Chapter 115

The first hurdle came as we were trying to go to the dining hall to find the Pope.

“The two of you over there. Just a moment. Which maids are you affiliated with?”

Iris, startled by the voice calling us, looked at me with pupils shaking.

‘I can’t solve everything!’

I was also very flustered, but hesitation would only make us suspicious, so I firmly calmed my pounding heart and slowly turned around.

The one who called us was a well-dressed young Spinelle tribesman in butler’s attire.

A handsome man with the characteristic dark skin, and neatly tied black, fine-textured hair in a high ponytail, was looking at us, his fiery red eyes gleaming.

‘The butler is also of the Spinelle tribe?’

“Hmm?”

The moment the monocle on his nose bridge glinted, the eyes fixed on us softened, concealing the red color.

Although he wore a foxy, cheerful smile, I felt like a rabbit facing a lion. My body tensed up with fear and anxiety.

I respectfully clasped my hands together, suppressing the urge to tremble.

‘What should I do?’

I couldn’t just give a random affiliation.

There was no guarantee it would get us out of the situation, and it was a lie too easy to expose.

But judging by his quiet smile, he wasn’t going to let us go easily either.

‘…Should I draw my dagger now?’

Just as I was about to look around before drawing my sword.

“Oh? What is it? Are you girls being scolded?”

A casual voice intervened.

Approaching us were the scout, who was infiltrating as the coachman, and the fanatic man we had rescued.

He thought we, the maids, were being scolded by the butler, so he approached to help us.

“I was looking for the girls anyway… Butler Vegner. Why are you scolding them?”

“Pardon? I wasn’t scolding them. It’s a misunderstanding.”

The Spinelle tribesman, named Butler Vegner, denied the man’s words with a surprised expression, as if to lighten the atmosphere.

His foxy, slick demeanor remained, but I could clearly see his vigilance towards us lessening.

It seemed to be thanks to the fanatic, who held some rank within the Cult, recognizing us.

I silently shouted ‘Nice’ and rode this wave of chance.

“I-I apologize, Butler.”

“Not at all. Are you the new arrivals this time?”

Although we weren’t, Iris and I quickly nodded. If he misunderstood on his own, we were thankful.

“I see. Understood. Mr. Cornel, carry on with your business. I’ll be leaving now.”

The now-unvigilant butler greeted the fanatic and left.

Iris and I finally sighed in relief and greeted the man named Cornel.

“Thank you, Bishop Cornel.”

I recalled what the converging crowd had called him when we first brought him in and addressed him as Bishop.

Since it was the correct title, the man laughed heartily.

“No problem. I should be the one thanking you. I wouldn’t have returned alive without you. Lord Urkel intends to use this faithful servant still! Isn’t it his will that you girls were sent to me?”

“Are you being modest, you old man?”

The scout complained naturally.

Hearing that, the man burst into a cheerful, booming laugh and waved his hand at us.

“Anyway, if you run into any trouble like just now, just mention my name. You saved my life; how could I not help with this! Hahaha.”

“Bishop.”

“Ah, right. Well, I’ll be going now. See you later.”

At the scout’s prompting, the Bishop briefly waved and started walking again. The scout followed behind him, subtly winking at us.

We stood in place until the two were far away, and only then could we breathe a sigh of relief.

“Haa~ My heart felt like it was going to burst.”

Iris said, rubbing her chest.

“Mine too.”

“It’s a good thing we saved that person. He seems to be quite high up.”

“It wasn’t intentional, but… I suppose so.”

Saving him allowed us to enter the mansion easily and smoothly escape the crisis of meeting the butler.

I thought this alone was incredible luck, but our luck didn’t stop there.

“W-where are we?”

Despite having memorized the interior layout, we took a wrong turn and nearly got locked in the dungeon.

“The two of you over there. You have pretty faces. The two of you will serve the Cult leaders. Go to that room.”

We were suddenly apprehended by the Head Maid and were about to encounter the Cult leaders without warning. Crisis after crisis threatened to expose our infiltration.

However, just when we thought our luck had run out, the crisis was miraculously overcome every time.

Iris accidentally found a dungeon key and escaped before anyone noticed, and the butler conveniently appeared to pull us out of the situation with the Head Maid.

When this happened for the third time, I couldn’t help but stare at Iris.

‘…Isn’t this the heroine’s buff?’

The successive trials, and the protagonist who overcomes the crisis somehow.

It was a structure all too familiar to me, a reader of web novels.

‘The world really might be moving for the heroine.’

It was a natural progression to think this way.

It had been less than a day since we infiltrated, but it had truly been spectacular.

“Iris, are you done eating?”

“Yes!”

After finishing our meal, we naturally stood up, following the other maids.

It was good that we had been saved from the Head Maid’s unreasonable demand, thanks to Butler Vegner.

However, her mention of needing service for the Cult leaders seemed to be true.

The butler ordered several maids, including us, to serve tea at the Cult leaders’ meeting after dinner.

‘If you think about it, this is a great opportunity to get into the leaders’ meeting. The Pope wouldn’t miss a leaders’ meeting.’

Iris and I vaguely observed the actions of the other maids and followed suit, preparing tealeaves, hot water, and tea sets.

The maids, including us, trudged toward the main conference room.

To avoid drawing attention, I mixed in with the cluster of maids to blend in appropriately.

As we held our breath and entered the conference room, Cornel, who was seated, noticed us and waved with a smile.

I slightly bowed my head to acknowledge his greeting.

“Ah!”

But Iris was surprised by his greeting and bowed her head low.

A few people seated in the conference room chuckled upon seeing Iris. It was because she stood out sharply among the orderly maids.

I took advantage of the atmosphere being slightly eased by her reaction to check the faces seated in the room.

Inside the conference room, Spinelle tribesmen and people from the Dragon Empire were seated together. I didn’t recognize any face besides Cornel, and the number was greater than expected.

The maids who entered the conference hall tactfully stood behind the leader they were to serve.

I quickly and subtly pulled Iris and placed her behind Cornel.

‘Since he’s shown goodwill towards us, he’ll overlook a small mistake unless it’s a major one.’

After placing Iris first, I saw that the other maids were almost all standing behind someone.

I positioned myself appropriately behind the leader closest to me.

The leader seated in front of me seemed to be the second-in-command among the leaders, based on his position to the right of the seat of honor.

‘Don’t people usually try to stand behind the most powerful person first?’

The hierarchy among the maids usually differs in this regard. Yet, I was curious that there was no visible rivalry, so I glanced around and saw that the maids seemed to be avoiding the person seated in front of me.

Was it because he was of the Spinelle tribe? It didn’t seem so, as I felt distance only towards this individual.

‘He might just be a difficult superior.’

Looking closer, his expression was quite harsh.

I took care not to look too familiar with noble etiquette, brewed the tea, and smoothly poured it into the second-in-command’s teacup.

He merely nodded his eyes, lifted the cup, and savored the tea’s aroma.

But his face suddenly hardened as he savored the scent, and his eyes sharpened.

With his expression turning hostile, I secretly went over my actions while brewing the tea, wondering if I had made a mistake.

Meanwhile, the leader took a sip of tea, then suddenly turned his head sharply and glared at me.

“You!”

“Y-Yes?”

At the sudden call, all eyes in the conference room turned toward us.

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back but composed my expression as if nothing was wrong.

‘What is it? Did he catch on?’