Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 12: Dia in Crisis

It was a tense and explosive situation.

Clara, seething with anger, raised her hand, and I instinctively stepped in front of them to block her.

“Wait!”

Clara’s eyes widened as she looked at me, then she laughed mockingly.

“Well, if it isn’t that commoner from yesterday?”

I had rushed out without much thought, and now I had no idea what to do next.

“Jumping out to protect your friend? How touching. Truly, a friendship that brings tears to my eyes.”

‘…What should I do?’

The numbers were five to two, heavily favoring Clara’s group of five.

Even just by their builds, they looked much larger than us. If it came to a physical fight, it seemed likely we’d meet a miserable end.

Moreover, while the odds were slim, there was still a chance this might escalate into a magic duel.

Unofficial duels were strictly prohibited in principle, but in a place like this, who would ever find out? Besides, these girls didn’t look like they cared about rules anyway.

I had been wearing the fierce, intimidating expression I’d perfected yesterday, but neither Clara nor her group seemed fazed in the slightest.

Had they already adapted to it in just one day?

If it came to a fight, it was clear we would lose.

In the end, the best I could do was to try to get through this crisis without any major clashes.

I needed some kind of move to completely turn the tables…

‘How did this play out in the original story?’

This event was supposed to be a favorability event for Amethyst Lupine toward the protagonist.

When Dia was in a precarious situation, the one who was supposed to intervene was none other than the Second Princess, Amethyst.

But unintentionally, I had ended up taking her place.

In the game, Amethyst had stepped forward and said something like this:

[ Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not protecting this girl or anything. ]

‘Right, I’ll just say the exact same line.’

I recited the line verbatim.

“…Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not protecting this girl or anything.”

“…”

The expressions of Clara and her group turned cold and hard.

‘Oh, right. The tone.’

Considering that I was a commoner, I should’ve adjusted the tone to be more formal, but I had parroted it as-is, making it sound strange.

Clara tilted her head in confusion and asked in a curious tone,

“…Then what exactly is your intention? And that tone of yours…”

At least I had succeeded in confusing them.

The problem was what to do next.

‘…This is bad. Why does my mind always go blank at times like this…’

My tendency to freeze under pressure left me unable to recall Amethyst’s next line from the game.

“Dia is…”

Desperately searching for my next words, I blurted out something without thinking.

“Dia is my lackey…!”

The atmosphere grew unnervingly icy.

Sneaking a glance at Dia, I saw her looking equally flustered.

Clara, wearing a complex expression, interrogated me as if she were conducting an investigation.

“…A lackey, you say. That’s quite the lowly term, fitting for a commoner. So why exactly is she your… lackey?”

Since I’d already dug this hole, I decided to maintain a strong front.

Now that it had come to this, I might as well stick with the current vibe.

“You think I’m close to Dia, but you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Mistaken?”

“Because she’s just someone I’m thoroughly using for my benefit.”

I casually placed my hand on Dia’s shoulder, leaning against her in an exaggeratedly cocky manner.

“I made her feed me the answers in class today. Isn’t that right, Dia?”

When I shot Dia a sidelong glance, she looked startled for a moment before catching on and starting to act along.

“Yes… that’s right.”

“See? Told you.”

Though I thought Dia had perfectly played along, she didn’t stop there.

“And handling Amber’s assignments is also my responsibility. If I don’t do it, every day she…”

“Huh?”

Confused, I slightly raised an eyebrow at the extra embellishment to our fabricated story.

Dia suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching her head.

“Ah! Please don’t hit me today…! I was wrong, Lady Amber…!”

Seeing her trembling and tearfully begging, no one would have believed it was fake.

‘Wait, we’re still acting, right…?’

Clara, visibly perplexed by Dia’s display, stammered.

“Unbelievable… A commoner ordering around a noble? That doesn’t make any sense…”

Lost in thought for a moment, she suddenly glanced at me and muttered under her breath.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t she said to be Lady Ruby’s servant? If Ruby chose to keep someone like that by her side, then…”

Recalling Ruby’s terrifying expression, Clara instinctively hugged her own shoulders.

