#071 Farewell
Among those who played the Lily Miyeonshi game [Magic Lily Senki], There was one part that everyone unanimously pointed out.
That is, the character ‘Ruby Sarkar’, who appears in the villain position, is so creepy.
While the villainous daughters in other works show a certain degree of reflection and remorse towards the end, or are even able to attack the heroine, Ruby Sarka was a truly terrible woman.
She is a perfect evil woman who can only be said to lack humanity.
The production team may have been planning to make her a villain from the planning stage, but they released it to the world with all elements that would appeal to players blocked.
The result can be said to have been successful. None of the players tried to reevaluate Ruby’s evil deeds or even use them as common comedy elements.
And, I was also one of those players.
***
After coming into her room with her, I put on her apron and started preparing to cook in earnest.
I was planning to make a so-called hotpot-like dish where green onions, mushrooms, meat, etc. Are boiled together.
My place is in this kitchen, and Ruby’s place is at her own bedside.
It was a typical daily life of a master and maid, no different from usual.
I glanced back at her and asked her sweetly.
“How was your day today, lady?”
Then Ruby answered my question in a calm tone.
“It wasn’t bad. “She got a compliment from the professor and deserved lunch.”
“That’s good. “Anything else?”
“And… “It was a little sad.”
When she said she was sad, my hand holding the ladle stopped unnaturally.
“… Why?”
In the quiet room, the sound of vegetables bubbling in a pot was spreading along with the pleasant scent.
“I’m afraid you might not come back. “So I was sad.”
“… “You’re okay now, right?”
“Yes. “I’m glad Amber is back.”
“I’m glad.”
Bubble, slither. I gently shook the hand holding the ladle again.
Ruby Sarka, the villainess in the original work.
She was the one who shocked me the whole time I was playing [Magic Lily Sentai] And forced me to throw out a bunch of curses.
That person must have been evil from birth. I rationalized her criticism towards her, saying that her evil must have been deeply rooted in her nature.
From a certain point on, I began to attach meaning to and hate everything that character did.
Please disappear from my sight quickly. I wish the main character would never appear so that he can only walk on the flower path.
So even after I possessed her body, it wasn’t easy for me to accept her.
People don’t change easily. Even if it’s okay now, the days when I was constantly suspicious and wary of her, thinking that one day her true nature would be revealed like in her game.
But at the same time, little by little, I could see myself feeling affection for the person named Ruby.
You shouldn’t trust a woman like this.
Her anxiety that followed her suspicions that she would change, and her affection for her, all of a sudden became mixed and came to a conclusion within me.
The simple and clear conclusion is that I can never leave you.
Even if Ruby eventually went down her villainous path, it would have been impossible for her, even if it meant killing her.
Now you have become so good that I can say that you are half of my life.
So, I thought that all we had to do was act according to our assigned roles and continue living this precious life.
I remain your maid. You are my mistress.
If we stay like that, we can live as a family without any worries.
Because family members never abandon each other no matter what happens.
Thinking like that was the only refuge and peace of mind given to me, and it has been so until now.
It should have been like that all along.
You have already broken through that territory and come right in front of my nose.
Ruby came up behind me and asked, placing her hand affectionately on my shoulder.
“Ember. “Let me help you.”
“Please sit down. I will do it.”
“If I leave it to you, I’d be a bit like that. “We are going to eat together.”
“What are you talking about? “It’s a natural thing to do as a maid.”
When I answered that way, Ruby said with a slightly troubled look on her face.
“You know, Amber. Speaking of that… “
“Yes?”
“… “I brought you here not because I needed a maid.”
-Clatter.
At her words, the ladle I was holding hit the pot with a clattering sound.
“… “What do you mean?”
My focus was blurring and my heart was pounding.
“There is no need for you to remain as my maid until you come to the academy. I’m just… “I just wanted to come to the academy with Amber.”
I felt like I knew what Ruby was going to say next.
Don’t do it, please. Please.
However, she ended up saying what I didn’t want to hear the most.
“Not as a master and a maid, but as an equal relationship.”
“… No.”
When I said that to her, Ruby looked at me with her surprised eyes.
