Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 16: The Pink Fox and the Black Peacock

“Take it off, Amber.”

Ruby spoke as she brought her hand to the clasp of my bra.

“…Yes.”

I told myself not to get flustered. After all, we’re both women—there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Though there might be some debate about whether I’m mentally a fully-fledged woman.

Anyway, I first removed my apron and then started undoing the buttons of my maid uniform one by one.

‘It somehow feels like she’s openly staring at me…’

I chalked it up to nerves and proceeded to pull down my skirt.

It was just the same as always, yet my heart pounded just because Ruby was watching.

A light pink bra and pure white panties were revealed.

When I lowered my head, I saw my chest, which was smaller compared to Ruby’s.

Not entirely flat, but certainly not large enough to be called big.

This might be the first time I evaluated my body like this.

The well-developed curve of my hips, much more pronounced than in childhood, caught my attention.

I had to adapt to a body that became more feminine with each passing year.

In hindsight, wasn’t I just overthinking things on my own?

To Ruby, I must be no different from a childhood friend.

When we were thirteen, we bathed together several times, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Unlike me, whose thoughts always wandered to strange places, she simply called me to bathe together out of pure intentions.

I reminded myself not to misinterpret things. Ruby was just expressing her closeness by suggesting a bath.

Before removing the underwear that barely covered me, I glanced at Ruby’s expression one last time.

“…?”

She was unmistakably focused, her gaze locked on me.

“Miss, staring at me like that is a little overwhelming…”

“…!”

At my words, Ruby’s face turned red as she hastily averted her eyes and pushed my back with her free hand.

“Sorry, I’ll do it myself after all…”

“Huh? But I’m already undressed?”

“Not today…!”

Even though I had mentally fortified myself threefold, I was pushed out of the dressing room along with my clothes.

‘…Not today?’

I was left in the room, bewildered, holding my clothes.

She was the one who suggested this in the first place, so why the sudden change of heart?

Truly peculiar, my lady.

That day, Ruby’s bath time ended up being unusually long.

‘She’s not fallen asleep in there, has she?’

Occasionally, I heard splashing sounds, so it didn’t seem like she had.

Left alone in the room on a weekend, the maid had only one duty.

‘I should clean the room!’

Although we shared the space, this room was practically Ruby’s.

Opportunities to clean the master’s room didn’t come by often.

If she were resting in the room, my cleaning would disturb her, and if she were asleep, I might wake her with the noise.

Also, during those times, I couldn’t properly wash the bedding either.

I rolled up my sleeves and began cleaning the room in earnest.

Though the room was quite spacious, compared to the scale of the mansion, this size was nothing.

I fetched a broom, moved all the furniture aside, and swept up the dust and sand stuck to the floor.

A mop would have been ideal, but all I had was a hand cloth.

I’d have to ask Miss Ruby to get one later.

Dampening the cloth and wringing it out, I knelt down and diligently wiped every corner of the room.

It had been a while since I cleaned with a hand cloth, and it brought back memories of my days as a maid candidate.

At least back then, my skirt was longer, so my knees didn’t touch the bare floor like now.

Looking back, I hadn’t realized the merits of a long skirt.

By the time my knees turned red, the wet cleaning was finally done.

Now, only the bedding and organizing the desk remained.

Since Ruby was using the bathroom, I set the bedding aside for now and started with the cluttered desk.

Naturally, the messy desk was mine.

Ruby, being someone who didn’t leave unnecessary items lying around, always kept her desk pristine, as if it were brand new.

As I tidied up, a book on the desk caught my eye.

[The Red Fox and the Blue Peacock]

It was a book I borrowed because Coral had been reading it in the library.

Last night, after reading the book thoroughly once, I read about half of it again while waiting for my lady to wake up in the morning.

‘Huh?’

I had been using a pen as a bookmark, but at some point, it had slipped out and was rolling around on the desk.

‘When did this fall out…?’

I had tucked it in deeply, so it shouldn’t have fallen. It was strange.

Anyway, after putting all the books back in place, the desk looked neat and tidy.

As I admired the now orderly room with a satisfied expression, Ruby emerged, drying her hair with a towel after finishing her bath.

“…Looks like you cleaned?”

“Yes. It’s become a habit to clean on weekends.”

“You didn’t have to go to so much trouble, Amber. But thanks anyway.”

In the middle of the night, I woke up to the rustling sounds of something moving around.

