Slow Prison Life Chapter 23

Attendant Deals with some Uninvited Guests

“Now, what shall I do……..?” Sofia muttered to herself while getting out from her futon.

Sofia had replaced Rachel inside the dungeon, so of course she didn't hesitate to use her Lady's bed the previous night. Although it was just a simple, temporary bed, it was designed and manufactured to satisfy the daughter of a Duke.
The spread out sleeping mat was made from luxury down that naturally released moisture such as the sweat from when you sleep.
There was also a canopy and silk curtains put up in consideration of her privacy, and the mat was spread out widely along the floor to make it easy to use and useful overall in a place like a dungeon where moisture can easily acc.u.mulate on the floor. To be clear, Sofia and the other maids usually sleep in their own high quality, fully furnished personal rooms, yet this bed still offered a more high quality level of sleep.
In other words, what else can be said besides,

It had been eleven years since she had come into Rachel's service.
This was the first time Sofia had ever overslept.

Teehee, is what she would have said, but……….this, felt a little stupid coming out of her mouth like this.

Well there's nothing for it now, and it's not like there was any problem with it since her job right now was to pretend to be Rachel and act sluggishly anyways.
Rachel had brought in a lot of books with her, and both the tea leaves and the cookies had been recently refilled. It would be a two day vacation with her only having to watch out for the rare visitor………carrying an expectation that something would happen.
That's how it was supposed to be.
And then while she was oversleeping and enjoying her rest, that was when Prince Elliott and company stopped by.

Rather than waking up after Prince Elliott's group came, it would be better to say they kept making noise until she woke up…………..and Sofia was at a loss.
(It's fine since she had lowered the curtain on her bed just in case……..but it was a blunder for her to have removed her makeup before going to sleep……..)
The silhouette between Rachel and Sofia is quite similar, but the difference in their faces would be clear to see under the light of day.
So Sofia developed ‘natural makeup that makes you look like Her Ladyship'………but that technique is worthless if they show up before she's put any makeup on.

Because they cannot see her face directly, it is necessary to get a handle on the situation without her leaving her bed.
The silhouette can only be seen as a hazy outline through the curtains.

“What's this Rachel, your att.i.tude is so bad today you won't even show yourself?”

That's your fault dimwitted Prince. Dimwit.

Sofia was in a bad mood, but there were things that had to be done before hurling abuse at the Prince.
She had to get in control of this situation.
If things were made to seem different than usual, then she would lose meaning in being a shadow warrior.

“It's a big deal breaking into a maiden's bedroom and making such comments. How would you like to try going bald?”

Sofia was attached to her Lady day and night. The manner in which she talks has been perfectly copied.
All the nuance behind her malice and ridicule, Sofia spoke, but it was Rachel's voice that came out. Yes, perfection.
From what could be seen on the other side of the curtain, the figure that somewhat looked like the Prince stirred.

“W, what the………? Aren't you being awfully direct today?”

After being seen in a state of confusion, she acted slightly different from her Lady. Bad, this must be fixed.

“I'm in a bad mood right now. I feel irritated when someone suddenly wakes me up in the morning.”
“The morning……..but aren't we already quite far into the afternoon? What time did you go to sleep?”

d.a.m.n it. She made a suspicious statement that draws into question her societal common sense.

“If you calculate back from the time I slept, then it's currently morning.”
“You, so at last you believe the world's standards are your own………?”

She went too far and now she's become someone strange. What should she do?
The Prince? on the other side of the curtain is shaking his head.

“No, that doesn't matter right now! Rachel, after all this time you still trick the innocent Margaret!?”
“……….Margaret?”

It's a name Sofia felt like she'd heard before, but she was having trouble matching the name to a face. It was certainly a name she had seen recently concerning the Prince's relationship……..but who was she again?
It seems that Sofia's involuntary confused mutter was overheard. The Prince-ish human figure was visibly angry.

“You……..you've seen Margaret and I together, so why is it that you're acting like you don't know her!? Don't you know that thanks to the rotten can of food you gave her, Margaret is still in bed!? George and I were only able to recover yesterday! Letting your own brother and the weak Margaret meet with such a terrible experience, don't you feel guilty at all!?”

Such an experience……….rotten can……….can? …………….Oh!

“Ah, Sand Bag!”
“Hah!?”
“I remember! Oh dear Your Highness, people might not know who you're talking about if you don't use their real name you know?”
“Eh? No………I, I don't know who this Sand Bag guy is………..”
“Your own girlfriend's name? You shouldn't forget something like that. It's because of this that Your Highness”
“Girlfriend……….? …………..tha, are you talking about Margaret!? Her real name is Margaret! What do you mean Sand Bag!?”

It was as he said. She made a mistake this time because her information was too good.

Sofia had tried to keep things peaceful with the societal garbage, but it seems like she had said something wrong somewhere. Now the garbage Prince was even angrier.

“b.i.t.c.h, constantly you………..!? In the first place Rachel, when a person is seriously angry you should come out of your bed and seriously face them! Come out and sit straight!”
“Tch”

The Idiot Prince had a sound argument………that being said, Sofia couldn't afford to leave. While sealing the other side's argument, the Lady would continue talking as if she were in a state of superiority………

“You click your tongue!? You, what's with that att.i.tude towards the Prince of this country!?”
“……….”

Sofia responded with silence. Such people would connect after this.

“Pay attention Rachel! I'm angry, so come out now!”