“… “You’re saying it can’t be done?”
“I don’t want an equal relationship with you. Ruby just needs to stay as my lady forever… “
This relationship must not be disturbed.
A simple and clear family relationship between maid and owner. No, you can’t deviate from the master-slave relationship.
“No matter what happens, I am ultimately your maid. No matter how close we get to each other, that doesn’t change… !”
I poured out the deepest thoughts in my heart towards Ruby as if she were pouring out her emotions, and I covered my mouth in shock.
What did I just say… ?
Affection becomes obsession, and the anxiety that comes from excessive obsession ends up deceiving even oneself.
From Noble mtl dot com
Maybe it was me who was blocking her progress.
Ruby’s eyes looked as if tears were about to fall, and she looked at me and said,
“I don’t like that… “
“…”
The timid little girl I knew was no longer here.
“I don’t want to remain in that kind of relationship with Amber… “
Ruby, a rare villainess who should have grown up as a villainess, no longer existed.
But why did my eyes still look like the same Ruby I had when I first met her, and she still looked like she hadn’t moved a second hand?
Maybe it was because deep down I wanted her to stay where she was and not grow up.
I wanted to be able to be next to her without any worries.
No matter how much she begs him not to change and to stay where she is, Ruby has no choice but to change and grow.
In the end, I was the one who didn’t change anything.
So far, I have twisted Ruby’s favor as I see fit, transformed it to my liking, and accepted it as I liked.
So that I can feel safe and that this relationship can last forever.
Even though I knew that one day I wouldn’t be able to escape, I didn’t stop doing that.
What I wanted to read was the story of the girl and me in our innocent days.
This is not an essay that reflects my ugly and sticky desires.
Ruby looked at me and shook her head.
“It’s okay if you’re not my maid. “I want you just the way you are.”
The blind reason why I did not leave your side in the past was because I had a clear interest that you were someone I just had to serve.
“… “Then, are you okay with me no longer being your property?”
Within that shallow relationship of expectations, we felt reassured about each other’s existence and were able to comfortably ask about each other’s well-being.
But now she was saying that she wanted to face me as an equal to herself.
“Please don’t say that you are my property or something like that.”
“Then what is it? To you, I am… ?”
She thought about her answer for a while and then opened her mouth.
“… Amber is just Amber. “There’s no need for any other modifiers there.”
“… “
I see. Ruby has been seeing ‘me’ as ‘me’ all along.
Because I was afraid of her ending this relationship, I never once treated her as such.
I’m afraid that one day I will turn my back on Ruby. And, I’m just scared to open my heart.
From the beginning, there were no such things as fairy tales.
The happy family game between the owner and the maid was not there from the beginning.
Everything was just a delusion stemming from my selfish unwillingness to accept change.
Now it was time to face reality.
With her eyes closed, she took one deep breath, mustered up her courage, and looked at her.
“… Great. “Then from now on, I will be Amber, not your maid.”
It wasn’t like I was going to quit being a maid or anything. I just treat you without any preconceptions.
“Does that mean Amber will also view me as Ruby and not as her master?”
“… Yes. “I promise.”
Ruby looked at me with a happy expression and asked.
“The thing in front of me right now is really just Amber, right?”
“That’s right. “Without controversy, it’s just me.”
Ruby’s slightly cold yet kind hand cupped my cheek.
“… Huh. “That’s enough.”
The next moment, Ruby’s lips gently touched mine.
“… !”
I, who was surprised by her behavior with her eyes wide open, soon accepted it and closed her eyes.
With her lips folded, a sweet yet strong self-assertion flowed in, as if telling me to look at me.
A deep, affectionate, and soft kiss.
Before I knew it, the food in the pot was boiling, making a dangerous sound, and water was spilling out of the pot.
I need to put out the fire quickly. Before the contents overflow.
But instead of turning off her light, I held one of her hands against hers.
Because I didn’t want to miss even the smallest lingering feeling that can only be enjoyed at this moment.
It was nice to be the maid and the owner now.
After this kiss, we will definitely not be able to treat each other like before.
So this act was a farewell to you and me.