The Maid In The Reverse Harem Game Wants To Quit - Chapter 118
Translator: Nabi
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Chapter 118
Louise smiled at Edith’s question.
“There’s no big reason, and there doesn’t necessarily have to be one.”
Indeed, it was a problem from the beginning, and there was no one who didn’t know it.
Even Edith.
Unbeknownst to Edith herself, her hesitation to bring things to an end contrasted sharply with her previously unwavering commitment to her research.
The mere fact that she couldn’t bring herself to harm anyone was proof of that.
If she were to sacrifice herself to Elios and erase her own existence, everyone would forget everything about her, so it wouldn’t matter whom she erased.
Edith’s belief that protecting her son was her sole purpose had now crumbled. Though she may not have been aware of it, it was evident in Louise’s eyes. When one relentlessly pursued a singular goal only to be confronted with an insurmountable dilemma, it was inevitable for anyone to be bound to collapse.
‘…Miss Irene must have been like that, too.’
Louise knew Irene’s past. She knew that Irene was fundamentally identical to Edith.
The fact that she had killed Louise to get what she wanted was proof of that.. Still, what remained in the aftermath was emptiness, leading Irene to the present. Instead of achieving her goals by taking someone else’s life, she found herself in a precarious situation where her own life was at stake.
“To be honest, I don’t really want to die like that either. If I wanted to pretend not to know, I could have.”
Still, she already knew everything.
She was here… in this mansion where the seasons had yet to change and in this place where finite life and unchanging constraints choked her. Because of that, since learning the truth, Louise hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully at night.
Though she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.
“Miss Irene, are you still awake?”
“…I can’t sleep.”
“You must sleep well for your body to recover.”
Louise quietly watched as Irene tossed and turned before silently getting out of bed and approaching her side. Feeling Irene’s gaze, who was at a loss for words, she smiled calmly.
“I can’t sleep either, so I thought I’d stay with you.”
“If you stay up late, you’ll be tired.”
“I sleep better with Miss Irene.”
Irene let out a hollow laugh, but instead of pushing Louise away, she even pulled her closer and made space for her. Though her gaze was piercing, she could sense Irene’s eyes falling upon her.
She gazed at Louise intently, her mind seemingly adrift in contemplation.
Eventually, breaking the silence with a sigh, she posed a question.
“Miss Louise.”
“Yes?”
“Is there something you want to do?”
“Something I want to do?”
“Something like a dream or a romance. It’s not like you’re going to be working in this mansion forever, right?”
“Well, I should start by paying off my debt?”
“I guess that’s true, but what about after that?”
Hmm.
After rolling her eyes for a moment, Louise opened her mouth after thinking about it.
“I don’t know. It’s going to take me at least five years, if not longer, to pay off my debt, but I think I’ll still be here when I do.”
“Why?”
“Because after spending that much time here, it would feel like home. If I ever want to go somewhere else, I can just take a vacation and come back, right?”
“With that much experience, you could be somewhere else, not in a place like this.”
“What’s wrong with this place? There’s a large garden, and the mansion is very luxurious. Although sometimes it can be a bit eerie, the work isn’t that demanding and Miss Irene is here, too! If it could stay the way it is now, I’d be happy.”
Louise responded cheerfully, but Irene’s voice was tremulous.
“Is that really all? Is there nothing else you want to do or become?”
“Even if you ask me that, I’m now a person without ambitions. I don’t have any family or friends to care for. This place has become my home. There’s nothing more to ask for.”
I’m happy here.
As her words continued, Irene seemed to have lost her words. Without receiving a response, Louise quietly asked Irene again.
“Is there anything you want to do, Miss Irene?”
“…I want to see the lake.”
It was a sudden remark, but once the door opened, words poured out like a torrent.
I want to see the lakes in Diabel. I want to ride horses and taste the cold chocolate in Jansen. I want to have a home, get married, and have children.