As to be expected the Prince was fiercely repeating his orders…….but, Sofia was thinking about what he looked like angrily shaking the prison bars. Just as the Lady had said, he really did look like a monkey.
Sofia raised up her upper body while holding on to her futon. The only thing the other people on the other side were able to see was that she was hiding her body behind the futon.

“……..Your Highness”
“What is it!?”
“You really don't understand a woman's heart………”
“…………What!?”

Sofia deliberately made a suggestive sigh, something made of a mix of anger and anxiety…….Elliott clammed up.
Sofia had to completely embody the Lady………and let the sweet poison flow.

“While Your Highness is here, I can't afford to come out………I, I don't wear anything when I go to bed………”
“!!”

Elliott……..no, the entire front part of the jail shook. Murmurs and whispers filled the room, and the air behind the Prince seemed to wrap around him.

“Y, Your Highness…….!?”
“D, don't get fl.u.s.tered!? T, this is probably one of Rachel's tricks………”

This is certainly a trick…….unfortunately, it's not the Lady's though.
After having a strange coughing fit, Elliott began speaking with a heavy tone.

“Hahaha, you can't trick me Rachel. There is no such thing.”¹

You can pretend to be calm, but you slipped up and changed your p.r.o.noun, Your Highness.
So, let's turn up the pressure.

“Oh, Your Highness doesn't know? Isn't this quite the common practice for the n.o.blewomen of this country?”
“!!”

Already Elliott and his happy little friends could no longer hide their panic.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Your Highness!? T-T-T-T-T-T-That's, that girl, and that girl, and this girl, and-and-and-and-and-and………..!?”
“W-W-W-W-W-W-Wait, c-c-c-c-c-c-calm down-n-n-n-n-n-n!”
“B, But! But that's!? We, if we know such confidential in-in-in-in-in-in-information………ouh, I can never lift my face up in court ever again!”
“No wait, calm down! There's nothing wrong with us, so gain peace of mind! Peace of mind, peace of mind, OK? OK, why do I keep picturing all those n.o.blewomen!? Okay!?”

Seeing their all too naive reactions, “These guys unexpectedly don't play around that much,” Sofia thought to herself while dealing the finishing blow.

“Well Your Highness, do you doubt me?”
“Eh? No, there's no way that's a thing though!?”
“If you can't trust what I say, then how about ‘confirming' with ‘Margaret'?”

A silent storm blew through in the wake of Sofia's words.

The s.e.xual image born from her words blew them all away. There was one man who started hitting the others for what they were picturing, but that just showed he was having the same idea…….Elliott and the Halfwit Squadron broke apart mid-air after a single line, annihilated by their own delusions, and became no longer able to battle on their own.

They were overwhelmed by their own delusional power, so after confirming that everyone was left staring up towards the stars, Sofia softly urged Elliott forward.

“Um, Your Highness? Before we talk, I, would like to put on some clothes……..”
“Huh? Oh, oh right! Um, we'll get out, so call us when you're done!”

While there was nothing to be ashamed of in what he said, what the Prince had imagined was betrayed by the shame he showed.
With his head swinging like a broken bobblehead doll, he drove back the hanger-ons before leaving himself.

“It's useless even if you peek from the ventilation window~”
“We know! We know right!?”

After the busy shuffling up the steps finally disappeared, Sofia was finally able to take a relieved breath.

“Haa, so nerve-wracking…….it's good that I was somehow able to finish without anything being exposed.”

Of course Sofia was wearing pajamas. She's a servant after all.
Sofia has helped her Lady change her clothes a countless number of times in the morning as well; not once has she slept naked, or so she says in her heart.
Yes, such customs do not exist in this country's n.o.ble society.

After so much trouble Sofia got the Prince's group out and changed her clothes……..before going back to bed for a second time.
Of course she had no intention of calling Elliott back.

Rachel seemed really happy coming back the day after, her face was positively glowing.

“I'm glad I stayed at that inn. I was able to stay up late into the night talking about a bunch of different things. And since we weren't at the house, Martha wasn't there to throw us into bed.”
“It sounds like it was a lot of fun.”
“I bought grilled skewered meat from a stall, and after buying some ale with room service, we shared a toast. For the first time a dinner like that…….it was fun.”
“Could it be because you're both n.o.bles?”

Because there were no supplies being imported today, Rachel and Sofia were having a spot of tea together while exchanging information. Of course they were being cautious of others, but they'd finish quickly if they heard any rustling.

“But Sofia, couldn't you have been a bit more reasonable?”
“You think so? I did think I managed to separate myself from the Prince rather peacefully when he and I quarreled though.”
“I don't disagree with you but……..now His Highness and all his friends believe I sleep naked. If someone were to speak of this, it'd be a small scandal.”
“Ah, that's true.”

Sofia held up the teapot and responded with a smile that didn't quite suit her usual demeanor.

“Because the scandal doesn't have anything to do with me, it's really easy to not care though.”
“I don't hate that part of you that acts makes a place cold from every direction.”

“Hah~…….it was fun staying overnight and having a walk through town for the first time in such a long time………”

Rachel spoke her thoughts aloud, taking a long sip from her now slightly warm tea, and as if finally satisfied by something, she leaned back in her chair and stretched out her limbs.

“After my homedungeon is the best place to relax!”
“……..My Lady, seriously?”

1. Elliott used the ‘watashi' to refer to himself here instead of the more masculine ‘ore'.