The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 291

“So, you’re saying that you need to lower your salary, and you want me to help you cause an incident to do so?” I asked.

“It is an embarrassment and a shame for me, as a maid, to ask my master for such help, but unfortunately, I can’t change my salary on my own,” Bell Maya admitted.

Silvenia Academy was in the middle of its semester. Because I had spent so much time in the Lamelin Mountain Range, there was a mountain of work waiting for me back in my lab.

However, since I also hadn’t been able to take care of my duties as a member of House Rothstaylor, I decided to spend three days there first. That way, I could take care of what I needed to in advance, allowing me to be gone until the next semester.

In other words, when I returned to the mansion, I was happy to see everyone again. I planned to treat the visit as my final vacation before having to return to my large workload waiting for me at school. It might sound obvious, but because of my status, it often felt as though I could never truly take a break—not even during school break.

“…I’ve never seen anyone who would purposely go to such lengths to lower their own salary,” I pointed out.

“I’d appreciate it if you think of it as an expression of my loyalty,” Bell Maya replied.

“Yeah…I’ll keep that in mind. But is this really doable?”

We were in an office at Rothstaylor Mansion. Normally, I quickly approved non-urgent business reports there, but I was at a complete loss at the moment. I never imagined that such a request would be made.

I put my teacup down as I rubbed my eyes for a moment. Then, I looked back up at Bell. After thinking it over, I looked back down and read the plan aloud.

“The self-centered head maid kidnaps Ed Rothstaylor, the young master of House Rothstaylor, out of obsessive love. She escapes to the roof of the mansion and demands basic supplies and a carriage so the two of them can flee—who would possibly believe such a thing?” I demanded.

“…Is that so? But you are a rather handsome and capable man, so no one would find it strange that there would be a few women around you with such extreme thoughts,” Bell Maya pointed out.

“That’s not true. Also, you’re thinking too lowly of yourself. Who would believe that Bell Maya, a veteran maid who is well-known across the continent for her skills and loyalty, would commit the crime of kidnapping her own master? Especially for such a ridiculous reason?”

I threw the papers back on the table as I leaned back in my chair. After sweeping aside my bangs, I let out a heavy sigh and continued, “If you commit a crime this ridiculous, people are going to suspect that you did it on purpose to lower your salary. That is the most likely conclusion they’ll draw.”

Bell Maya remained silent.

“And if that happens, it will only hurt House Rothstaylor. Have you thought about that?”

“Master, I think it’s you who is thinking too lowly of yourself.”

“What?”

Bell Maya maintained her calm expression as she began to explain in a graceful tone, “Common sense isn’t something you should consider when discussing the kidnapping of the young master of House Rothstaylor.”

She continued, “You have already reached extremely impressive heights in magic. Even if I were to overpower you through sleeping pills, the people protecting House Rothstaylor wouldn’t sit still.”

Not only that, Yennekar Palerover, who was considered the strongest Elementalist in the world, and Lucy Mayreel, who had just returned from the mountains with me, were residing at the mansion.

Yennekar was limited in her actions after becoming an aristocrat. Meanwhile, Lucy had only recovered half of her magic power. While both were under their own constraints, in an extreme situation they would surely not sit still. Even the most veteran of warriors wouldn’t stand a chance against either of them.

Not only that, but House Rothstaylor had countless allies—one of which included the Imperial Family. It would be a mistake to think that I was just a regular young aristocrat. In truth, the title of being a member of House Rothstaylor was a fortress in itself.

In that regard, Bell made sense. For the head maid, who knew my position and authority well, to kidnap me… Everyone would believe it could only be possible if she had truly gone off the rails and was throwing away everything she built up.

“As you said, my name and value have unintentionally risen across the continent. So, if I do commit a major misdeed, there’s a good chance that people would actually believe that I have gone crazy,” Bell Maya explained.

I could only sit in silence.

“Don’t worry, young master Ed. Please trust in my acting skills. I worked as the head maid at Ophelis Hall for quite some time before coming here to work at Rothstaylor Mansion. The basics of being a maid, such as maintaining a poker face and keeping track of my manners, are no different than acting.”

I looked up at Bell’s serious expression. It may have been the first time I’d ever seen her make such a serious expression. There was a chance that the situation might have been the first time she’d ever made such an expression since being kicked out of the House Flanchel.

“The head of the house, Tanya, has the final say in these things. Do you think she will approve of it?” I asked instead.

“The details of the second stage of the plan were actually written by Lady Tanya herself,” Bell Maya stated.

“So not only did she approve of it, she even helped with the details…”

“She’s strangely passionate when it comes to these things…”

For some reason, I could imagine Tanya’s giggling face in front of me. Even though she may have become a duchess, she was still a young girl who occasionally misbehaved.

