Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

Chapter 57: The Demon and the Bride (1)

The next morning.

At the Oubeniel mansion in Volden, the maids were up early and working busily. However, they were not slaves brought by Tullius, but genuine maids. They were the original servants of the Count's family — the daughters of lower-ranking nobles who were sent to learn etiquette, and the daughters of commoners who were born and raised in families with a decent background.

For these women, the slave maids that Tullius brought with him could only be considered a laughingstock. The slaves served by the side of the wealthy and the powerful, and sometimes even became impregnated with their children. It was a joke that these slaves were fulfilling such a role which even commoners look down on.

This was acknowledged by all the maids. The maids were a mix of those who Linus had brought from the royal capital and those who had been working at Volden's mansion from the beginning. However, they quickly got along. The reason for this was because they had a common adversary.

These slaves dared to wear the same maid's clothes as they did and on closer inspection, their uniforms looked better. They were all vying for the favour of the young head of the family, Linus Oubeniel, but there was room for amicable relationship between the maids if they were facing these eyesores.

Especially for those from the royal capital, there was nobody more annoying than female slaves. The fact that Linus' mistress was a slave was an open secret among the women living in the main residence in the capital, though Madame Simone was not informed since she was not popular among the servants. No way could they let the little bitch steal a march on them, especially since this was now a good opportunity where Linus’ main wife had yet to show any signs of pregnancy. This made their resentment towards the slave class even stronger.

Therefore, the existence of the slaves of Tullius, who were female slaves masquerading as maids, was beyond annoying to them.

"Here she comes."

One of the maids quietly whispered into the ear of her colleague who was carrying the laundry. Out of the corner of her eye, one of Tullius' female slaves was just passing through the hallway. The two maids confirmed this and gave each other a wry smile.

Let us teach you a lesson in proper behavior, you impudent slave. They had something planned for her.

They were both maids who had been employed by the house of Oubeniel in the last year or two. That's why they didn't know about the time when Tullius was in the mansion in the royal capital. They had heard rumours, but thought it was just a fictitious horror story. He had probably killed a few slaves who made blunders and as news spreaded, the stories became wilder. They were probably just stories that could only trick children…...they assumed.

If their predecessors had been here, they would have warned them not to get involved with the slaves. Until a few years ago, the mansions in the royal capital had been ruled by slaves. Even when Tullius was away studying, there were slaves he left behind in the residence working. The sight of the slaves reminded them of the appalling massacres that took place in the basement room. There was a considerable number of people who became mentally ill and quit.

The maids, unaware of this, were about to bully the slave. Hmph, she was a mere slave of a viscount. Even if the Viscount complained about the slave bullying, there was no way the Count would step in since he was on bad terms with the Viscount. Also, when a person gains a title, it means that he has established another family. They thought it was unlikely that outsiders would be able to punish them since they were servants under the Count.

"Let's do it, okay?"

"Yeah, alright. Three, two, one...... take this!"

When she finished the countdown, the maid threw the laundry forward.

They had intended to cover the slave who walked in with all the dirty clothes. Many of the clothes in the laundry were soaked with the sweat of the travelling group after their long journey. If it got on the slave’s face, it would be very uncomfortable. If the slave chose to complain about it, then they could respond by saying, "You bumped into me and I dropped my laundry." They had checked their surroundings carefully and there was no third party around. If it came down to an argument without any evidence, there was nobody who would stand up for the slave. They could place the blame on the slave for carelessly bumping into the Count's servant. And now, all that was left was to enjoy how the slave reacts uncomfortably or how she would choose to defend herself. That was their intention.

But...

"Huh?"

The full laundry basket, which she had thrown forward with all her might, was still in her hands.

The confused maid was met with an annoyed glance from her accomplice.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"What? No, that's......."

She thought she had thrown it, but before she knew what happened, it was back in her hands again.

But there wasn’t a way she could convince the other maid of what happened. She would only be treated as if she was crazy. While she was racking her head for an excuse, the female slave they were targeting passed them with indifference.

"Ah, whatever. Now that it has come to this..."

She was going to feign falling and scream loudly. If she did that, the slave would undoubtedly be caught in the commotion.

She willed herself to fall, flinging her body towards the ground while throwing the laundry to one side.

"—Ouch! What are you doing, you slave!"

"Are you alright?"

"What's wrong with you? Are you even looking ahead of you?"

"H-hey! That’s no good!"

For some reason, her fellow maid became impatient and stopped her. She thought she was just trying to add fuel to the fire. Well, whatever. Now all they have to do was to get involved in a squabble with this man — huh, this man?

"I was looking carefully to the front while walking but...... if you are carrying such a bulky load, it’s dangerous to walk since you won’t be able to see in front of you. It would be better to split up the laundry and move them in separate batches."

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed noble was helping her pick the laundry scattered on the floor. He was definitely not a maid with a collar.

"S-Sir Victor Lorge!"

She couldn't help but raise her voice. This man was not a slave, but a vassal of Tullius, and even though he was an illegitimate child, he was born into a count's family and thus, was a big shot. It was not a person that a maid like her should have a beef with.

"Yes. I'm Victor...... Why are you so surprised? Did you mistake me for someone else?"

"N-no! Of course not!"

She apologised profusely and glanced sideways at the other maid. She wondered if there were any other people in the area apart from them. The other maid must also be thinking the same as she nervously asked Victor about it.

"Um, I didn't see you a moment ago, when did you arrive here?"

"Is that your question? I had some urgent business to attend to, and though it was rude of me, I came running. When I saw that the person next to you was about to fall, I stopped her in a hurry."

As he said this, his hair was indeed slightly unruly and his forehead was slightly sweaty. Was it a special trait of a protagonist that he was able to appear cool and handsome rather than unsightly in such a state?josei

"By the way, did I hear you say something about a slave?"

"Ah, yes! Yes, I passed a slave a moment ago and she tripped me. I fell down because of her."

Sensing that it was a great opportunity, she made her complaint in one breath. Now they could make him a witness. It was payback for embarrassing them in front of a handsome man, and for her to vent her anger.

But...

"......Where is that slave you are referring to?"

"Huh?"

Victor gestured towards the back of the maids. Behind them was a deserted hallway. Naturally, there was no sign of any slave or any person at all.

"I'm sure she hid in some room. Very sneaky."

"Yes! She must be a cunning slave!"

Victor's eyes were somewhat blank as he looked at the maids. However, this was only for a moment, and he immediately put on a serious expression and asked a question in a very sincere tone.

"So, what were the characteristics of this slave? Because if it's true, I'll have to punish her for that. I would very much like to know."