## Chapter 175 – Collusion (18)
After finishing a shower with Acer following their deed, Number 25 returned to the room and collapsed onto the bed. Sex with Acer always seemed like Number 25 was taking the lead at first, but in the latter half, it invariably turned into Number 25 being devoured. The physical exertion was more significant than expected, so she decided not to do anything else. Just lying down and falling asleep would be a perfect end to the day.
Besides, the upcoming tournament was just around the corner. There was no harm in resting. As she finished organizing her thoughts, closed her eyes, and tossed and turned, a small scream escaped her lips.
“Ah!”
The stinging pain in her back reminded her of what had just happened. Acer, embracing Number 25, had left vivid fingernail marks on her back during climax, which were now red and swollen.
It was painful enough to be bothersome when she lay on her back, but she didn’t feel bad. Wasn’t it a token of their love? Number 25 thought so and forced herself to sleep.
Just as she was drifting off, she heard someone knocking on the door. Number 25 cautiously opened her eyes and looked towards the door.
Who could it be at this late hour? It couldn’t be Acer or Charlotte. They would knock as a formality and then come right in. As Number 25 hesitated, a voice came from outside.
“It’s me. Can I come in?”
Hearing Hilda’s voice quickly resolved the question.
As Number 25 told her to come in, the door creaked open, and Hilda hesitantly entered the room. She waved slightly and greeted Number 25.
Seeing Hilda’s face properly for the first time in a while, Number 25 was immediately filled with joy. At the same time, worry surged. If Acer or Charlotte found out she was here, they wouldn’t stand for it. Noticing Number 25’s worried expression, Hilda scratched her head sheepishly and opened her mouth.
“It’s okay. I got permission from Charlotte-nim.”
That was unexpected. That Charlotte would allow a woman into her room. Number 25 sat up on the bed and spoke to her.
“Really? So, what’s up?”
Hilda naturally sat next to Number 25 and smiled. She had also just finished showering, as she was wearing comfortable casual clothes instead of her usual maid uniform, and a refreshing scent emanated from her sky-blue hair.
“I just came to chat.”
Before talking, Number 25 checked Hilda’s hands. Fortunately, she didn’t see a bottle of alcohol. Hilda seemed to notice her gaze, as she laughed heartily and nudged Number 25’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’m trying my best to hold back on the booze.”
Nothing good had ever come from Hilda and alcohol together. Hilda looked directly into Number 25’s eyes and opened her mouth.
“How have you been? Can you tell me about it?”
There probably weren’t many good stories to tell, but seeing her shining eyes, she couldn’t simply refuse. Number 25 nodded and began to tell her, one by one, how she had been living in District 2.
Hilda showed various reactions as she listened to Number 25’s story. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she laughed, and sometimes she nodded with a serious expression. Number 25 found her reactions amusing, and she told her all the stories she had experienced, except for the serious ones about the Outer Gods, without realizing how much time had passed.
She was particularly surprised by the relationship between Number 25 and Low. Of course, it wasn’t the story of their physical relationship, but the fact that Number 25 was practically her adopted daughter.
It was the first time she had told someone her story in such detail. After sharing her story, she felt much more at ease.
Now she understood why Charlotte had allowed Hilda to come here. It was her way of being considerate. She would have to thank her later, she thought, taking a moment to catch her breath.
But Hilda didn’t give Number 25 a chance to rest.
“Ah! And you participated in the tournament this time, right? I heard about it.”
Number 25 smiled awkwardly and replied.
“It just happened that way.”
Her face flushed slightly as the topic of the tournament came up. Hearing about her performance directly from someone she knew was quite embarrassing. Hilda continued, with a tone and expression that seemed genuinely regretful.
“I wanted to see it in person, but it’s a shame.”
“You can come and watch next time, right?”
It was always encouraging to have people cheering you on.
“How can I leave this place?”
“Should I ask Charlotte-nim for you?”
Hilda was startled and waved her hands.
“Ah, no! Then you might get an earful.”
It didn’t seem likely that Charlotte would scold her for suggesting something like that. Number 25 puffed out her chest and said in a confident voice, as if telling her to trust her.