“Well…I don’t intend to nitpick the details if it was a plan Tanya helped come up with. However, that doesn’t mean I’m completely worry-free, either,” I said instead.

“If you are kind enough to tell me what areas you think we should fix, I will actively make sure to revise and update the plan,” Bell Maya replied.

“Rather than the plan itself…who was it shared with?”

“As you know, this is not something many ears should overhear. So as of now, there are only three of us who know: Young Master Ed, Lady Tanya, and me.”

“That’s the problem.”

Of course, the average person would never overhear of such a plan, as Rothstaylor Mansion was on a separate share of land from other houses. However, there were a few people in the mansion who were terrible at lying and would be better off not knowing.

I could already think of several people who might end up spilling the truth if questioned. I couldn’t imagine Lucy making any real effort to cover the truth with a lie simply because she didn’t show interest in such things. I could at least respect that mindset…

“If you kidnap me and take me hostage…there are going to be people that won’t sit still…” I pointed out.

There was Yennekar and Lucy, who were currently residing in the mansion. There was Lortel, who would quickly travel from Oldek when she heard. Clarice, from the Holy Father Building. Even the imperial family…

By that point, I had built up so many political connections that it would not have been much of an exaggeration to call me one of the most influential people in the kingdom. If you were to ask me if a maid were to be able to handle all that power…I couldn’t say that she could. Since it was something beyond what she would be able to handle, I had no choice but to press her further on the issue.

“Don’t worry too much, Young Master. I have already finished running simulations over and over in advance,” Bell Maya replied. Then she continued, “I’ve reviewed everything to make sure it does not inconvenience House Rothstaylor or your personal schedule either. I can explain the details one by one, but it will take several days to go through them all. Will that be alright?”

I quietly stared at Bell, but no matter how long I stared at her, she didn’t act flustered. As usual, Bell was staring back at me with a calm expression on her face, waiting for further instructions. How was it possible for such a perfect maid to exist? Staring at her, I couldn’t help but think about how ridiculous the situation was, but all I could do was let out a heavy sigh.

“Alright. You’ve never caused a problem before and your judgment has always been backed with reason. I’ll hear you out,” I stated.

“Thank you for your trust, Young Master. It’s an honor to hear such praise,” Bell Maya demurred.

“So? What should I do? Do I just need to get tied up by a rope or something?”

“It’ll be simple. I will give you tea that is mixed with some sleeping pills.”

“…Do you usually say such things so bluntly?”

Bell Maya then took out a small glass vial from her front pocket. Even though she had an expressionless face like always, when she looked at the vial, it seemed as if her eyes were sparkling.

“It is a sleeping pill that was also mixed with a tranquilizer from the Andelopes in the North. It’s both colorless and odorless, but more importantly, it has no dangerous effects on the human body. I made sure to order it directly from the Andelopes, as I didn’t want Lady Lortel to hear of it. It cost quite a bit, as it had to be transported in secret, but there was a special where if you bought three bottles at once, you’d get them at a special price. And if you ordered five, you received one for free as well.”

“You don’t need to tell me such details,” I said.

“I understand,” Bell Maya agreed.

It was good to hear that she was being careful with our House’s money, but if Lortel were to hear about it, she would be heartbroken that we went to another merchant instead of her.

Bell then opened the vial and spilled a few drops into my teacup, saying, “Oh my… Young Master Ed was drugged by an ungrateful and disloyal maid who laced his tea with sleeping pills.”

She continued, “Because it was such an unexpected turn of events, Young Master Ed fell unconscious without even realizing it. The disloyal and rude maid then tied him up with rope while he slept and dragged him up to the roof…”

It was ridiculous to hear her talking in the third person and constantly calling herself disloyal and ungrateful. It was even more ridiculous that she was doing all of it without a change in expression.

With that, all the basic preparations were finished. Once I drank the tea, the plan that the newly disloyal head maid Bell Maya came up with would begin.

“Here… Have some of this black tea that I specially brewed for you. I made sure to use the highest quality leaves that there were. As an added bonus, I added a few sleeping pills, which will help with your insomnia. A good night’s rest is necessary for chronic fatigue and accumulated lethargy,” Bell Maya urged.

“Yeah… Just go and do what you need to,” I agreed.

I picked up the teacup, taking a drink. I then slowly leaned back as my eyes began to feel heavy.

Come to think of it, after I went to Pulan, I had to go straight to Oldek. After that, I had to do some work at the school, help manage the mansion, and even go on an expedition to the Lamelin Mountain Range… I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a proper rest.

* * *

In front of Bell Maya was her master, Ed Rothstaylor, who was now asleep and completely defenseless.

