Chapter 74

“I can see a bit of the future.”

“So? So what happened?”

Clara pressed Enette for answers.

After their single day of leave ended, the servants of the Goethe estate were busy cleaning the mansion.
Everyone was scrubbing floors and wiping surfaces with mops and damp cloths.

“Nothing happened.”

Enette wrung out her rag as she replied.

The wooden bucket of water had already turned a deep red.
It was blood.

After slaughtering the soldiers the marquis had brought, the bodies and flesh had been cleared away, but the bloodstains remained.

The maids didn’t openly question it, but they whispered among themselves, letting their imaginations run wild—
an assassination attempt on the count, a demon passing through, or perhaps the eldest young master causing another mana explosion.

Even the guards, who might have known something, kept their mouths shut, only fueling their curiosity.

Almost as much as that, their gossip centered around Isaac’s movements.

Since returning to the estate from Vinfelt, Isaac had gone back and forth to Bern City several times.
Rumors and speculation had spread about that as well—but this time, the scale was different.

“I heard there was chaos in Bern City?”
“They say all the great houses got purged?”
“I heard there was even fighting—tons of bodies!”
“Maybe they were trying to rebel? Isn’t the timing too perfect? Right after the eldest young master came back—ow! Why’d you hit me!?”
“You want to get purged too? Watch your mouth.”
“Enette, you know something, don’t you? You went out with him that time.”

Naturally, the attention of the maids turned to Enette.

“Nothing happened. I just took care of the second young master in Black Goose Village.”

“As if! Try fooling someone else.”

Clara snorted.

“If you suddenly run off with the young master after this, I’m not calling you a friend anymore.”

“No way, she’d latch onto him the moment she gets the chance. Since she’s close to him, she could at least become head maid or lady’s attendant.”

At Hilde’s comment, the other maids burst into laughter.
She, too, had once nearly been sold into human trafficking alongside Enette and Clara.

“Hey!!”

Clara shouted, her face turning red.

“Clara.”

Rosa finally stepped in.

She had been silently mopping without joining the chatter.
With her red hair tightly tied back, she thrust the mop toward Clara.

“Go rinse this.”

“Why me? You were the one cleaning—”

“Now.”

At Rosa’s glare, Clara clicked her tongue and snatched the mop.

No matter how brash Clara was, she couldn’t win against Rosa.
No maid had ever come out of a fight with her unscathed.

Knowing her temper, the others backed off as well.

“Enette. Go rest.”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“Your face is pale. And—”

Rosa took the rag from Enette’s hand.

“You’re not cleaning blood anymore. You’ve been scrubbing the carpet.”

“….”

“Look at it—it’s soaked. You’re just making more work. I’ll explain it to the head maid.”

Enette clenched her now-empty hand.

She stared blankly at the soaked carpet.

“If you ever feel like talking later—”

“I told you, nothing happened. I think I’ll rest today, like you said. Thanks.”

She spoke quickly and hurried out into the corridor.

***

She didn’t even remember how she made it back to her room.

Enette collapsed onto the bed without even changing out of her uniform.
Clara would normally make a fuss about that, but Enette had no energy to care.

—Shall I kill her?

She had heard it clearly.

A voice devoid of emotion—like a blade.

The bodyguard’s words hadn’t sounded like killing a person.
More like asking permission to kill a rat or an insect.

Enette instinctively touched her neck.

In the end… it had not been severed.

Because of Isaac.

—Enette is someone I need.
—There are others with talent for magic. A mere maid cannot be trusted. Why keep creating weaknesses?
—You’re alive because of that. Have you forgotten?

After being struck by an attacker’s staff, Enette had lost consciousness while hearing Isaac and Carlson argue.

She woke up in a luxurious inn in Bern City.

Once she regained her senses, Isaac explained everything—
the situation of Goethe, why he had hidden his ability to use magic,
and what he intended to do… and what role she would play in it.

She couldn’t understand any of it.

They were speaking the common tongue, yet it sounded like a foreign language.

The boy before her was no longer the young master she knew.
And what he spoke of was far beyond what she could handle.

—If you don’t want this, you can return to your old life. As long as you keep the secret, no one will harm you. I promise.

She had immediately taken the carriage Isaac arranged and returned to the estate.

She vaguely remembered saying something to him…
but she couldn’t recall what.

Only one thing remained clear—the chilling voice she heard as she left.

—The moment you speak of this, no matter what the young master says, I will cut you down.

It was Carlson.

And he clearly did not like her.

“….”

Enette raised her hand toward the ceiling.

A faint blue light flickered at her fingertips.
Now, she could even gather that glow into a single point.

The light condensed into a small sphere.

Knock, knock.

A light knock sounded at the door.

“I’m coming in.”

It wasn’t a request.

The door swung open abruptly, startling her and breaking her concentration.

She sprang to her feet and looked at the uninvited guest.

“The young master wants to see you.”

It was Carlson.

He frowned at the dissipating mana in her hand.

“I told you not to gather mana just anywhere.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Follow me.”

Ignoring her apology, Carlson turned and strode off.

Enette hurried to keep up.

***

The moment the door to Isaac’s bedroom opened, the smell of alcohol hit her.

Sweet wine.

“You came quickly.”

Isaac, who had been writing at his desk, turned his head.

Enette bowed, following proper servant etiquette.

The large desk was covered with thick stacks of paper and a wine bottle.
Isaac dipped his quill into ink and stood.