‘Is Milk wandering around?’

I wondered if the cat was awake and roaming, but that wasn’t the case.

Milk was curled up on my bed, sleeping peacefully.

It wasn’t likely that Ruby, who was sleeping, would make such noises either. The growing unease made it hard to fall back asleep.

If a thief had broken in, it would hardly be an ideal situation.

Suspecting whether I had locked the door properly, I slowly got up.

As I carefully surveyed the room, I realized that the source of the noise was unexpectedly Ruby’s bed.

‘What?’

It was an odd sight—her blanket seemed to glow as it wriggled.

‘Don’t tell me, is there a fire under the blanket…?!’

Since Ruby could wield fire magic, it wasn’t impossible that she had used magic unconsciously while asleep.

“Miss…!”

“…!”

Startled, I pulled back the blanket, only to meet Ruby’s wide, startled eyes staring back at me like a rabbit’s.

Next to her head was a glass lamp, and to one side was an unfamiliar book lying open.

“…Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing?”

“…Ah.”

Ruby quickly closed the book when she saw me.

That allowed me to glimpse its title.

‘…The Red Fox and the Blue Peacock.’

It was the very book I had borrowed from the library.

As I looked at her in confusion, Ruby stammered awkwardly.

“Sorry…! I wasn’t trying to mess with your stuff… I just saw a book on your desk and got curious. Then I ended up reading it…”

It had been a long time since I’d seen Ruby so flustered.

Should I just pretend I didn’t notice?

“…Oh, I see.”

I nonchalantly turned away and lay back down under the blanket.

Ruby’s panicked voice called out to me.

“Amber…?”

Feigning a yawn, I pretended not to hear her.

“…”

“You’re just going to sleep like that… without saying anything…?”

Finding her reaction somewhat endearing, I stayed silent on purpose, listening to her.

When she seemed on the verge of tears, I finally acknowledged her and reassured her.

The next afternoon, I visited the location of the library with Ruby.

Ruby seemed surprised, as if she hadn’t known such a place existed.

“I didn’t know this was here. Amazing.”

“Right? It makes you wonder why it’s been left neglected.”

When I opened the door and stepped inside, sure enough, Coral was already there, waving cheerfully.

“Amber. You’re here again.”

Then, noticing Ruby beside me, Coral looked curious.

“Oh… Who’s this?”

“This is the person I serve, Miss Ruby.”

Coral glanced at Ruby and greeted her awkwardly.

“Ah, hello… My name is Coral Hestia.”

“…Another woman…”

Ruby muttered something under her breath as she looked Coral up and down before replying.

“There’s no need to be so formal. Just speak comfortably.”

“Thank you. Just as Amber said, you’re very beautiful.”

“…Amber said that?”

“Yes.”

“…Hmm.”

Ruby quietly looked around the library without saying much, while I leaned toward Coral and whispered softly enough that Ruby couldn’t hear.

“You followed my instructions, right?”

“Yep. I did just as you told me.”

Before bringing Ruby to meet Coral, I had coordinated with her in advance.

I approached Ruby, who was browsing through the books.

“What do you think? It’s a nice place, right?”

“Yes, I like it. It reminds me of the library back at the estate.”

Since Ruby loved reading, I was confident she would appreciate this place.

We sat across from each other in the center of the library, forming a small circle.

Coral handed Ruby a book and said, “This is the sequel to the book you were reading.”

“…Thank you.”

Ruby took the book and, after a moment’s thought, asked Coral, “Do you have more books like this?”

“Of course! I can recommend a few.”

Thanks to their shared interests, the two quickly warmed up to each other.

With a delighted expression, Coral, pleased to have found someone who shared her passion, looked at Ruby and asked, “Which part did you like the most, Ruby? For me, I loved the part where the two characters elope to escape society’s judgment.”

Ruby, holding the book, pointed to a passage she had found particularly memorable and said, “…For me, it’s when the duke’s daughter first reveals her desires to the maid… I think.”

“Oh, that’s a great part. It has this invisible tension that makes the reader feel on edge. It gave me chills!”

What began as a simple visit to pass the time had somehow turned into a reading discussion, with Ruby fully engaged.

‘I’m glad I brought Ruby here after all.’

For the first time, Ruby had made a commoner friend.

Feeling proud, I realized that Ruby had taken another step away from her role as the villainous noblewoman.