Should I kill her?
Zelos had placed his soul into the ruby necklace he handed over to Luna.
Then, through a subordinate, he arranged for the necklace containing himself to be delivered to her.
It better not be some cheap trinket… huh?
As expected, after that, he suppressed Luna’s consciousness and took over her body. He then boldly infiltrated the academy.
Had he entered with his original body, the malicious energy surrounding him would have led to his immediate capture the moment he set foot on academy grounds.
But now, with only his soul transferred into Luna’s pure body, there was no fear of detection.
Of course, the risk was high, but Zelos had resolved to accept that if it meant getting revenge on Mars Noctus, who had caused him deep humiliation.
Just imagining Mars’s precious companions dying before his eyes brought Zelos an intoxicating sense of elation.
…No. Now’s not the time.
At first, he had doubted the intel brought by his subordinate. But upon confirming that this seemingly ordinary commoner girl was indeed serving as the saintess’s maid, he was genuinely surprised.
Seeing the saintess, who had once slipped from his control, standing right before him made Zelos want to strangle the life out of her on the spot.
However, for the sake of even greater satisfaction, he decided to suppress his rage for now.
“Luna, are you feeling okay? You don’t look so well today.”
“Ah… it’s nothing. Maybe I just look that way because I’m still adjusting to the academy.”
Damn. I need to act more cautiously. I have too little information since she had nothing to do with me before.
Even if he had taken over her body, he couldn’t inherit her memories, so Zelos had to mimic Luna’s usual behavior as closely as possible.
The problem was that Luna, as a servant, held a rather high position…
Naturally, Zelos who had never done household chores before couldn’t help but look awkward at everything he attempted, especially when compared to Luna.
Even though he had tried to practice servant-like behavior before taking over her body, there was no way he could match someone who had developed those habits over a lifetime.
“If you ever feel really unwell, please let me know, okay? Now that my divine power has returned, there’s no way someone like you should ever get sick!”
“Haha… I understand…”
At the thought of that disgusting divine power being poured into him, Zelos shuddered involuntarily.
He wanted to harm the saintess who could say such disgusting things without hesitation, but the timing wasn’t right. If he recklessly hurt someone now, it could expose his true identity, so he decided to play it safe.
“Oh, right, Miss Luna. I might be a little late the day after tomorrow.”
“Is… something going on?”
“Hmm? Oh… I guess you wouldn’t know. Our club is having a meeting. We do it once or twice a month, but this is the first time since the second semester started.”
From her explanation, it seemed the “club” was a kind of group where students with shared interests gathered for hobbies and activities.
“You actually know everyone in it! Lady Eos, the Second Princess, Brother Mars, and Brother Pollo too.”
“!!”
What luck!
Zelos had come for revenge against Mars, and now he’d be in the same room with all the people closely associated with him.
Believing this gathering to be a divine opportunity arranged just for him, Zelos quickly made a request to the saintess.
“Saintess! Would it be possible for me to attend as well? I’m curious about what kind of activities you all do… and being alone… well, it’s kind of… lonely…”
“Oh! I didn’t even think of that! Of course you can come!”
The saintess readily granted the request without hesitation.
In truth, although she had plenty of opportunities to meet the noble ladies and princesses, the saintess had always kept her distance due to her reserved nature.
And after the incident, she had become fearful and suspicious of people in general, making it even harder for her to open her heart.
That’s why it was such a joy for her when Luna, who had earned Mars’s approval and was unexpectedly kind despite her appearance, offered to join the same club. Just as the saintess had begun to open up, Luna’s participation in the club brought her genuine happiness.
“Then, would it be all right if I prepared some tea to bring? I recently came across some lovely tea leaves, and I’d love to share them with everyone~”
“Oh my, of course! I can’t wait to introduce the others to your tea-making skills!”
While Hestia imagined a peaceful teatime with her fellow club members, Zelos was busy scheming how to exact his revenge on Mars.
A tea party, huh… I should prepare some poison. It’d be delightful to provoke him and ask if he wants to save those dying right before his eyes with an antidote… hahahaha!
Zelos, who relished the pain and despair of others, entertained all sorts of cruel and unsettling revenge fantasies in his head.
Naturally, this led him to ruin the evening meal with the saintess as a side effect.
“Hmm? Miss Luna, the seasoning tonight seems a little off. The taste is kind of strange too.”
“That’s… because it’s health food. Things that are good for you rarely taste good, right?”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true.”
Chomp
***
“Luna?”
