The Maid In The Reverse Harem Game Wants To Quit - Chapter 31

Seeing this, Irene was captivated by a strange feeling for a moment. Looking back, has she ever been looked after by someone since she came here?

How does it feel when someone cares about you?

Now, it was clear to her that this kindness might be to prevent her from leaving.
​​
Still, it was unavoidable about this strange feeling…

“…Even if you do this, my heart would not change.”

Irene nailed it again before her heart grew any more sluggish.

‘I am going to leave.’

At her words, Ahibalt’s hand stopped very briefly. As light as the moment was, he smiled brightly and said.
​​
“It was a pity that you think that.”

“I was just saying it.”

“I am just doing what I want, so you do not have to worry about it. It was not meant to be a burden on you.”

Ahibalt’s fingertips touched Irene’s forehead and his delicate fingertips gently trimmed her messy hair.

The shades that fell diagonally along the eyelashes in the daytime of Ahibalt were very beautiful. His line of sight, which looked a little lonely, seemed to add to the pitifulness.

At that, Irene’s face was blankly, unwittingly distracted by his gaze.

He then released his hand and opened his mouth.

“As I said before, Irene. You are my person. You have been harmed by being under me.”

So, this kind of kindness is only natural, he said.

Saying that, Ahibalt, as always, maintained a friendly and refreshing attitude. He meant none of the seemingly complicated patience she felt when he said he would move the office.

What happened in the last few days…?

Irene pondered the discrepancy between the events of the day and Ahibalt’s journey, and reflected over her doubts.

The answer was found surprisingly quickly.

When Louise came to visit for the fifth time after an accident, Irene clapped her hands.

Ah…!

‘Louise must have done something!’

She made a mess in his office, so Ahibalt, who could not stand it, announced that he would move to her side.

Irene could guarantee it.

When things got to this point, there was no way she could have been more comfortable lying down. In the end, she eventually announced that she would end her sick leave in a week and a half, and soon, the mansion returned to normal.

Except for one thing, Irene’s worries.

* * * 

Cutting off Otis’ confession, Irene remembered what she wanted to say then.

The existence of a spy that was not in the game story.

‘After all, I could not talk about the spy.’

That was her new concern.

Of course, there was a reason Irene could not tell him about the spy. It was because Otis seemed to not be feeling well the day she woke up. It was not because of the sudden release of the relaxant’s amazing effect and dragging her into the steed…

At first, she was going to tell him the story of her spy right away. Although she was a little concerned about the paper rose that Otis had crushed.

‘The Second Master is often like that.’

She thought it was more important to reveal something about the spy first. Regardless, even if she realized it or not, the game was going to continue.

‘The game proceeds according to the scenario, anyway.’

Louise’s love and death do not deviate from the set episode no matter what variables they go through.

But, what about herself?
​​
Could she say that she was safe from the threats created by variables?

‘I almost died this time, too.’

In fact, she could have started all over again.

Even though she heard later, they said her condition was truly an emergency.

— I just thought I was a little stiff, doctor.

— Of course, you cannot kill a person with that kind of incense. But, didn’t you almost drink the liquid instead of the incense?

— I thought it might contain poison.

— The gut feeling was correct. Had you drank even a little, one of your limbs would have been amputated.

In addition, if she drank it, the liquid would be absorbed directly into her organs, so it would be difficult to expect to survive.
​​
From then on, Irenea realized something.

Variables in the game are dangerous to ‘herself.’

‘And, the bigger the job, the bigger the variable.’

Deciding to shut her mouth to her spy was an extension of her realization.

If she spoke about it or not, the game would go back, and things that would happen were supposed to happen.

‘I do not have to raise the variable just because I know there is a spy.’

It was a harsh statement, but it was the reality. She did not want to get caught up for nothing after informing the male protagonists about the fact.

Above all, Irene did not want to go back to the beginning like this.

She had been through a lot of death, so her fear of death had blunted.

This experience gave her a new insight.

‘I refuse to go back to square one without being able to do anything in this life.’

— That is what I mean.

Death is by no means something to be afraid of. But, she did not want to return to the mansion right away and become young again.

That was a separate matter from death.

The day Ahibalt came to her visit in the middle of the night.

— As I said before, Irene. You are my person.

Even though she heard that, she could not smile.

My person.

It was because the sound was strangely uncomfortable.

‘If I leave this place, no one in this world will know me anymore.’

Now, she is more like home than the place she lived in before the Lavrenti mansion. The main characters were close to her like family.

However, it was only appreciation for Irene.

Time will go back again, and then everyone’s memories will be erased, and she would fall here again. The sense of separation that she felt when she woke up as a child in a world where no one knew her after being invigorated by the happiness and death of the characters?
​​
Irene knew it, and that was why she wanted to leave this place.

‘I want to forget this place even just for a little bit before time runs out…’

She wanted to get away from this place even a little bit.

…Ahibalt, who said without hesitation that she was his person.

…Otis, who folded paper flowers and cranes for her every day.

…Rodion, who hid behind her apron every morning when she went to wake him up every morning.

Even Louise, who always smiled at her, even if her work was terrible.

Irene wanted to forget them, because it would be good just for a moment. That way, the emptiness, and loneliness she would feel when time goes back, and the sense of separation will be reduced a little…

She would be able to get her life back, at least a little bit, without being tied to the game.

At this point, some people might be skeptical.

If she does not like that sense of separation, wouldn’t it be better if she left in advance? Or, can’t she just leave as soon as she gets back?

However, the situation has always been hard on Irene.

‘Because I am an orphan with no ties or money.’

It was not for any other reason that she had set the timing of her resignation after Louise came.

‘Retirement must mean money.’

Of course, the fact that Irene was the only Chambermaid was a big factor.

The biggest reason was money. It was not until a few years ago that she was paid a decent salary, as Irene had moved into the mansion to work instead of her father’s debt.

So, since she became a Chambermaid.

‘With a young body, there is no room for escaping…’

Even right now, she has reached a level where she can barely escape. So, why would she go back to the starting point without doing anything?

Even though knowing one day that she had to, Irene could not accept it now.

‘Never until I retire!’

Still, that does not mean she cannot stop looking for the spy. If a variable has already occurred already, she needs to figure out what it is so she can deal with it. It was also another reason why Irene could no longer mumble in her bed.

The game was already rushing towards the next episode.

If she relaxes even for a moment, she might get eaten up by variables.

With that thought, Irene turned her body and he glanced around the room she was in.
​​
It was not the drawing room, not the tea room, nor even the office or storage room.

It was not a tea room decorated like a greenhouse, though a large glass window designed to take in natural light as much as possible. And, even though it was not an office, the wall was decorated to make the surroundings feel cozy yet heavy.

If there was one peculiarity, all that was in this spacious room was an easel, a canvas, and a small table with art supplies.
​​
literally, a room only for painting.

Irene turned her back again and set the paint knife down on the rags of the wooden table.

There was one reason she was here.

Because the next section of the story of 〈 Love or Die 〉 is beginning. So, she is here to prepare for the episode of 「 A Blood Stained Portrait. 」

‘And, of course.’

For a safe resignation.