“Want a drink?”

He poured wine into a wooden cup and handed it to her.

Normally, she would have refused.

She had lived as a maid all her life, and wine held little appeal for her.

“…Yes.”

But this time, she drained the cup in one breath.

“Hey, that’s not how you drink that.”

Isaac looked slightly taken aback.

“I heard you called for me.”

Enette spoke, already feeling the alcohol rush to her head.

She had never drunk such fine wine like this before.
Diluted alcohol had been like water to her—but wine this rich was rare.

Yet she had no room to savor the taste.

Her thoughts were still too tangled.

“No.”

Following Isaac’s suggestion, Enette dropped heavily into the chair at the table.
To an outside observer, it might have seemed careless or even rude—but no one in the room paid it any mind.

“Have you made your decision?”

“….”

Enette gripped the table as dizziness washed over her.

Only then did she faintly recall the answer she had given Isaac before—
that she needed time to think.

Isaac looked at her with a calm, harmless gaze.

It was completely different from the look he had when he revealed the truth.
His eyes were sharp, but unmistakably those of a child.
Not like the unfamiliar eyes she remembered—those aged, burdened eyes that spoke of sacrifice for the family at any cost.

“Why me? There are plenty of people more talented than me.”

“There wasn’t anyone but you.”

Isaac answered without hesitation.

But something about that answer felt strange.
It was phrased in the past tense.

“I… don’t think I like magic very much.”

“You’ll come to like it.”

Again, Isaac replied without pause.

“How do you know?”

“I can see a bit of the future.”

“That too… is it because of that ‘ancestor’ thing…?”

“Yeah. It’s thanks to that special constitution.”

Isaac nodded.

“If you doubt me, ask him. At the very least, he doesn’t lie.”

Enette followed Isaac’s gesture and looked at Carlson.
He simply stood there, watching silently.

“I’ve seen your future. I saw you becoming a great mage, protecting this family. It’ll be hard—painful—but you’ll gain something. Something so valuable it would be worth trading your entire life for.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. But… you looked happier than ever.”

Isaac was lying.

He said it while looking straight into Enette’s eyes.
But it was a lie that carried a possibility of becoming truth.

During the wars, Goethe’s estate had once been burned to the ground.
Isaac hadn’t known at the time—he had been deep underground—but he later learned it from Jonas in his previous life.

Most of the servants had met their end then.
It was when the Second Prince, who had become a grand duke, subjugated half of Goethe’s territory.

It had been horrific.

Some were burned alive.
Others died in ways too cruel to speak of.

Isaac didn’t know how Enette had died.

But since even the old Jonas never mentioned her,
it was safe to assume—

She hadn’t survived the war.
She had never been able to bloom her talent.

So Isaac spoke of a different future—one he would create in place of the one that had already happened.

He didn’t speak carelessly of happiness or fulfillment.
Instead, he spoke of value.

It was a prophecy—but also a resolve.

If he had returned to the past only to fail to save even those within reach,
then what meaning would anything he did have?

And things had already begun to change.

Originally, Enette had been a lifeless, cynical maid—
ever since she survived by abandoning her friend Clara when they were abducted by the Niers gang.

But the Enette sitting before him now was different.

She blushed sometimes.
She got flustered.

She could show many more expressions.
And above all—

She wanted a better life.

How could he just leave her be?

There might be others with greater magical talent than her.

But how could he not choose her?

“If you want to walk toward that future, come with me.”

“…And if I don’t?”

“I haven’t seen a future where you don’t.”

“….”

Enette looked down at her hands.

Hands meant to hold wet rags.
Fingers meant to blister and harden.

But Isaac had shown her something else.

These were hands capable of something different.

The light of condensed mana.

It was just a magical phenomenon—
but to Enette, it was more than light.

“Can I really do it? The kind of life you’re talking about…”

“If you can’t trust yourself, then trust me.”

Isaac spoke calmly.

There was no emphasis, no rise or fall in his tone.

Enette moved her lips several times.

She knew this was a chance that would never come again.

And yet—
she couldn’t deny the fear.

How many maids in the world became mages?
Did any even exist?

Wasn’t she more likely to be mocked—laughed at for dreaming beyond her place?

Carrying all that doubt, anxiety, and fear,
Enette couldn’t answer easily.

So she didn’t.

Isaac simply watched her, without urging her on.
His gaze held no malice.

“….”

Enette didn’t answer.

Instead, she nodded to herself—again and again—before finally speaking.

“I’ll do it. If… if I’m enough, I’ll follow you, young master.”

She clenched the skirt of her maid uniform tightly.

Never before had she chosen her own path.

“I thought you would.”

As if he had expected it, Isaac smiled.

With that smile, Enette felt the chaos in her mind settle—if only for a moment.

“Then… here’s your first assignment.”

“Assignment?”

“If you want to grow, you need tasks, right?”

“…?”

“Your first assignment is to participate in Goethe’s magic competition this autumn—in my place.”

“What!?”

The thoughts she had just managed to organize scattered once more.

“Alright. Training starts tomorrow. For today, get some rest.”

With that, Isaac left the room.

“See? I told you she’d do it.”

“What exactly do you see in that maid? Do you really think she has the will for it?”

“Shh. She’ll hear you.”

Enette stared blankly at the empty chair across the table.

…

Somehow, it felt like she had been tricked.