Chapter 35: Who are you?
Neither of us moved.
The girl stood in the doorway with the knife hanging loosely by her side, smiling as though she’d just run into an old friend. Behind me, Lila, Sasha, and the other maids slept soundly, completely unaware that someone had walked into the room carrying enough hatred to kill every one of them.
"You remembered me," she said quietly.
I frowned.
"...I didn’t."
Her smile didn’t disappear.
"That’s okay."
"You will."
She took another slow step into the lounge, careful not to wake anyone.
"I’ve been watching you since the day you enrolled at the academy."
I stayed silent, trying to buy time while keeping the candle holder raised.
"You probably never noticed me."
She laughed softly.
"Nobody notices the maids."
That made me pause.
She wasn’t wearing an academy uniform.
She was wearing the same maid uniform as the others.
"You work here."
She nodded happily.
"I’ve worked for Miss Lila’s family for three years."
"I’m not an academy student."
"I clean the mansion, serve tea, wash clothes..." She shrugged. "The boring things."
She looked at Lila’s sleeping face, and for the first time her smile faltered.
"They never remembered my name."
The warmth vanished from her voice.
"To them, I was just ’maid.’"
Her fingers slowly tightened around the knife.
"If they were in a bad mood..."
"They’d blame me."
"If something broke..."
"They blamed me."
"If dinner wasn’t perfect..."
"They blamed me."
She spoke so calmly that it was somehow more unsettling than if she’d been screaming.
"I used to think maybe I deserved it."
"Maybe if I worked harder..."
"They’d treat me like a person."
A quiet laugh escaped her lips.
"I was stupid."
I glanced toward the sleeping girls.
None of them had stirred.
The system stayed unusually quiet.
It was almost like it wanted to see how this played out.
The maid looked back at me.
"But then you came."
I blinked.
"...Me?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"You smiled."
I frowned, searching Adrian’s memories.
Small fragments surfaced.
Walking through the academy gates.
Passing staff members.
Offering polite smiles without thinking.
Nothing important.
At least...
Nothing important to me.
"You always smiled."
"You thanked people."
"You apologized when someone bumped into you even when it wasn’t your fault."
She lowered her gaze for a moment.
"...You thanked me once."
I couldn’t remember it.
"You handed me a book I dropped."
"You smiled."
"You said, ’Here you go.’"
She laughed quietly.
"I couldn’t sleep that night."
I had no idea what to say.
To me, that had probably been nothing more than basic manners.
To her...
It clearly hadn’t.
"Then today happened."
Her face turned bright red.
"When Miss Lila brought you here..."
"I thought..."
"I thought it would be the same as always."
She looked toward the sleeping girls again.
"But..."
"You were kind."
There was a strange sincerity in her voice.
"You looked at me."
"You chose people."
"You spoke to us."
Her expression slowly twisted.
"And then I realized something."
The knife rose a few centimeters.
"They’re the reason."
"They’re the reason people like you never stay."
"They ruin everything."
Her eyes settled on Lila.
"They hurt people because they can."
"They laugh."
"They order everyone around."
"They think money makes them untouchable."
Her grip tightened until her knuckles turned white.
"I want them to feel helpless."
Then she looked back at me.
"But not you."
Her smile returned.
"I’ll protect you."
"I’ll make sure nobody hurts you again."
"...By killing everyone else?" I asked carefully.
She nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
Like she’d just answered the simplest question in the world.
"They don’t deserve you."
"They don’t deserve to even look at you."
"I’ll take care of everything."
The candle holder suddenly felt a lot heavier in my hand.
"...System."
A blue window finally appeared.
______
[System Response]
Host?
______
"Any advice?"
A brief pause.
______
[Response]
Current recommendation:
Avoid agreeing to murder.
______
"...That’s your best idea?"
______
[Response]
It is generally considered good advice.
______
I resisted the urge to throw the system window instead of the candle holder.
The maid took another careful step.
"I don’t want to frighten you."
Her voice was gentle again.
"I just need a little time."
She glanced at the sleeping women.
"After tonight..."
"They’ll never bother either of us again."
My heart sank.
She wasn’t bluffing.
She had already made up her mind long before she walked into this room.
Somewhere between being ignored, mistreated, and finally receiving a little kindness, she’d built an entire future inside her head.
And now...
Anyone she believed stood in the way of that future had become an enemy.
I slowly tightened my grip around the candle holder.
