Chapter 21: A Maid Outfit and a Clever Ruse

Leaving the Imperial Council chamber, Aurora walked briskly down the corridor, followed by two attendants from House Olivia.

They were sent by Ed to keep an eye on her, ensuring she didn’t cause trouble in the palace.

Dressed in blue uniforms with longswords at their waists, they flanked her at a discreet distance.

What Aurora planned to do next obviously couldn’t be witnessed by them, but before sending them off, she could make use of them to fetch some clothes for the fox girl.

“You two, go find me a maid’s outfit.”

“Miss, you want a maid uniform…?”

“For a friend. Don’t ask questions, hurry back.”

The two obeyed and soon returned with an armful of clothes.

Aurora flipped through them, her frown deepening.

The first was a black short skirt style, with a large U-shaped cutout at the chest, and a white apron so thin it was like gauze—wearing it, the curves of her chest would be impossible to hide.

The second was slightly better, at least long-sleeved, but the neckline was even more exaggerated, a V-shaped cut that plunged all the way below the sternum, laced tightly from the sides, clearly meant to push the breasts together into a cleavage.

The third was a tube top style, shoulders and collarbones completely exposed, the chest line hovering just at the edge of slipping off.

The women’s clothing in this world truly followed the law of fabric conservation—no matter how the style changed, the parts that were meant to be sexy never lacked exposure.

Aurora’s own attire was considered decent—though the inner layers might be exaggerated, at least the outer was proper, right?

What’s underneath doesn’t matter anyway, since no one sees it.

After searching for a bit, Aurora finally found one that was acceptable at the very bottom.

A black dress with a high collar and a lace tie around the neck. Though the neckline wasn’t low, the shoulders and upper arms were completely bare. The white apron’s ruffled edge sat right above the chest line, covering the key area. The hem reached above the knees, paired with black thigh-high stockings.

It exposed shoulders and legs, but at least the chest was covered.

Choosing the best among the worst.

“This one.”

With the clothes found, it was time to get rid of these two nuisances.

Aurora picked up the dress and waved at the two.

“Alright, remember those black market merchants from when the Queen set me up last time? I recall they’re locked in the dungeon. Go to the dungeon and find a way to bring them out. I want to question them.”

The two attendants hesitated for a moment, but dared not defy the young lady’s orders, so they turned and hurried off.

Before long, the two came running back, pale-faced.

“Miss! Something happened in the dungeon! The guards are all dead, and the prisoners—there’s blood everywhere—”

Aurora’s eyes widened, her expression perfectly feigning shock.

“What?! Go report to the Marquis at once! Hurry!”

The two sprinted off.

Aurora watched them disappear around the corner of the hallway until their footsteps faded completely, then slowly let out a breath.

Ah, so easy to fool.

Aurora picked up the maid outfit and quickened her pace toward where Walpurgis and the others were hiding.

She turned into a narrow side passage, at the end of which was a small kitchen used by the guards to heat their meals.

She pushed the door open; Walpurgis was leaning against the stove, still pale.

Juliet was crouched in the corner, her large blue tail tucked between her legs, the tips stained with dried dark red blood, her dress soaked beyond recognition.

“I’ve brought the clothes. Change quickly.”

Aurora tossed the maid outfit over, then slid the door bolt shut and turned to face the wall.

“I won’t look. Walpurgis, help her wipe down.”

“…Why me?”

“You’re a girl.”

“You’re a girl too!”

“I’m a lady; ladies don’t look at such things. Hurry up.”

Walpurgis grumbled as she carried a basin of water over.

Behind her came the sound of fabric peeling away, then the noise of a wet cloth wiping skin.

“Lift your arm… there’s still some here on your neck. Don’t move.”

Walpurgis’s voice suddenly paused.

“…What’s with your chest?”

“Hm?”

“You’re shorter than me, so why are they so big?”

Juliet’s tone was lazy.

“Eat well, massage them more, and they’ll grow. Oh, don’t make such a big deal.”

“You!”

Aurora, still facing the wall, silently shook her shoulders.

Walpurgis scrubbed harder in anger, the water splashing noisily.

Juliet let out a pained hiss.

After a bit of fussing, the maid outfit was finally on. Aurora turned around and took a look—the black high collar covered the scratches on her neck, the white apron’s ruffled edge hid her chest line, and the skirt paired with black stockings looked quite decent.

