The Tyrant’s Leash Is Held by a Maid

Some time later, on a holiday morning, Liana was scanning the bookshelf in the corner of the Count’s library.

“Aradna and Manish… Aradna and Manish…”

Mumbling the name of the book she sought, Liana glanced through the bookshelves. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before she was able to find the book she wanted.

[Aradna and Manish] was a thin book with illustrations. Books written in Etailan usually had an Imperial translation. As expected, Etailan books were discharged, but the Kadogan books weren’t.

‘Perhaps Miss Angelica did not want to study, so she secretly threw away the books in Etailan.’

Liana flipped to the first page and checked the book’s contents. It was a translated version of the book Phoebe had read before. It bothered her that she didn’t understand what her niece was reading because she didn’t know the noble language.

‘She has been immersed in studying Etailan these days… It’s too much for me to study Etaila, so I’ll read the translation at least. I was curious about its contents anyway.’

The epitome of a great aunt and caregiver, Liana started to read diligently. It was a thin book, so it didn’t take long to finish reading. The content of [Aradna and Manish] was not very different from the story of Manish she knew already. 

—At the beginning of time there was a God. God was lonely so he created a being who could be by his side. 

That was the original human, Manish.

God loved Manish so much that he used his power to bless him.

May you have a brilliant intellect, incredible strength, an outstanding appearance, sharp senses, and above all… 

May you have the ability to overcome the laws of Mother Nature.

And, the first beautiful being blessed by God, Manish, was conceived. 

God created countless human beings for him. All the humans knelt before Manish. It was natural.  Because everything was made only for him.

He instinctively realized that he was closer to a god than a human being and due to the divine power and affection granted to him, Manish grew arrogant.

The name of one of the blessings conferred by God was ‘Extinction.’ A single word from him could erase everything from this world. And Manish enjoyed using that ability. Anyone could be destroyed for his enjoyment.

Anyone, except for one being. 

God.

God looked upon the being he loved. As beautiful as the bright sun. A power that even the gods cannot help but admire. 

However.

First Manish. You don’t love anyone.

At God’s call, Manish fell to his knees. But his Creator knew him best.

Everyone loves, but Manish loves no one. My precious and beloved, my first human. It’s my fault for making you feel so lonely. I will shoulder that responsibility.

God swung his finger and a white storm broke.

After the fierce storm that even Manish bowed his head had calmed, a woman was lying peacefully before him.

Aradna. Only when you receive her love will you realize the blessings granted to you.

God spoke and disappeared. Manish crouched down, holding his head in pain.

The abilities granted to him as blessings were now curses.

The sweet smell of flowers turned into a strong stench that made him vomit. The silk cloth grazing his skin felt as sharp as a blade. The sound of people talking, the sound of his own breathing, the sound of dust falling leisurely on the floor turned into a horrendous roar that pierced his eardrums. The sharp five senses pierced his whole body. The more he used his abilities, the more pain he felt.

It was Aradna who saved him from his struggles. Only when he was in contact with her could he fully breathe.

Before Manish, who went rampant, destroyed a whole village, Aradna extended her hand to him. Then, like magic, all the pain went away.

Aradna.

Having regained his life, Manish offered a childish prayer to the god-like woman.

“My god. My savior. Stay by my side forever.”

Aradna smiled brightly and let herself be held in Manish’s arms. 

Everyone who saw it realized the name of the last blessing God had bestowed upon Manish.

‘Eternal love.’

—

After reading the book, Liana tilted her head as she turned the last page.

‘Well… No matter how legendary it is, isn’t it a bit cruel for children to read?’

Of course, this is something that all the people of the Empire should know, but reading it still felt a bit cruel.

‘Well, Manish won’t appear in the next 70 years. So it’s fine.’

Manish appears in 100-year cycles. The last Manish appeared 30 years ago, so by the time he was born once more, Phoebe would already be an old lady.

If you can’t see it in your lifetime, it’s just a legend.

It was a little scary, but it was something she would learn -and should learn- at some point, so Liana concluded it was alright for Phoebe to read the book.

As Liana organized her thoughts and turned to fetch Phoebe and Deborah, who were waiting for her, the library door opened and a nervous voice was heard.

“Do you know what kind of insult that girl gave me, older brother?”

“Be quiet. People listen.”

“Listen!? It’s not like I can’t say anything at all!”

Angelica groaned and slammed the library door shut. Liana instinctively leaned down and hid behind the bookshelf.

