Chapter 32
*No Thanks, I’m Good with Being a Maid*
Thump, thump, thump. A rhythmic sound resonated through the ground. It was too powerful and organized to be zombies. The goblin coachman scrambled back into the carriage. The black horses pawed the ground, snorting.
“Is a monster appearing?”
I had seen monsters when I was Anna. Small ones, when I accompanied the young master on a short trip to gather golem materials. Back then, they just seemed like ugly, smelly animals, not particularly frightening.
But there were larger, more terrifying monsters in the forest. I tightened my grip on the vacuum cleaner.
“Young Master, can we use monsters as ingredients?”
“Don’t be absurd. It’s not a monster.”
“Oh…”
“Don’t be disappointed. And don’t even think about making food with monsters.”
He placed his hand over mine, which was holding the vacuum cleaner. Now that he mentioned it, the thumping sound resembled the marching of soldiers.
The sound grew closer. Thump! With a powerful stomp, all the birds perched on the trees took flight.
We could finally see who was approaching. It wasn’t a monster, and it definitely wasn’t a zombie. As Miss Baba had predicted, an unexpected person was slowly walking towards us.
It was Crown Prince Umbram.
“Your Highness.”
I bowed deeply for the young master, holding the sides of my skirt and lowering my head. The vacuum cleaner slipped from my grasp and clattered to the ground. An unknown fluid dripped from my skirt as I moved. It was a truly disgusting sight.
Would this reflect poorly on the young master? I discreetly wiped the fluid on the ground with my foot.
“What brings you here? I didn’t think you had the time to be in a place like this.”
The young master asked, standing with a defiant posture. Crown Prince Umbram smiled brightly.
“Lupin. You don’t seem very pleased to see me. I was just worried. Edna told me you burned down the entire civilian cemetery.”
“It was unavoidable to minimize the damage.”
“Covering damage with more damage is foolish.”
Their gazes locked. The Crown Prince shrugged dramatically.
“Your reputation will inevitably suffer because of this incident. I’m sorry, but please understand. I’m not going to punish you or revoke your position as zombie investigator. I’m just asking you to be careful.”
He extended his arm and gestured towards the forest. The forest, which had been ravaged by the young master’s flames, looked green and beautiful, as if zombies had never existed.
But the Crown Prince continued as if he didn’t see how untouched the forest was.
“This forest, adjacent to Raguel City, is the Forest of Purification. No magic other than white magic is allowed here. You know this, Lupin. And yet you set fire to it with your magic. Was this also to minimize damage?”
“We detected a significant number of presumed zombies while traveling. It was clear that there would be casualties if they reached the villages.”
The young master glared at the Crown Prince, as if forgetting about their difference in status.
“Should I have prioritized protocol even if it meant people dying? I’ll do so in the future, if that’s what you wish.”
His expression clearly conveyed that he meant the opposite. He looked like he was about to punch the Crown Prince.
Compared to the young master, the Crown Prince was as delicate as a flower. He wasn’t more beautiful than the young master, but he certainly looked weaker. A frail-looking beauty, perhaps?
I had a feeling the young master would win in a fight. Objectively speaking, our young master looked like a swordsman. The Crown Prince looked like he would faint from a single blow from the young master’s magic staff.
Perhaps sensing this, the knights standing near the Crown Prince took a step closer to us, looking tense.
The Crown Prince, perceptive as ever, smiled and calmed them down.
“I’m not here to fight with you, Lupin. I just stopped by on my way to see Edna. I can’t leave the zombie extermination solely to you.”
He smiled gently and approached us, step by step.
“Indeed, as Edna said, there are many zombies. We found traces of zombies in a nearby village cemetery. The zombies in this forest must have originated from there.”
The young master stepped forward, as if to greet the Crown Prince, or rather, as if he was actually going to punch him this time. It was probably my imagination, but you never knew. I stepped forward, ready to trip the young master if necessary.
“Young Master, you can’t just knock someone down, no matter how annoying they are.”
“What are you talking about? Why would I do that?”
The young master placed his hand on my shoulder and said nonchalantly to the Crown Prince,
“I’m currently on my way to deliver zombie cores to an acquaintance of Knight Commander Edna Raguel, as per her request. If our paths happen to cross, I’ll investigate the affected cemetery myself.”