“Yes! She’s not officially part of the academy, but it should be okay for her to join, right?”
“Well, it’s possible, sure.”
Though not formally registered as a member, Luna had already built some connection with the noble lady and the other girls, and both Pollo and I had been close friends with her for a long time.
Since our club was made up entirely of us anyway, adding one more person wasn’t going to cause any trouble.
“So is Luna already at the clubroom?”
“Yes! She said she’d go ahead and get the snacks and tea ready before we arrived. Isn’t she just so diligent?”
“Diligent… huh…”
Luna wasn’t exactly diligent. She was just really good at what she did.
While others spend hours working carefully, Luna takes a nap and finishes everything in just a few dozen minutes afterward.
At her level, she could probably become the headmaid of the Imperial Palace in no time.
“Luna’s work skills really are amazing. I noticed it over the break. I almost wanted to take her straight to the Imperial Palace.”
“I heard she’s on par with the head maid who’s worked the longest at our duchy. So why didn’t you bring her sooner? It’s not like the academy bans attendants or anything.”
Since many high-ranking nobles attend the academy, it provides facilities and support for attendants as well.
Some nobles who were raised under constant care couldn’t handle even basic daily tasks on their own, so the academy made accommodations for that.
“It’s not that I didn’t consider it, but she’s just the daughter of a baron. And Luna might have a hard time in a place with this many people.”
On top of that, enrolling an additional attendant costs quite a bit.
Aside from my own tuition, I’d have to cover her food, lodging, and other expenses myself.
With that, we chatted as we made our way into the building where our clubroom was.
As we stepped inside, the sweet scent of cookies greeted us.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Luna greeted us with poise and grace.
She must have been brewing tea. The teapot in her hands was letting off warm steam.
“Luna, how have you been?”
“I’ve been well.”
“……?”
Huh? That’s odd. Normally, Luna would have… reacted differently.
“Miss Luna, it’s been a while. Has it been difficult serving the Saintess?”
“No, it’s been fine. Thank you for your concern.”
Seeing Luna exchanging warm and friendly greetings with the other girls, I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
“Sorry for dropping by unannounced like this. I was curious about what kind of activities your club does, so I asked if I could come. I hope I’m not being a nuisance.”
“It’s fine, Miss Luna. In fact, thank you for going out of your way to prepare these snacks for us.”
Drawn to the delicious-looking cookies and tea, people began to take their seats one by one.
“Oh. Is this black tea from Fleurie Mountain?”
“As expected of Your Highness, you have a keen eye. Now, everyone, let’s enjoy it before it gets cold.”
Just as everyone lifted their cups to savor the tea following her words—
“Well, well… She couldn’t even brew a cup of tea back in the day. Did you know? Luna used to get into all sorts of trouble. She absolutely hated servant training too.”
For a moment, everyone froze and turned their attention to me.
And among those gazes, there were traces of curiosity, intrigue, and a clear sense of tension.
“Oh my, really?”
“Yes. There was even a time when she ran off into the hills behind the territory to avoid servant training. She ended up running into a bear… I helped her out, but it was terrifying, seriously.”
Stories about seemingly perfect people having rebellious pasts always capture attention.
The club members set their teacups down and began to focus on my story.
“She ran into a bear? At that age?”
“It was right around the time she had just started learning the sword from the Count. She swung it around however she could, and soon enough people arrived and were able to drive it off.”
I looked at Luna with a faint smile, as if recalling the moment. She too showed a subtle, pensive expression as though reminiscing in agreement.
“Exactly. Just thinking about it still gives me chills—”
Thud!
As expected…
You’re not Luna, are you?
***
“Exactly. Just thinking about that time still gives me chills—”
Thud!
“Gah…! K-Khak…!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, without a moment to react, Zelos’s throat was suddenly caught in a tight grip.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Mars!”
“What are you doing?!”
Everyone jumped to stop Mars after they were shocked by his sudden and violent outburst, but he didn’t loosen his grip in the slightest. Instead, his hand only tightened more deliberately.
“Let me correct one thing. What Luna ran into back then wasn’t a bear. It was a wild boar. It was just as big as a bear, though.”
“—Kuhk…!”
“And you know what else?”
Squeeze!
“Luna doesn’t greet people like that. If it were really her, she would’ve said something like, ‘I’ve been just fine without you.’ She’s all curt and cold like that.”
Unable to speak, Zelos could do nothing but stare as Mars grinned down at him.
“If you’re going to impersonate someone, you should at least do your homework.”
—Isn’t that right, Zelos?
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