Maren was the other maid who talked with me and actively engaged with me. She was the jolliest person in the mansion, more so than Kierra. Kierra maintained some reservation with certain people. Maren had none.
She became my second source of information after Kierra. I tried rewarding her the same way I rewarded Kierra, but she refused. Instead of a gift, she asked me to help with her chores.
Which is why I am helping her today with the grocery run. Her skills are sharp, whether it is bargaining or telling fresh produce from old. The vendors were friendly with her and sometimes threw in a little extra. It is easy to understand why the kitchen lady trusts her with shopping over Kierra.
Her appearance was the opposite of her name. The name was simple and plain, but her features were anything but. Sharp almond eyes, a sensitive nose, cupid bow lips. She was not as beautiful as the princess, but she could give Kierra and Rivena a tough competition.
"Maren, I only have two hands. How many more things do you need to buy?"
"Oh, Nolan, don't be like that. Just one more thing."
"We have been walking around this market for an hour."
She turned around, arms folded. "You promised to help me. Don't complain now."
It was the weekly market, held once a week, where every kind of seller gathered. Farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and collectors all set up makeshift stalls built from wooden frames draped with cloth or canvas, some anchored to trees and walls for support.
My shoulders were aching at this point. A basket of meat in my left hand, a wooden barrel of a specific wine sold only at this market in my right, bought specifically for the servants. Both shoulders carried bags packed with vegetables.
After a while, Maren pulled me down a different alley and all the way to a small church.
"Are you religious, Maren?"
"Yes. I am an orphan raised by the church's father and sisters. I visit every week." She looked at me. "I want to go inside."
"Go ahead, but please be quick. The sun is almost setting."
- - - X - - -
Kierra helped me put away the groceries, the meat, and everything else into their proper places.
"I am telling you again, stay away from Maren. You can't trust her."
"You don't have to be jealous, Kierra," I said, patting her head and ears. I had tricked her into letting me touch her ears and head in exchange for stopping my attempts at her tail. "She is just a little cuter than you."
She puffed her cheeks and swatted my hand away. "Mngh. It has nothing to do with that. If I see you talking to her again, from that moment I will not speak to you. And I will bring Rivena to your room. The princess is still angry about you slapping her and no one can control that anger except the princess herself."
I took both her cheeks in my hands. "Ok, ok. I will not talk to her anymore. Please keep Rivena under control, and I will treat you twice as nicely."
"Ok." She put away the last of the groceries.
"How is the princess feeling? Is she trying to do any work?"
"She tried, but her neck, shoulders, thighs, and her backside ached too much for her to manage. Also, the princess has called for you. She is in her room, alone, reading."
"I will go see her."
Kierra's worry about Maren is genuine. But why would an assassin be operating inside the estate so openly? I also found another use for my skill, Anatomical Insight. If I scatter my focus instead of concentrating it, it functions like a thermal sensor and can detect heat through walls. But even then, I cannot distinguish between people without observing their movement and body language. Using the skill this way consumes a significant amount of mana.
- - -X - - -
The princess was lying on her stomach across the bed, reading, wearing a short linen night dress, a glass of wine beside her.
She saw me enter and said nothing.
I walked over and took the glass from her hand.
"You should not drink while lying down. It will cause indigestion."
She looked at me. "I will not ask who you are or question your identity. And I will leave aside what you tried last night. But I want to know your real motive. Why are you here? And the things you carry, I have never seen anything like them before."
Here comes the moment of truth. It was only a matter of time before she started asking.
"You wished for your problems to disappear. Didn't you."
"Yes. I once prayed for it at a church."
"Then let's say I am someone who will make those problems go away. And if possible, help you become queen. Once your wish is fulfilled, I will vanish."
"And what do you gain from it?"
"Nothing. Call it a duty. And while fulfilling it, I try to enjoy the process as much as I can."
Her muscles were repairing smoothly. The swelling had reduced, her mana channels were stable and no longer leaking into the surrounding tissue. By tonight, her muscles would be fully healed and we could move to the next procedure.
"Why is my body aching so much? Is it normal?"
"Yes. Everything I worked on is in the process of being repaired. In today's session I will release the remaining tension from your muscles."
"Do you know what caused my body to end up like this?"
"The dungeons, most likely. There is also something wrong with your technique. The damage is mostly internal. Your mana channels are cracked in certain places, leaking mana that slowly destroys the surrounding muscle tissue."
"Others in my party use the same methods and none of them have this kind of damage."
"Your mother died from the same condition. This is something you inherited from her."
She went quiet.
"Could you have saved her? If you had been there then, the way you are here now?"
"I cannot save the dead, Princess. The dead have found their rest. We should let them."
She was about to say something and then stopped herself.
"It is sometimes better to let your emotions move through you than to contain them. Holding it in causes more damage than any physical wound."
She was a tough person. Despite the weight of the words and the shift in topic, her expression did not change at all.