“It’s okay. Trust me. I’d be happy if Hilda came to cheer me on.”
“R-really? Then I’ll ask you to do that.”
Hilda smiled bashfully at Number 25’s words. Having finished telling all her stories, including the tournament, Number 25 now asked Hilda.
“How have you been, Hilda?”
Hilda’s expression darkened for a moment at Number 25’s question.
“If it’s hard for you to talk about it…”
Before Number 25 could finish, Hilda shook her head.
“No, I’m okay now. And it’s not fair if I’m the only one listening, right?”
It was okay if she didn’t want to talk about it if it was too difficult, but Hilda thought it was unfair that she had listened to her stories without sharing her own. She sighed deeply and began to speak.
“It was hard at first. After you left like that, both the Demon Lord and Charlotte-nim were not in their right minds. Me too.”
She still felt sorry about that. It wasn’t like she had left after a thorough agreement, but rather she had been forcibly taken away by Low.
“But I recovered from your absence faster than those two. Let’s be honest, we weren’t that close, right?”
That was true. The feelings she had for Hilda were quite different from those she had for Acer and Charlotte. Friendship was a bigger part of it than affection, but they had mixed bodies. They had gotten to know each other as friends, but hadn’t they formed a master-servant relationship in the middle?
“The problem is what came after.”
Hilda’s expression was darker than before. Noticing that she was getting to the main point, Number 25 quietly kept her mouth shut.
“You noticed that there were fewer maids in the mansion, right?”
Number 25 nodded. Now they had brought in new people and it was quite bustling, but at first, she thought the mansion had gone to ruin.
“There were quite a few maids who left because the Demon Lord changed and they got tired of it, but I was practically the one who drove out half of them.”
This was the first time she had heard this story.
“You?”
Hilda sat on the bed, swinging her legs, and said in a nonchalant tone.
“It seems like rumors about me spread. I forgot that there were many eyes watching here.”
There was only one rumor that came to mind regarding Hilda. Number 25 was at a loss for words at her own lack of discretion. Since she, ostensibly a slave of the Demon Lord, had been involved with a maid, the criticism that would be directed at her was unimaginable.
“You don’t have to make that face. It’s all my choice, right?”
“Still…”
“And Charlotte-nim stepped in and dealt with those rumors directly so that they wouldn’t reach the Demon Lord’s ears.”
She still didn’t understand why Hilda had driven out the maids.
“But as I spent more time with Charlotte-nim, there were naturally more people who cursed her instead of me. It’s common to curse your boss, but it was too much. She’s a scary person, but she’s not a bad person, right? I couldn’t stand those who didn’t even know her well talking about her.”
“Hilda…”
Honestly, she didn’t expect her to think of Charlotte that way. She thought she would be harboring resentment for being caught having a relationship with Number 25 and being severely punished for it. At the same time, she was grateful. She was grateful that she had stepped up for Charlotte in a situation where she could have been disadvantaged.
If Number 25 had heard those words directly, she probably wouldn’t have been able to stand it either, just like her.
“Since almost all the maids disappeared because of me, I naturally ended up taking on all the work.”
There seemed to be more to it than what was hidden behind that smile, but she didn’t bother to pry. Even though she had driven out most of the maids, there must have been people who remained and mocked Hilda. The pain that Hilda had experienced in Number 25’s absence of two years was something that Number 25 couldn’t even begin to fathom.
Hilda, who had become dispirited, carefully leaned her head on Number 25’s shoulder, and Number 25 raised her hand and patted her shoulder as if to comfort her. It was a scene that Acer might go wild over if she saw it, but if she couldn’t do this much for a friend who was suffering, how could she call herself a friend?
After a while of keeping silent, Hilda suddenly flinched and moved away from Number 25. Was she in pain? As Number 25 looked at Hilda with a worried gaze, she avoided her eyes and muttered in a small voice.
“I was barely holding it in…”
Only then could Number 25 read the emotions in Hilda’s eyes. Hilda looked at Number 25 again with eyes that seemed like they would overflow with tears.
“When you touch me gently, it throbs here…”
Hilda said as if she was finally releasing the emotions she had been holding back.
“I can only think about wanting to mate with you.”
