From the Tip of the Tongue of the Lowliest Maid - Chapter 16
“……”
Was he pitying her, or had his mood changed…? She didn’t know. Even if she felt a slightly gentler touch, the fact that he was invading her body with his power at this moment hadn’t changed.
No matter how equally despised they were, this man had the Lord as his backing and possessed immense power.
His world was different from hers, who barely received the treatment of a maid, and had to tremble in fear and hold her breath day by day.
…So, whether Exion’s intention was harassment or comfort, that wasn’t what was important.
Arzeletta again meekly relaxed her body. The surprise in her eyes quickly faded.
The only choice allowed to Arzeletta was to submit to the immediate situation and get through this moment safely.
Before, it was that man, and now it was the unruly noble young master. Nothing had changed.
“……”
After stroking and kissing Arzeletta’s body for a long time, Exion raised his eyes.
The woman had her eyes closed, devoid of emotion. Her closed eyelids, her long eyelashes, trembled faintly.
Exion’s brow furrowed. The reason for the surge of unpleasantness quickly came to mind.
Her attitude was not significantly different from when she was being subjected to that bastard just moments ago.
“…S**t.”
Exion, whose mood had sharply soured, took his hand off the woman. Even though he had moved completely away, the woman still didn’t seem to notice and kept her eyes closed.
It was clear his thoughts were elsewhere from the start. Perhaps her struggles in his hands were just a familiar reaction.
At his feet lay the huge, bleeding body of the fallen man. He kicked the body as if venting his frustration on a garbage bag.
Just now, to that woman, he was the same as this bastard.
“……!”
Arzeletta opened her eyes belatedly. She felt the soft touch of a large fabric covering her body.
“If you hide something like this, you’ll truly face a fairy hunt.”
Arzeletta’s eyes widened to the size of her fists as she looked down at the fabric covering her.
It was the cloak she had received from Theogrim last night.
“They’ll think you stole it to perform strange magic.”
“No. That can’t be, I…”
“I know. That esteemed person must have covered you with it. Out of pity for you.”
At the word pity, Arzeletta’s heart stung.
But it was true. There was no other possibility.
“You should hide such things properly.”
“……”
“If you can’t hide it, just burn it completely.”
Exion clicked his tongue and gestured with his chin.
“Go wash. Your whole body is a mess with blood. If anyone sees you in this state, you’ll be subjected to another strange slander.”
“This person…”
“He was summarily executed for the crime of stealing a holy relic. To dare steal the cloak of the Lord’s heir, Del Rose.”
Arzeletta was confused.
The dead man had tried to r**e her, had threatened to subject a woman who defied him to a fairy trial, and was a trickster who routinely engaged in prostitution, which was strictly forbidden by the Scriptures. But the one thing that wasn’t true was that he had stolen this cloak.
“Otherwise, why would I have executed him?”
Arzeletta, who had been lost in confusion, snapped back to reality at Exion’s next words. If she were to say that the unruly Exion had executed this man because he tried to violate her…
‘No, that can’t happen.’
Everyone would clearly find it suspicious.
They would pity the dead man more than her, who had faced the threat of r**e, and would think that the unruly Exion had been enchanted by her. Though she couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, Arzeletta felt a strong certainty.
Perhaps they might even exaggerate, claiming Arzeletta had used sinister magic to manipulate Exion.
As Arzeletta’s eyes wavered, Exion used the tip of his sword to lift the cloak that had covered her body and draped it over the fallen man’s neck. The man’s blood soaked into Theogrim’s noble cloak.
Arzeletta sighed in distress.
“…Go and wash off the dirty blood quickly.”
Exion ordered, barely concealing his displeasure. Only then did Arzeletta nod and cautiously rise.
Arzeletta walked barefoot over the grass to the lake water. The woman carefully stepped in, toes first, and then slowly submerged her body in the transparent lake water.