Whether I could talk her down or not...
I couldn’t let her take another step toward the sleeping girls.
She took another step.
I shifted my weight without thinking, moving just enough to block the path between her and the couch where Lila and Sasha were still asleep.
She noticed immediately.
The smile on her face didn’t disappear, but there was a tiny hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"...You’re protecting them."
"I’m stopping you from doing something you’ll regret."
She looked down at the knife for a moment before quietly shaking her head.
"I won’t regret it."
"I’ve imagined this night for months."
The words sent a chill down my spine.
"Months?"
She nodded.
"I used to clean the academy buildings in the evenings. That’s when I first saw you."
My mind searched Adrian’s memories again.
Nothing.
Hundreds of students.
Teachers.
Staff.
Cleaning workers.
Faces blurred together.
She seemed to understand what I was thinking and gave a sad little smile.
"I know."
"You don’t remember."
"You smiled at everyone."
"But... you smiled at me too."
She lowered the knife slightly.
"I was carrying a box of books one day."
"I almost dropped everything."
"You held the door open."
"You smiled."
"’Take your time,’ you said."
"It only lasted a few seconds."
She laughed softly.
"You probably forgot before you reached the next hallway."
I couldn’t deny it.
That sounded exactly like something Adrian would’ve done out of habit.
"I didn’t."
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"I remembered every word."
Silence settled between us.
Behind me, somebody shifted on the couch.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Ryan would’ve made some stupid joke if he’d been here.
Noah would’ve started asking questions.
Marcus would’ve probably tried to disarm her already.
Unfortunately...
I was alone.
When I looked back, she was still watching me.
"You know what the funny part is?"
I didn’t answer.
"I wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight."
"My shift ended before sunset."
She smiled bitterly.
"But Miss Lila told me to stay."
"She said they might need extra cleaning after their little party."
Her fingers tightened around the knife again.
"I waited outside."
"I heard everything."
Every laugh.
Every voice.
Every order.
Every time another maid was called inside.
"I told myself to ignore it."
"I really tried."
She looked at Lila.
"But then I remembered..."
"The first week I started working here..."
She slowly rolled up one sleeve.
Even in the dim light I could see several old, faded scars crossing her forearm.
"I broke a teacup."
"They locked me in the storage room."
"No food."
"No water."
"Two days."
I frowned.
"...Who?"
Her eyes shifted toward the couch.
"Miss Lila."
Then toward Sasha.
"Miss Sasha."
"They thought it was funny."
"I begged."
"They laughed."
She lowered her sleeve again.
"The other maids didn’t help."
"They were scared."
"Or they wanted to stay on their good side."
"I don’t hate them."
"...But they still watched."
The lounge suddenly felt colder.
If what she was saying was true...
Then this wasn’t just obsession.
This had been building for years.
I carefully spoke.
"...What’s your name?"
She blinked.
For the first time since she’d entered the room, she looked genuinely surprised.
"My..."
"My name?"
I nodded.
A few seconds passed before she answered.
"...Yuna."
It came out almost as a whisper.
"No one’s asked me that in a long time."
I repeated it.
"Yuna."
Her eyes immediately became watery.
"...You remembered it."
"I heard it once."
"That’s enough."
She smiled so brightly that, for just a second, she looked like a completely different person.
Then her eyes drifted back toward the couch.
The warmth vanished.
"...They never used my name."
"They called me ’maid.’"
"’Trash.’"
"’Useless.’"
The knife slowly rose again.
"I don’t want revenge anymore."
"I just..."
"I want it to stop."
A notification quietly appeared in the corner of my vision.
______
[Hidden Quest Updated]
A Maid’s Last Thread
Objective: Prevent bloodshed.
Failure Condition: One or more victims die.
______
I almost laughed.
"...System."
A blue window appeared.
______
[Response]
Yes, Host?
______
"...Any actual advice this time?"
The loading symbol spun for two seconds.
______
[Response]
The target is emotionally unstable.
Violence carries a high probability of escalation.
Recommended action:
Continue dialogue.
Delay action if possible.
______
"...That’s... actually useful."
______
[Response]
The system occasionally exceeds expectations.
______
I ignored the last comment and looked back at Yuna.
She was still holding the knife.
Still trembling.
Still only a few steps away from the sleeping girls.
Whatever happened next would decide whether everyone walked out of this mansion alive... or whether tonight became the beginning of something far darker.