The Crown Prince frowned. His gaze, strangely, was fixed on my shoulder, where the young master’s hand rested.
“You said she’s your doll.”
The hand on my shoulder tightened.
“She has never belonged to anyone else.”
“Am I not someone else? Lupin, you couldn’t have defeated all those approaching zombies alone. Your magic is precise and powerful, but it takes time to cast. So, the one who helped you until then…”
The Crown Prince stepped closer. Even our ill-mannered young master had a limit when it came to picking fights. But the Crown Prince seemed to think he had no limits, as he continued to approach, so I discreetly stomped on the young master’s foot.
“Beautiful and strong.”
“You flatter me, and you misunderstand. She’s not that special.”
I pressed down harder on his foot. He winced, trying to suppress a groan, and pulled me closer.
“If she’s not that special, then you can give her to me.”
The Crown Prince reached out languidly. His hand, which seemed like it was about to caress my face, changed direction slightly and touched my messy black hair, which I had tried to keep neat while fighting zombies.
I pulled on the ends of my hair, and the strands caught in his hand were pulled free. I frantically tried to fix my hair.
“I’ll fix it right away. This hairstyle is disrespectful. Our young master is very particular about manners.”
“You don’t have to be so formal with me. You’re not human.”
As a doll, I didn’t like hearing that. Honestly. Did he think I wanted to be a doll?
I was a doll because I had no other choice! This Crown Prince was a fraud.
Or rather, had he become a fraud because he was the Crown Prince? Well, if you were in such a high position, it would be tempting to deceive people. He had probably become a con man in the process.
A ridiculous con man who lied to a doll about becoming human.
As I looked up at him defiantly, he leaned closer and whispered,
“You still don’t believe me? That I can make you human?”
“If you have nothing else to say, we’ll be going now.”
The young master seemed eager to leave. Normally, this would be the time to back down, but I was different. He had said I didn’t have to be formal.
“Why do you keep asking me if I want to become human? Are you actually going to turn me into a human, or are you trying to scam me—Mmph!”
The young master suddenly covered my mouth. He gave an awkward laugh and pulled me back.
“Haha, I apologize, Your Highness. She’s a bit… unruly. She’s not worthy of your attention.”
“I rather like her. Her impudence is charming. If it bothers you that much, you can train her to be obedient and then give her to me.”
The Crown Prince smiled, touching his lips.
“A beautiful and strong doll serving the Crown Prince. Wouldn’t that be splendid? Lupin, I’ve always told you to become mine. I’m giving you the opportunity.”
“You’re persistent. But you know I won’t back down.”
The young master turned me around completely.
“Hey! I haven’t gotten an answer yet! Why do you want to turn me into a human?!”
“Estella, please. You’re my doll. Please, just listen to me.”
He sounded like he was talking to a troublesome younger sibling. I felt slightly offended.
Yes, I was a doll. A doll here, a doll there. Was I nothing but a doll?
I planted my feet firmly on the ground and grabbed his lapel. I didn’t care about the Crown Prince or anything else. I was a doll, I didn’t know anything about manners!
“I’m your maid before I’m a doll! A maid who works harder than a human for you! Stop calling me a doll! Do you know how scary a doll can be when it’s angry? I might just change my profession to haunted doll that appears in creepy mansions at midnight!”
My threat made him press his lips together, trying to suppress a laugh. I was bewildered. I was being so serious, and he was laughing? He found this funny?!
Just as I was about to headbutt him, he cupped my face in his hands. And then, so gently…
He smiled so warmly, so tenderly that I was speechless.
“Shut up.”
With his large hands, he smoothed my hair and clothes, which were covered in zombie goop.
“I don’t think of you as an ordinary doll. Estella, there’s no need for you to feel intimidated.”
“But you don’t see me as a human either. You’re saying I can’t even replace Anna. I, I am Anna…”
My head drooped. Just then, the Crown Prince’s outrageous words snapped us back to reality.
“Lupin’s combat doll, Estella. If you become human, I’ll take you as a concubine.”
Honestly, just commit regicide at this point.
Both the witch and the king are incredibly irritating.