing, so I was definitely nothing like her.

Mercy was on the slender side of the spectrum, while most of the noble young ladies that I saw in Rosteratu’s party back then were elegantly skinny while wearing those dresses of theirs. The lady knight in front of me seemed to have made a better choice.

“…What is it?”

I guess I was staring too blatantly without realizing it. She was averting her gaze from mine until now, but she finally asked.

Hearing her say that, I laughed a little.

“Your physique looks so cool that I found myself staring. You look so strong and… I just think that you’re really amazing.”

“Your words are dripping with honey.”

“I’m telling the truth though. I know how difficult it is to put on muscle. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know what your name is. May I know?”

She answered me shortly.

“I’m Leona Blake.”

“Should I call you Dame Blake?”

“Just Dame Leona is alright. Then I guess you’re from Duke Liam’s side…”

Leona read the situation right away. I nodded in response.

“Yes. His Grace is fighting up there, and I’ve been tasked to come here to release the trapped mages.”

“Didn’t you think that it would be dangerous to come here alone?”

“I’m here with Blanc though…”

“Blanc?”

Perplexed by what I said, Leona glanced down at Blanc as he was sitting on my lap, rubbing his cheeks on me. She hummed.

Come to think of it, Blanc didn’t look tired either. He didn’t usually exert himself like this, but it seemed like he had good stamina.

Until a fledgling dragon would become an adult, the contractor wouldn’t be able to share anything other than the dragon’s mana. That’s why I don’t have a share of Blanc’s physical strength.

“…For you to give a black cat the name Blanc though, it’s quite unusual.”
[ t/n: remember, Blanc = white ]

“…Haha.”

I didn’t know to what extent I should tell her, so I just laughed by myself. Leona stared up the stairs and murmured.

“…Everything about the knight order is rotten.”

Seeing her contemptuous demeanor, I thought that I should comfort her.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“…What do you know.”

However, Leona spat out curtly. It seemed like she wasn’t used to being comforted. When she shot back in response, her eyes were directed back to me.

“There are many people who just want to project their own righteousness unto others,” I said.

I could feel that this red-haired knight’s sentiments were connected to the rumors surrounding Albert.

People who thought they were right. People who existed solely for themselves.

“……”

Leona didn’t deny what I just said. She rose to her feet.

“Shouldn’t we start climbing again?”

At her behest, we began trudging up the stairs once more.

At the same time, I thought about what kind of new country Albert was going to raise. I knew for a fact that it would be nothing like how it was under Rosteratu.

“Once the new king is crowned, the knight order will change.”

Hearing my confident remark, Leona turned to look at me. She blinked in a daze.

I recalled Albert’s figure.

“…You must like him.”

She stared at me for a moment, then she said this. I was instantly surprised, and I could feel my face flushing bright red.

I didn’t think I was the type to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I guess I just really, definitely like Albert.

I wonder if Albert could also read everything on my face. Maybe the only reason he was able to agree on us having one month apart was because he could clearly see my feelings for him.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yup.”

She looked at me and spoke frankly.

“It’d be better to keep that to yourself.”

“Why do you think so?”

“You don’t seem to be an aristocrat.”

“I’ll still get a position, you know. In recognition of my contributions.”

She didn’t know anything about me and Albert, so I knew that she was only giving me earnest advice.

However, I felt myself being affected because her way of thinking exactly mirrored the reason I’d been trying to push Albert away.

As she looked into my eyes, she saw that I didn’t agree with her. Leona continued speaking as she climbed the steps.

“It’s only natural. A king without any foundation would marry a powerful noblewoman to strengthen his position.”

I know that, too. The lack of a foundation was the very reason that Albert had been brought in by Rosteratu.

“There’s actually one such young lady who comes from a household that’s been around since the founding of the country, and that household has the blood and riches of true nobles.”

However, I don’t agree with everything Leona was saying.

Albert had a lot of power himself. Apart from that, he had Mercy—the lord of the magic tower—on his side, as well as Liam, who was a duke.

Just because I told Albert I’ll be leaving doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep holding his hand.

I asked him for a month apart exactly because I knew it would be like this.

With a grin on my lips, I changed the subject.

“That’s something that couldn’t be helped, true. By the way though… I’m set to become a noble myself, but I’m worried about manners and etiquette.”

“That’s something you’ll have control over. Even if you’re not being courteous, it’s not like your position will be taken away from you.”

Leona gave me a straightforward answer. It seemed like she was the kind of person who didn’t care that much about what other people thought.

She was someone who had a clear perspective on life. In a different sense compared to Mercy, Leona was the kind of person who had a clear view of her own position and would make sure to act accordingly. I like her.

Although my beginning in this world was wracked with a grim reality after I transmigrated Rosé, it seemed like I had enough good luck to meet the right people.

Look at how I keep meeting such good people.

It’s not easy to meet someone you’d click with in an instant like this.

That’s why I want to cherish this connection.

“Dame Leona, what are you going to do after leaving this place?”

Maybe she could be a good friend and a good teacher to me.