“I wish my house were higher than this floor because it would feel empty without stairs, and I like having a large family.”
“The kitchen is definitely on the first floor, right?”
“Of course. I’ll make rose jam in spring, plum jam in summer, apple jam in autumn, and tangerine jam in winter.”
Jam was useful to have on hand, so it was a food that was made as often as pickles in common households.
“Wow, that sounds delicious! If you have a big family, you’ll be busy grocery shopping!”
“That’s right. Potatoes and asparagus run out quickly, so it can be a concern if you have a big family.”
In Irene’s dream, mundane concerns like these were the only worries—the pot boiling over while making jam, the fear of running out of potatoes and asparagus, and the regular chore of grocery shopping every week. Such a simple and ordinary life was right in front of her eyes.
If time stood still, she could truly live like that.
Being a capable individual in every sense, achieving her modest dream wouldn’t be much of a challenge either.
“It would be great if we could do that.”
At the end of all her imaginations, Irene murmured those words. She knew that the probability of it not being possible was even greater.
“Because a dream is just a dream. Even if I can’t make it happen, I hope Miss Louise will be happy.”
With those words, Irene closed her eyes and laid down as if she had no intention of continuing the conversation.
“Well then, I think it’s time for you to go back to bed and sleep now, Miss Louise.”
Louise obeyed her words and went back to her bed.
It wasn’t so much because she was concerned about getting tired if she went to bed late, but rather because she felt that if she stayed by Irene’s side any longer, she wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears.
Ever since Irene had woken up, Louise had been aware of the presence that visited her bed every night.
There were prolonged gazes filled with tangled emotions and heavy breaths. After holding her hand for a moment, Irene would quickly tuck the blanket around her in case she woke up and then leave with a gentle touch. Initially, it was just a faint sensation during her sleep, but as the nights went on, it became more pronounced.
That was when Louise realized that there was one more thing she had missed every night.
…It was the suppressed sound of crying concealed within the darkness. A stifled sob held back in hushed breaths, intermittent gasps attempting to regain composure, and moist exhalations.
In that moment, Louise made up her mind. She decided that she would be the one who broke her free of her shackles.
So, there was no such grand reason behind it.
“I hope Miss Irene is happy, that’s all.”
Life was originally built upon someone else’s sacrifice, so she thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to take on that role.
Funnily enough, it was only then that Louise felt she had found the meaning of her life. She could feel the many words of Irene, who wished for her happiness, taking root within her. Growing up in a world of abundance and having lived without longing, Louise had once casually laughed off the desire for happiness.
But now, she had something she yearned for with all her heart.
“Please teach me how to use Elios, Madam Edith.”
There was no way Edith could refuse Louise’s earnest plea.
For the first time, Louise finally grasped hold of happiness.
With a creaking sound, the iron door opened loudly before it was followed by hurried footsteps.
It was Irene.
“Madam Edith!”
However, her voice was in a completely different state than usual. A voice that had lost its usual composure and sounded furious rang through the prison.
“Who did you hand Elios over to?”
Still, the mastermind behind it all remained composed.
“Have you already figured it out?”
“I was looking at the observation machine in the lab, trying to get a clue as to what the main pivot was. But…”
“But something seems to be missing?”
In response to the calm question, Irene’s lips were sealed shut in a straight line.
It was an affirmative response.
In truth, it was an obvious matter. It was because there weren’t many things that Irene would react to like that.
“Something has disappeared, and I don’t even have a clue what it is… as if it never existed in the first place.”
“Congratulations. The pivot of this world has now disappeared, just as you hoped.”
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Translator’s Note: Hello, it’s Nabi! I’m the translator of this novel ପ( ๑•ᴗ•๑ )ଓ♡ If you like the novel and would like to support me, please feel free to click the button below to go to my kofi~! Thank you so much for always supporting the novels I work on, even if you don’t buy me a coffee, I really do appreciate it a lot. ❤︎
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