For the past few months, it seemed as if Ed Rothstaylor hadn’t once had the chance to have a good night’s rest without any worries. If it weren’t for the opportunity she’d presented him, it was hard to say if he would have ever had a chance to completely relax and get a good sleep.

After looking down at Ed Rothstaylor for some time, Bell took a deep breath. While he was asleep, it was time for her to do her job. She stretched her arms and brushed the dust off her dress, ready to begin.

However, before moving him to the roof, she made sure to clean up the teacup he had dropped and wipe the spilled tea from his clothes. After all, it was a maid’s basic duty to carefully examine and take care of their master’s clothes. She then grabbed some rope and magic power stones from her pocket.

She used the rope to tie Ed to the chair he was asleep in. She didn’t want to make it too tight in case it hurt him, but at the same time, she had to make sure it wasn’t too loose or it would be noticeable.

After tying him to the chair, she used the magic power stones to boost her magic power. She then cast weight-lightening magic on him. After all, it would be impossible for Bell to carry a man of his size all by herself.

She left Ed in the room as she headed outside with the teacup, making sure to lock the door so that no one else could go inside. She then walked down the large hallway, going over the plan in her head once again.

In order for the incident to spread across the continent, it seemed necessary to keep him hostage for three days.

Three days. It might not seem like all that long at first. However, he was the young master from House Rothstaylor. He was no different than a massive fortress, impossible to attack hastily. The number of mid-level bosses that surrounded and protected him were endless. Not only that, two of them were in the mansion: Yennekar Palerover and Lucy Mayreel. If she couldn’t deal with the two of them at the start, the situation will be over within half a day.

It went without saying, but the two were extremely powerful. Even though Bell Maya was a magician capable of mid-ranking magic and knew martial arts, she would be subdued with a flick of the finger by those two. That was why she had to avoid a fight through power.

Fortunately, Bell Maya was not only an incredible maid, but she was also a famous strategist. She was a resourceful woman who knew the situation at Rothstaylor Mansion better than anyone else. It was now Bell Maya’s home ground, with everything in the palm of her hand. She knew all the information there was to know about the mansion, including the terrain, magic engineering devices, and people.

Of course, as time passed, the commercial union in Oldek or the Holy Father Building would intervene. There was even a chance that Silvenia Academy would intervene as well. After all, Ed had connections with every big name on the continent. Any criminal would shake in fear just looking his way.

It would have been far too much to honestly believe she could keep him hostage for three days while avoiding all of them. However, for precisely that reason, no one could believe that it was all a hoax. To them, it would look like Bell Maya, famous for her loyalty and talent as a maid, had suddenly come crashing down.

Now, she was entering the wild all by herself, with countless predators looking to eat her.

Maid vs Wild.

She would have to put up an extremely incredible defensive plan to hold out until the strongest on the continent came to save Ed. However, Bell Maya’s expression was incredibly calm.

“There’s no other choice,” she said to herself in a quiet voice as she walked down the hallway.

She was already the continent’s best head maid.

* * *

Click. Click.

“Hm…?”

A young junior Maid looked confused as she tried to exit the head of the house’s office. When she entered, there was nothing wrong with the door, but now that she was trying to get out, it wouldn’t budge.

“Is there a problem?” Tanya asked.

“N-not at all. It just seems that the door is stuck…” the maid explained.

“Really?”

Tanya got up from her chair as she stretched her body. After stretching for a while, she walked over to the door to check on it. Because Tanya was a graduate of Silvenia Academy, the moment she inspected the door, she could see that magic was used on it. In other words, they had been imprisoned.

Tanya had impressive skill with magic. If she really wanted to, she could break through it. However, after inspecting the door, Tanya’s eyes started to glisten.

“It’s begun!” she exclaimed.

“…What?” the maid questioned.

“Ah, never mind what I said. Anyway, it seems like things are going to get complicated. I’m going to go and hide.”

“What? Wh-what do you mean…?”

Tanya excitedly looked around the office. Under the table? In the closet? Under the chair? Or maybe she would step it up a notch and go into the cupboard?

Tanya has a habit of hiding in a dark corner whenever she could. The feeling of security and comfort she felt while hiding in a dark corner was her only form of escape. After all, at such a young age, she was burdened with the responsibilities of having a large amount of authority, always needing to be confident and dignified.

But in an emergency, who cared about status anymore? When you have to hide, you have to hide. Even the maids, who always scolded her to act more elegant and confident, wouldn’t be able to do so in an emergency.

The cozy cradle of darkness that would soon surround her shoulders… Her heart started to beat faster as her eyes glistened even brighter. The way she contemplated where she would hide made her resemble a young girl who was going shopping down a busy street.

Upon seeing Tanya’s mouth watering, the junior maid started to have mixed feelings.