Chapter 3 – The Princess and the Apprentice Maid

After being relieved, I looked at her.

…Weird.

My magic doesn’t seem to work on her.

“…So, who told you to serve me?”

“Well… the King did.”

“My father? Why in the world did he send you…”

…From her way of talking and posture, she’s probably not a noble child.

So my father selected her to be my maid, thinking “It’s okay even if she’s in danger”?

If that’s the case, of course I’ll reject it.

…Though there’s no way my kind father gave such a cruel order… I don’t think so.

Rather than that, it is more likely that he judged she has some kind of magic that makes her able to protect herself from my magic.

“Well… The King said ’Alicia has more magical power than other people.’ In addition, because I don’t have any relatives, I could stay with Lady Luxeria all the time.”

“I see… Like I thought. I’m sorry but I can’t agree to hire you here. Go back to the palace.”

“W- Why? I’ll be in trouble if I lose this job!”

“If you want a job I’ll tell my father to hire you at the palace.”

“…That is impossible.”

“Impossible? What do you mean by that…”

“… When you go to work at the tower, my daughter will undoubtedly say ‘If you want a job I’ll tell my father to hire you at the palace.’ …However, I won’t listen to this request from my daughter. Because I believe my daughter needs you. So if my daughter says what I predicted, I want you to tell her what I’m saying, word by word, without making any mistakes. ‘I have no intention of hiring Alicia outside of the tower.’ …That’s what the King said.”

What she said quickly and smoothly were my fathers words, huh.

That is to say…

“…Did you just say the words of my father word by word, without making any mistakes?”

“Yes, I did.”

I thought she suddenly started speaking fluently, but it was the words of my father.

She must have a terribly impressive memory if she can remember my father’s words word by word, without making any mistakes.

However the person in question doesn’t seem to understand how amazing that is.

She’s really cute… That’s not it. This is not the time for that.

“…It’s such a waste that you’re not getting hired at the palace. With that much ability, you can achieve greatness even in other places. Instead, it is definitely better if you can take up a job you can make best use of your talent in when you grow up.”

“That is troublesome. You need money just to survive. …When can I take up the ‘job I can make best use of my talent’ you speak of?”

For a moment, we stared at each other.

Even when she’s making a troubled face, her eyes are shining with hope. …No good, I don’t seem to want to reject her.

I softly take a breath.

“…I’ll tell you the true reason I don’t want to hire you. I think you’ll want to withdraw yourself then. My magic affects others’ minds.”

“It affects others’ minds?”

“Yes. I have heard voices ever since I was born. That is, words other people didn’t say out loud, their inner voices.”

In the beginning, I didn’t consider it to be my magic.

Instead, I thought everyone in this world could do it.

…After all, I could do it naturally right after being born.

And around this time, I couldn’t keep up with the fact that I was born again, so I wasn’t able to calmly think about it.

…That it could’ve been magic.

“I thought it was natural to be able to hear others’ inner voices. …So I responded to my mother’s thoughts. And it wasn’t only once, but time after time.”

They didn’t pursue it at first, saying that I was a really perceptive child. But after it happened many times, they realized it wasn’t just a coincidence.

As a result, it proved that it was my magic.

“After people learned it was my magic, my relationship with the servants became awkward. After all, if they came close to me, I could hear everything they wanted to hide and didn’t want to say with my magic. It can’t be helped that I’m avoided because of my eerie power.”

“Even by the King and the Queen?”

“No… Thankfully they still loved me. Even if they were afraid of my power…”

I can hear others’ inner voices.

Therefore, I naturally heard my father’s and mother’s inner voices too.

It is the truth that they were fearful of my power.

However, their inner voices still told me that they loved me.

I’m really grateful and happy about it.

“Then, why are you living alone, apart from the King and the Queen?”

“…Think about it. About how noisy it is to always hear others’ inner voices. Even if I’m imprisoned, I’m more at ease if I’m alone.”

Also because of my previous life’s memories, I can’t get used to being served no matter what.

“Therefore you thought you’d live alone at the tower..? Is that why you can’t hire me no matter what?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“But Lady Luxeria can’t hear my inner voices, right?”

I froze when she pointed that out.

…No good. Reacting like this is the same as confirming what she’s saying.

“Why do you think that is the case?”

“Because Lady Luxeria was surprised when I repeated the King’s words. When Lady Luxeria said the words the King predicted you’d say, I was thinking about it.”

…I can’t deceive her, huh.

Nevertheless, she noticed that well.

“That is correct, yes. For some reason, I can’t hear your inner voice. …On the contrary, I want to hear the reason why that is the case.”

“The reason? Uhh…”

“What is your magic?”

“Well, my magic is ‘Contradiction.’ I can protect myself and attack within the barrier with it. But I haven’t used magic in so long.”

“I’ve met other people who could make barriers, but they couldn’t protect themselves from my magic. …Hey, Alicia. Can you release your magical power?”

“Eh? Is that okay?”

It seems like she doesn’t want to release her magical power.

“Yes, I give you permission. Rather, I’m requesting you to do it.”