Chapter 3: Her Highness Princess Lilia
The Boss drew his broadsword, the blade glinting menacingly in the sunlight. “Looks like I need to leave a mark on that pretty little face of yours to make you understand I’m not joking…”
“Oh dear, little miss…” The old coachman, worried, tried to intervene, but was shoved aside by one of the mercenaries. “Get lost, old man!”
As the broadsword approached Bai’s face, her expression remained unchanged, her hand tightening on the dagger hidden behind her back.
But then, as if sensing something, she released her grip on the dagger.
She lowered her head slightly, rubbing her eyes, her voice trembling with feigned tears.
“No… please don’t kill me…”
The sudden outburst surprised even the Boss.
What was going on?
One moment she was defiant, the next she was crying?
And crying so loudly too. Anyone would think he was actually going to… well, he was, but still.
However, a few tears weren’t enough to sway him.
He raised his broadsword again, bringing it down towards Bai’s face.
“Cry all you want. It won’t get you anywhere. And it won’t get you any money!”
The blade flashed, and the old coachman, unable to bear the sight, closed his eyes.
That blow would surely…
But instead of a scream, he heard the clang of metal.
Clang!
Followed by the sound of a blade hitting the ground. He opened his eyes, trembling, to see the Boss pale and trembling, his fallen sword lying forgotten at his feet.
“You… you’re…” The Boss stumbled back, tripping over a rock and falling to the ground. “You’re…”
Who could frighten this hardened mercenary leader so thoroughly?
The coachman turned to see a tall figure standing before the little girl, a massive axe resting on her shoulder.
Her face was a horrifying sight, covered in scars, one side a grotesque purplish-black, as if corroded by acid.
And she was wearing… a maid uniform?
Wait, that unique face, and the unusual choice of weapon…
The coachman’s eyes widened, a long-circulating rumor flashing through his mind.
“Tsk.” The axe-wielding maid spat at the Boss, her gaze filled with disdain. “Sugg, I haven’t seen you in two years, and you’ve resorted to robbing little girls?”
“B-Boss…” Sugg, the once arrogant mercenary leader, was too terrified to stand.
None of his men dared help him up, not even the skinny one, all of them keeping their heads down, avoiding the woman’s gaze.
Bai watched silently. She had sensed a powerful aura approaching just moments before.
So, she had held back, playing along.
She preferred to avoid revealing herself unless absolutely necessary.
“Don’t call me Boss. You’re not worthy,” the maid said coldly, turning her face slightly. “And I haven’t been a Boss for a long time.”
“…” Sugg finally noticed her attire, his expression shifting from surprise to horror. “Boss, you really… became a maid?”
His voice was filled with disbelief.
She had been one of the most formidable mercenaries, even receiving offers from several Knight units, promises of high rank and wealth, all of which she had refused.
She despised being restrained, being under anyone’s command.
But now, a maid?
There had been rumors when she disappeared, but most who knew her had dismissed them as jokes.
But the reality before him… was unbelievable.
“Hmm?” The maid’s expression darkened, and she slammed her axe into the ground.
“What? I can’t be a maid?”
“I just can’t cook, clean, wash dishes, wipe tables, walk dogs… that’s all! Why can’t I be a maid?!”
“Tell me! Why can’t I be a maid?!”
Her fierce gaze swept over the mercenaries, each of them shrinking back, her fearsome reputation still intact.
“Erlra, come back,” a gentle, melodious, yet slightly weak voice called out.
A carriage, far more luxurious than the one Bai and Lin Yan had used, pulled up beside them, its windows veiled in light blue gauze, the figure within barely visible.
“Th-this is…” Sugg’s eyes widened again, as if witnessing something impossible.
“That’s Princess Lilia’s carriage!”
“Which means… that’s Princess Lilia inside?”
“Wait, is Boss now the Princess’s maid?”
“Impossible! She always hated the Imperial nobility…”
But he had seen enough unbelievable things today to accept even this.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the axe-wielding maid, Erlya, replied respectfully, her voice low.
Seeing Erlya’s subservient demeanor, Sugg felt a chill run down his spine.
He had seen a side of Boss no one else had. Would she silence him…?
This robbery had been a terrible mistake.
“Gentlemen, you were once valuable assets to the Empire,” the voice from the carriage said, now addressing Sugg and his men, its gentle tone soothing.
“However, highway robbery is a crime, punishable by law.”
“But the Empire shares some responsibility for your current predicament.”
“So, this once, we will overlook your transgression. But I expect you to abandon this… unsavory profession.”
As Princess Lilia’s voice faded, Sugg’s expression softened.
He sighed, shaking his head. “Unsavory profession? But what else can we do…?”
The end of the war with the demons had brought prosperity to the Empire.
But it had also left many mercenaries, who had relied on the war for income, without a livelihood.
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