She quickly turned around and began discussing something fervently with her group.

“It seems we’ve been too hasty. Surely, someone selected by Lady Ruby wouldn’t possess ordinary strength…”

“…Still, that commoner looks like a pushover based on appearances.”

As I nervously watched their exchange, Dia suddenly nudged me in the waist and whispered.

“Amber, use some magic.”

“Huh? What kind?”

“Anything intimidating will do.”

Yielding to her suggestion, I raised one hand and cast a spell.

“…Zap.”

Sparks danced vividly at the tips of my fingers.

It was a technique I called “welding,” because the sparks resembled those from a welding machine, though it was weaker than an electric flyswatter.

However, Dia’s reaction was as if her life were truly in danger.

“Ah, save me…! Lady Amber…!”

Her shriek redirected Clara and her group’s attention toward Dia.

“Please, anything but electrocuting me again…! Just pull my teeth out instead!”

Dia knelt down, begging and acting so earnestly that even I felt secondhand embarrassment.

“Lady Clara, what should we do…!?”

“…”

Clara and her group, listening to Dia’s tearful cries, eventually took a step back.

“…We’ll withdraw for today. But don’t think it’s because we’re afraid of you!”

The women trailing behind Clara sobbed as they fled.

“I didn’t do anything wrong…!”

“I won’t do it again!”

Clara’s angry rebuke echoed behind them.

“Don’t you dare act so pathetic in front of a mere commoner…!”

The humor was in how much Clara’s own voice trembled as she said that.

As they bolted and disappeared from view, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

“…Whew. I thought I was going to die from the nerves of getting caught.”

Dia, smiling mischievously, said, “Me too, Amber.”

“…You seemed to enjoy yourself a bit much for that.”

“Huh? Me? No way.”

Regardless, if not for Dia’s spectacular performance, we would’ve been in big trouble.

As Dia and I leaned against a pillar, catching our breath, I saw someone waving at us from a distance.

“Amber! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Amethyst appeared a beat late, her white ponytail swaying as she approached.

She glanced between Dia and me, her expression puzzled.

“Did something happen? You both look pale.”

“…Something did happen.”

“What? Are you two keeping secrets without me?”

It was a secret, indeed.

And one that would probably cost us our lives if discovered.

‘Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be an event to raise Dia and Amethyst’s favorability…?’

Amethyst should’ve been the one to step in and defend Dia, but I had unintentionally taken on that role.

‘What happens to the favorability now?’

As I was pondering this, Dia grabbed my hand and spoke.

“Thank you for saving me, Amber.”

Since it wasn’t the first time she’d held my hand, I thought nothing of it and replied casually.

“No need to thank me. You played the bigger part, Dia.”

“…I’ve told you before, Amber, you’re incredibly kind. Even though you were trembling, you bravely came to save me.”

“…Was it that obvious I was trembling?”

“Yes. I thought someone had used an earthquake spell.”

“…”

It was fortunate Clara hadn’t noticed.

If they had, this whole plan would’ve gone up in smoke.

Dia, who was casually holding my hand, began intertwining her fingers with mine as she spoke softly.

“Did you know, Amber? You reminded me of a hero.”

“…A hero?”

“Yes. A small, adorable… hero just for me.”

The way she looked at me felt unusual, but it must’ve been my imagination… right?

“Don’t leave me out! You’ve been talking just between yourselves. So unfair.”

Amethyst, watching us, forced her way between us and grabbed one of each of our hands.

“Huh?”

Confused, Dia and I were each dragged along by Amethyst as she strolled through the backyard.

“Let’s take a walk! Until lunchtime.”

Dia smiled as she replied to Amethyst’s suggestion.

“A walk? Sometimes that’s a nice change of pace.”

The three of us walked enthusiastically, and before long, the earlier incident faded from my mind.

The problem was that Amethyst’s idea of a walk was apparently different from ours.

“You have to run before eating, don’t you think? You both agree, right?”

“Amethyst, can we rest for a bit…”

“Come on, let’s run again!”

That day, until lunchtime, Dia and I were dragged by Amethyst for a forced sprint around the garden.