But the pair of blue fox ears on her head and the large tail behind her were anything but maid-like.

“If you go out like this, you’ll be recognized in three seconds.”

Juliet blinked her golden eyes, and a faint glow shimmered over her body.

The fox ears retracted into her hair, and her tail vanished as if plucked away. Her features slightly adjusted, her beast-like appearance faded, leaving only a short human girl with blue hair and golden eyes.

—A bit short, a bit busty, but who would pay attention to a maid?

Actually, she looked quite pretty.

This must be the fox-kin’s racial trait—transformation magic.

Walpurgis stuffed the bloodstained old clothes into the stove and burned them, while Aurora wiped the blood and footprints from the floor with a rag.

The three slipped out through the side door and hurried along the corridor toward the church.

By now, over an hour had passed since Aurora had ‘started her bath.’ Balian was instructed to soak for a full two hours, so theoretically there was still time—but they couldn’t afford to delay any further.

Back in the private room, Aurora closed the door and had barely taken a few breaths when—

Knock, knock, knock.

“Miss, I’ve finished washing. Are you still in there?”

Balian’s voice came from outside the door.

Aurora and Walpurgis exchanged a glance, a wave of fear washing over them.

Juliet silently retreated behind the wardrobe.

“I’m not done yet! Did you soak for a full two hours?”

Aurora shouted through the door, her tone righteous.

“Almost. Miss, you’ve been in there alone for over an hour. I was a bit worried—”

“I take long baths, I’m a girl after all. Go attend to your business. Haven’t you been busy lately?”

There was a moment of silence outside.

“…Indeed, Her Holiness Celestine recently assigned me some coursework herself, and said there would be regular assessments.”

Oh? Her Holiness Celestine is personally teaching Balian? That’s something new.

“Then why aren’t you studying?”

“But today is our date—”

“Balian.” Aurora cut him off, her voice suddenly serious. “Think about it: while I’m bathing, you can’t do anything—it’s a pure waste of time. You’re ignoring the coursework personally assigned by Her Holiness to waste time here. Is that appropriate?”

“But miss—”

“Let me finish. If you don’t do the coursework, you’re slighting Her Holiness. Slighting Her Holiness is disrespecting the Goddess. Disrespecting the Goddess is dereliction of duty. If you’re derelict, and I’m with you, others will say the soldiers of House Olivia have no discipline. If others say my house has no discipline, I’ll be embarrassed. If I’m embarrassed, I’ll feel uncomfortable. If I feel uncomfortable—”

She paused, then emphasized.

“Then it means you failed as a protector.”

There was a full five seconds of silence outside the door.

“…This logic seems a bit off somewhere.”

“Where is it off? Point out which step has a problem.”

Another silence.

“Nothing… they all seem right.”

Indeed, this kind of sophistry was extremely effective against an honest person.

“Alright, go attend to your work. Also, summon a squad of obedient family guards for me, just have them wait at the door. If I finish my bath quickly, I might take a walk around.”

“Make sure they’re obedient—obedient to me. I hope you understand what I mean.”

“…Yes, miss. Please don’t cause trouble.”

“Hey!”

The sound of footsteps gradually faded.

Aurora let out a long sigh. Behind her, Walpurgis gave a thumbs up, and Juliet, hidden behind the screen, silently applauded.

Wait.

A sudden thought struck Aurora.

Her Holiness Celestine—the reincarnated goddess who had said to her, ‘Odd changes, even unchanged, signs depend on quadrant.’

That day, she had used perfect Chinese to exchange a secret code with Aurora. Several days had passed, and Aurora had been too busy to look into it.

How could a half-elf from another world know a mathematical mnemonic from Earth?

And now she was personally teaching Balian… Perhaps I might find some clues in that coursework.

“Balian!” Aurora called out into the corridor.

The distant footsteps halted.

“Copy down the coursework Her Holiness assigned you and show it to me!”

“Why?”

“Less talk, just copy it.”

“…As you command.”

The footsteps faded again, this time for real.

Aurora leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

Odd changes, even unchanged, signs depend on quadrant.

Just what kind of being is this elf?

Ah, so many things to deal with. Better handle the ‘happy water’ first. The elf isn’t going anywhere.

Walpurgis asked:

“What do we do now?”

“What else? Take a bath. You help Juliet wash up. Get it done within ten minutes.”

“Why is it always me!”

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