“There’s not much I can teach you. Even if I go to a ball and wear a dress, other young ladies often look at me with such shock in their eyes. It’s also been a long time since I danced. You won’t learn what you need from me.”

Yet again, she was astute on her observations. It might be obvious from my expression or my way of speaking.

Seriously, I’m surrounded by only quick-witted people.

If you put it in another way though, perhaps they were like this only because they grew up in such environments where they needed to be quick-witted.

Leona gestured to one of her forearms with a nod.

And sure enough, she really would have stood out if she had to conform to the dresses that were usually worn by noble ladies in this world.

“I know it’s not easy building muscles like this as a woman. And I know that it’s a result of your own blood, sweat and tears, that’s why I want to be closer to you, Leona.”

People who were different from others were bound to be eye-catching. And that’s how Leona was to me.

“And like you, I’m equally someone who’d stand out. I just know that there’d be so many people objecting my appointment as a noble, especially since I’m just a maid who served His Highness while we were in the tower.”

“…You’re a maid?”

“I don’t seem like one? Then I guess that’s half a success.”

When Leona stared at me in amazement, I just shook my head. And in turn, she nodded.

“It’s certainly rare for a maid to become a mage.”

“That’s why, can’t you accept my offer? I want to get to know you more.”

She replied in a low voice.

“Do you not remember how I pointed a blade at your neck the moment we met just a while ago?”

Well, it would be a lie if I said she wasn’t scary. But at the end of the day, she didn’t kill me, and we’re cool now, so that’s enough.

“That’s why I admire you even more. You’re someone who can distinguish between public and private matters.”

“So it’s because I betrayed the knight order?”

“It’s a knight order worth betraying anyway. Especially when your liege is so corrupt.”

Leona gawked at me as though she was bewildered by how blunt I was about my thoughts on Rosteratu. I shrugged anyway, but she narrowed her eyes.

“Once I betray the knight order, it’s the same as breaking the trust I had once been given. Do you think the new king will still trust me?”

Leona scoffed. She also might be thinking that Albert wouldn’t accept any of the knights who served Rosteratu.

The people of the kingdom had never gotten the chance to see how Albert would rule. After all, before they could even get to know him, he was locked up inside that tower.

“Yes.”

However, I knew him, and so I could answer with more confidence.

“His Highness is the strongest and wisest person that I know.”

My answer was filled with honesty. It’s not because he’s the apple of my eye or anything, I’m just being truthful.

Albert was the kind of ruler who would cry for his people when they’re suffering, and he also knew how to control his anger and translate that energy into something productive.

He had enough power to kill everyone around the tower back then, but he didn’t do that.

“You can’t argue about everything on his behalf just out of your love for him.”

“I’m being extremely objective here.”

Leona smirked widely, as though she believed not one word out of my lips.

However, she let out a long exhale, then she leaned her head obliquely. She whispered back.

“I’ll think about it.”

And that was enough. In the first place, I didn’t think that I’d be able to change her mind right now.

I was about to answer, ‘I understand,’ but then—

“Cough…”

“…Where is this place?”

The mages, who Leona was carrying, woke up.

“Ah, you’re up?”

I then explained the current situation to them carefully, that I was here to remove their restraints and that the knights and Liam’s men were fighting above.

The male mage tilted his head to the side as he looked at me.

“Mages usually awaken while in their childhood, so I’ve never seen a case like you.”

“Haha, I guess I’m unique in that regard.”

I passed over their remarks lightly, then I asked if they could use magic right now.

I thought that it would be better to cast ‘Hide’ rather than to be caught right away once we reached upstairs.

The mage who agreed with my suggestion cast a spell on me. Leona, however, declined it.

“I want to let them know about my betrayal.”

She seemed to have no intention of hiding the fact that she was deserting the knight order.

The two mages were set down from Leona’s shoulders as they started walking on their own feet. At that, Leona started moving double time.

As she moved, her breathing was still as even as ever. The two mages and I followed behind her with the help of a spell.

Soon enough, after climbing up the steps while discussing the plan, we arrived at the entrance of the staircase.

I saw the redheaded man driven to the wall, evidently bloody. His and Liam’s swords were locked in a clash.

Liam also looked a little worse for wear. Half his armor had been removed and one shoulder of his was injured.

Catching sight of Leona, the redheaded man raised his head and shouted loudly.

“Leona! This way! I need help!”

Of course, Leona frowned back with her arms crossed. She shouted back at the man.

“I will not, Commander!”

“…What?”

“I can’t continue living while looking at your face, sir!”

“…Leona Blake, just what are you—”

“You must have forgotten. Your opponent is right here.”

When Liam’s sword moved once again, the man called ‘commander’ hurriedly blocked the strike.

“Leona Blake?”

Schubert was fighting some distance away, but while visibly perplexed, he ran this way. He looked confused to see that Leona wasn’t fighting.

And as such, Leona looked back at Schubert and spoke resolutely.

“I accept your stance, Baron Schubert.”

…It seemed like Schubert already tried to win her over to our side while he was still staying in the knight order before.