Translation Novel This world is mine

Chess game (part 3)

I almost ran away from Orion and entered the main building of the 3rd Knightage. I quickly walked towards the kitchen, which was filled with delicious smells. I glanced behind me, but Orion did not follow.

"Excuse me, I'm here to run an errand."

I knocked on the half-open kitchen door and went inside. The experienced maids working in the kitchen glance at me and tilt their heads.

It was as they were asking why on earth I had come to the kitchen.

"......Wooyeon?"

Mary, who was taking cookies out of the oven while wearing gloves, blinked. I was relieved to meet Mary, whom I was at least acquainted with. Mary put down the hot iron plate on the wooden desk and approached me with a happy face.

'But why is Mary wandering around? 'Not even a kitchen maid?'

I tilted my head to the question that was suddenly racing through my mind. Mary is the daughter of a viscount family, and is a maid in charge of the executive quarters and the main library. There was not much Mary could do in the kitchen where most of the maids were from commoner backgrounds.

***

"Wooyeon! I haven't seen you in a while, Wooyeon! I thought something had happened to you! When did you return?"

"......I came back at dawn yesterday."

Mary took off her soft gloves and whispered softly in my ear. My ears tickled as I felt Mary's shallow breathing. I flinched and stepped back. When I thought about it, it seemed like I hadn't seen Mary since sneaking out of the Forest of Eronis.

"Haa... I was surprised. You should have let me know the moment you returned."

"I'm sorry. I was a little distracted."

I smiled bitterly at Mary, who helped me run away from home for two days. Thanks to this, there was no need to go hungry in the Forest of Eronis. It was only after I took the scroll that Charlize left behind in the annex where she lived and returned to Charlize's office that I felt relieved and fell into sleep.

'I was so nervous because I almost got caught by the guards of the 3rd Knights!

The runaway, which had many twists and turns, would have enraged Charlize if I had returned a little later. Starting with how the tracking spell engraved on the bracelet was broken, I would have had to explain one by one how I had eluded the guards of the 3rd Knightage.

"Wooyeon, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

When I thought of Charlize getting angry at me, my heart felt tight. Could it be that she feel betrayed and lock me in the dungeon again? From the first day I came to this world, I was trapped in a dungeon filled with musty moisture.

The second will be easier.

I swallowed and shook my head. I never wanted to be trapped in a dark, dark space filled with instruments of torture again. It was because every time I looked at a dark place, I was reminded of my childhood in an orphanage.

"You don't have to worry, Mary. I'm fine. There was nothing dangerous."

"What did you think I was worried about?"

Mary squeezed my cheek with her white, flour-covered hand. At first glance, it smelled like chocolate and garlic, so it seemed like they made quite a variety of snacks.

"By the way, I was baking some pastries with the chef."

Mary said that she was in charge of the cookies and the chef was in charge of the garlic bread. I tried making chocolate cookies, but it was a disaster. Mary, who was blushing with embarrassment, was cuter than I thought, so I laughed without realizing it.