“If you want to continue to undermine your reputation, do it. But do you know that the more you do that, the higher the whore’s daughter’s reputation will rise, right?”

Threatening his younger sibling with a cold voice, he was Percival Baldwin. Angelica’s older brother and Baldwin’s eldest son; the heir to the County.

Watching them through the shelved books, Liana lowered her eyes. She remembered the  harassment her Lady suffered for being called the daughter of a prostitute.

“Oh my gosh. Does it make sense? Locked up in a barn on such a cold day? It’s the same as telling her to die!”

Recalling the story she had heard from Deborah one snowy day, Liana bent her body lower. From what she had heard, it didn’t happen just once or twice. They didn’t hide their ferocious temper. Not even in front of their younger half-sibling. If they discovered the maid was eavesdropping on their conversation, Liana knew she would be beaten half to death.

She must never be caught. Liana held her breath as she lowered her body as much as she could.

“She is no longer afraid of me. It wasn’t just a day or two that she stepped up without knowing the subject.”

“Leave her alone. She’ll be out of the mansion soon anyway.”

“Out of the mansion? Her?”

Even if she wasn’t looking directly, Liana could see Angelica’s ears prick at her brother’s words.  Percival nodded arrogantly as he looked at his younger sister.

“Yeah. I heard that Father was talking to Marquis Owen about an arranged marriage.”

“Which of the sons of Marquis Owen… Maybe the second son? Why? Did Lord Benjamin even propose to that half-blood?”

“No way. It’s not Benjamin Owen, it’s his father.”

Percival shushed his excited little sister to lower her voice.

“It seems that Father is thinking of making her the second wife of Marquis Arnold Owen. I heard the news today.”

Angelica’s face brightened like a person who had just witnessed her dreams come true.

“If you mean the Marquis, Lord Arnold Owen, he turned sixty this year, right? He divorced his wife last year!”

“That’s right. That Arnold Owen. Marquis Owen is holding on to the newly launched trading business. He was being miserly, so Father jokingly offered his younger daughter in exchange for the approvals, and Marquis Owen accepted with a smile that split his face in two.”

Angelica said coyly, as if not wanting to show the sudden improvement in her mood.

“Hmm. If it’s Marquis Owen, it’s not a bad candidate for Natasha. Although there is a little age difference.”

“Right. So don’t put a scar on that bitch’s face as you did before and pretend it was a mistake. Her face is our asset now.”

“Brother, please! When did I do that?”

After a brief chat, they left the library, giggling that half-blood was sometimes helpful. Liana waited for them to move away before she hurried out the other door.

Phew…

It took her a while to get out safely and feel comfortable. Liana finally let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart. However, her calm instantly shifted to frantic consideration of the situation.

‘Miss Natasha, what should I do…’

Liana looked up at the young Lady’s room with a worried face. 

‘She must know nothing.’

But how should she tell her? And then, she didn’t even have a good way to save her…

Her friend’s voice pierced Liana’s ear as she bit her lip, deep in thought, with a troubled expression.

“Liana! Why are you so late!”

Deborah pulled Liana from her immersion in her thoughts. She was lucky enough to have a close friend vacationing with her, to be next to her beautifully dressed Phoebe.

“It’s almost time for the stagecoach, but you weren’t coming so I came to retrieve you. What did you do to be so late?”

“Oh just… I was reading a book…”

“Aunt!”

Phoebe, dressed in outing clothes and her hair braided in two pigtails, ran towards Liana and jumped into her arms. Liana lifted the child and hugged the warm body.

“Hehe, Auntie!”

Phoebe rubbed her face like a cat and dug into her aunt’s arms. As she felt the soft child’s cheeks, Liana felt her complicated thoughts get lighter. She buried her face in Phoebe’s shoulder and took a deep breath.

Deborah approached Liana’s side and asked faintly.

“Did you read all the books you were trying to read?”

“Nng.”

“But why is your expression like that? You look paler today.”

“I think it was because I slept late last night. More than that, Deborah, the young Lady… Is she coming back late from the temple today?”

“Yeah. She’ll probably be there all day. It’s always like that when she goes to pray. Why?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Sorry for keeping you waiting. Let’s go.”

Deborah looked at her for a moment, thinking her friend was acting strange, but soon went back to her garrulous self as usual. Liana hugged Phoebe and walked next to Deborah.

Gina’s Corner:

I’ll say it a few times, but midterms are here so don’t hate me too much t-t

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