Reincarnated Maid is About To Be Captured by All Players

Duke Valubilis Bogia.

For Lily, merely hearing his voice was like enduring the torments of hell. Regrettably, under the [Barrier], I couldn’t prevent the announcement from reaching her.

Lily covered her ears and shook her head violently, trying to drive out the voice. All I could do was hold her and silently wait for the announcement to end.

Lily’s fear subsided a little after Duke Bogia’s declaration stopped.

“Sister Anna… I didn’t… do those things…!”

Holding back her tears, Lily looked up and chokedly denied the Duke’s accusations. I wanted to tell her that it’s okay to cry in front of me, but for now, I wanted to respect her strength.

Duke Bogia announced to the world that Lily had destroyed and stolen his research on the Undead and labeled her as a minion of the [Demon King].

The [Demon King] was sealed a thousand years ago, but his curse still ravages the continent of Limoria.

The Undead were born from the [Demon King] and are his lingering calamity in the world. While most are mindless puppets, some intelligent Undead do exist.

“Sister believes in Lily.”

“…………!”

It seemed as if a simple word of trust was her salvation; Lily’s eyes moistened once again.

“Anna, what now?”

Hegedrifa also squatted down and gently patted Lily’s head.

“…Our situation now is very bad.”

Maintaining a seemingly steady composure is merely the dignity required of me as a maid; in reality, I’m also quite panicked.

“Drifa, you might not know much about the dukes in the Kingdom of Mikael. Duke Bogia is one of the most respected among the current dukes. So, whatever he says, no one will doubt him. Even if he labels a fragile little girl as a criminal related to the Demon King, people will suspect the girl, not the duke.”

Adventurers might be skeptical, but citizens living under Duke Bogia’s rule would unquestionably believe him.

He used his accumulated prestige to turn his entire dukedom against us in an instant.

No one will believe us. I’m just an ordinary maid without a master.

“The barrier is up, even using [Spatial Transfer] will bounce us back. We have no way to leave.”

We can’t even use Gampantein to smuggle us out, as the barrier has physical defense properties.

Sky, ground—everything is within the range of the barrier.

We’ve become birds in a cage, in the truest sense.

“Drifa, I… will protect Lily.”

Hegedrifa was momentarily stunned, then gripped my shoulders somewhat excitedly.

“Anna, what do you mean by this? Are you suggesting that I’ll only cause trouble…?”

“I appreciate Drifa’s company these past days. So, I also care about your safety.”

Our brief normalcy has been forcibly ended. What we have to face next is nearly the entire dukedom hunting us down.

The reward the duke is offering is exceptionally generous; it probably has motivated all the adventurers within the duke’s territory.

Neither citizens nor adventurers will be our allies.

Following me and Lily could be life-threatening. Hegedrifa and I, both NPCs, don’t have the privilege of resurrection.

Protecting Lily is a decision I made alone.

As long as this is fundamentally not a mistake, it’s my responsibility to see it through.

But Hegedrifa has her own things she wants to do; she doesn’t have to risk her life with us.

“Whatever.”

However, Hegedrifa smiled as if a weight had been lifted.

“If Anna doesn’t mind me, why would I leave?”

“But…”

“I’ll definitely be of help,” Hegedrifa asserted firmly. “Unless you drive me away, but you don’t look like someone who easily loses her temper.”

“I can’t exactly be happy about that assessment…”

I was at a loss for words. Having served a capricious young lady, fulfilling her whimsical demands, even the sharpest edges get worn down.

I wanted to continue advising Hegedrifa that things might really go south.

Seeming to anticipate what I would say, Hegedrifa swore an oath before I could speak.

“I swear to the Goddess of Nature, I, Moon Elf Hegedrifa, promise to protect Anastasia and Amalilith. May the Goddess of Nature look favorably upon us, through thick and thin, sickness and health, wealth and poverty, joy and sorrow, I will never break this vow.”

“…”

Should I respond like a soap opera heroine and kiss her to stop her from making a rash vow?

It looks like Hegedrifa won’t leave unless I really explode in anger.

I appreciate Hegedrifa’s goodwill, but there are things I won’t back down on.

As a maid, it’s my duty to ensure the safety of my master with my life. Although Lily isn’t my master, I won’t abandon her to save myself in case of an emergency. I’ll have to entrust Lily to Hegedrifa then.

I sighed and returned to my usual tone.

“We’re still close to Rothschild; let’s get farther away.”

“Alright.”

I activated the [Spatial Transfer] spell that can transport multiple people, locking the coordinates to a far-off place.

Unlike last time, it was Hegedrifa who took the initiative to hold my hand this time.