Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

"I want to play the ring toss game too."

Mitsuha smiled and said, her gaze falling on the butterfly hairpin displayed in the corner of the stall.

Chapter 0 [Side Story: The Terrifying Successor Nation]

(This is not part of the main storyline and is not included in the daily updates. It's just a small side story inspired by some ideas. You can skip it without it affecting the overall content.)

The castle tower, where the nation had lived for generations, was always the tallest building in the castle.

For centuries, no matter how other buildings in the city changed, this gate tower, a symbol of national power, has always stood there.

It stands like an immortal monument, constantly demonstrating to the people living in the city the unquestionable authority of the nation over this town.

Therefore, for the poor families living in this city, the luckiest thing might be being able to send their children to work as servants in the state.

Don't be fooled by the fact that being a servant might sound like being inferior; they serve the most powerful and influential people in the city!

Not to mention that the monthly wages are very high, if you are lucky enough to be noticed by a big shot, your whole family can "rise to prominence" and never have to worry about food and clothing again.

And I am one of them.

When I was ten years old, my parents sent me to that tall castle.

Perhaps because my appearance was decent enough, I passed the first round of selection and was able to stay in this castle, where I, along with other girls my age who had passed the selection, followed the older maids to learn how to become a qualified maid of the successor state.

It was here that I first met the man who would later become the head of the family and the master I had served for many years—

I first met Miss Mitsuha at the funeral of her father, who was then the head of the Tsugikuni family.

At that time, I had only been in the country for less than a month and was still an apprentice maid who needed to follow behind the older maids and learn diligently.

It was through this funeral that I was able to catch a glimpse of Miss Mitsuha from afar.

She is really beautiful.

This was my first feeling when I saw Ms. Mitsuha.

From the moment I entered this castle tower, I always saw many beautiful women, including maids like myself, and wives of other daimyo who had come to visit with their husbands...

But compared to Miss Mitsuha, they are still far inferior.

What struck me as odd was that throughout the entire funeral that day, Miss Mitsuha's delicate face remained completely expressionless.

This is really weird.

Because this is Miss Mitsuha's father's funeral.

As a daughter, doesn't Miss Mitsuha feel any sadness at the passing of her father?

What's even stranger is that not only did Miss Mitsuha not cry, but Young Master Yan Sheng, who was standing next to her, also did not cry.

At the funeral that day, everyone, from the retainers to the servants, was trying their best to cry.

But the most crucial girls, Mitsuha and her brother, showed not a trace of sadness, not even a single tear...

At the time, I just felt that this scene was really absurd and bizarre...

However, I didn't think much about it.

On my very first day in the country, the older maid who was in charge of teaching me told me that the most important thing for a servant in such a powerful household was to be "dumb".

Because the powerful and wealthy have many secrets, and at the same time, they do not want these secrets to be known by others.

But as servants, they could easily learn these secrets unintentionally.

Therefore, in order to prevent their secrets from being exposed, the powerful and wealthy often take some minor actions against their servants who know too much, such as making them disappear forever...

Therefore, in order to avoid being eliminated forever, a servant must learn to make himself "stupid".

Don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't ask what you shouldn't ask, don't think about what you shouldn't think about, and don't care about what you shouldn't care about. Just do your own thing quietly, and that's enough.

Being too clever will only bring trouble upon yourself...

Recalling the strange behavior of Miss Mitsuha and Mr. Yansheng at the funeral, I wholeheartedly agree with it and am determined to carry it out to the end.

Fortunately, I'm not a very smart person to begin with, so it wasn't difficult for me to do this.

After staying in the castle for only a year, many of the maids who had entered with me left one after another.

Most of them died from illness or decided to leave for personal reasons.

However, a small number of them were forced to "disappear" because they were too "smart".

I especially remember one person among them. She was a few years older than me, and her appearance was outstanding among us maids. She was also quick-witted and eloquent.

Perhaps that's why she's the one who's progressed the fastest among us.

Having been in this castle for only a year, she was assigned to serve as a maid to Young Master Yan Sheng, who had become the new head of the family, and was responsible for taking care of his daily life.

This was originally something to be envied, but for some reason, one night she sneaked into Yan Sheng's study while he was alone, hoping to take the opportunity to have something more intimate with him...

Then she disappeared, completely and utterly vanished.

No one in the castle tower asked about her disappearance.

It was as if she had never existed...

Actually, I understand what she's thinking.

Young Master Yan Sheng was not only young and handsome, but it was also obvious to everyone that he and his wife did not have a harmonious relationship. After having a child, they had never shared a bed.

This "extremely clever" maid, believing herself to be exceptionally beautiful and having the advantage of being his personal attendant, dreamed of taking advantage of her proximity to the man and usurping the position of wife from Yan Sheng Gongzi...

How could someone so intelligent not see that Young Master Yan Sheng is not the kind of person who would be interested in beautiful women?

Using something that others have absolutely no interest in to entice them...

Sigh, it really is...

Fortunately, I don't have as much ambition as she does.

For me, as long as I can continue to be an ordinary maid, receive my monthly wages on time, and then leave the country after I turn twenty to find a good family to marry into, that will be enough for my life...

However, although that's what I thought in my heart, as I get older, and perhaps because I'm usually calm and rarely make mistakes, I've changed my mind.

I was eventually forced to give up my life as an ordinary maid and was transferred to Miss Mitsuha's side to become her personal maid.

This is the first time I've ever had the opportunity to get up close and personal with this lady from the country.

Fortunately, unlike the life I had imagined, Ms. Mitsuha had an exceptionally good personality. She wouldn't let anyone suddenly disappear, and she was quite tolerant of those around her.

As long as I don't make a particularly serious mistake, Ms. Mitsuha won't blame me.

Without a doubt, the days spent by Mitsuha's side are much better than my previous days.

But as we got to know each other better, I started to feel that something was off about Ms. Mitsuha.

I don't know how to describe this feeling, but Ms. Mitsuha doesn't seem like a normal human being to me...

Miss Mitsuha gets up on time every day, eats on time, reads on time, engages in some entertainment on time, and finally rests on time.

All of this sounds normal, but I always feel that normal human beings wouldn't maintain the same smile from morning till night.

They also don't always turn the pages at the same time, and they only ever read the same few books all year round.

They certainly wouldn't remain completely unresponsive at their own brother's funeral, as if it were someone else's brother who had died...

This is strange and bizarre.

All of Mitsuha's actions seemed to be programmed by some kind of program, making me subconsciously want to think about the secrets behind them.

Then one day, I suddenly realized that Ms. Mitsuha had actually been "playing a role" all along.

She always does the same things at the same time, not because she is punctual or has a well-organized daily routine.

Rather, it's because she has been earnestly playing the role of "Mitsuboe Tsugikuni".

As the daughter of the heir apparent, Miss Mitsuha will definitely do what she is supposed to do every day, and she will do it perfectly, without any mistakes, so that no one can find fault with her.

When I realized this, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Of course, if that's all there is to it, I feel I can actually handle it.

What truly terrified me was what happened after that butterfly doctor arrived.

I've heard that this Dr. Butterfly is a very skilled doctor, and many people in the city have been treated by her.

As soon as she arrived, she said that Miss Mitsuha was suffering from a strange illness and that Miss Mitsuha should go to her place every day for treatment.

To be honest, I'm not really sure how good Dr. Butterfly's medical skills are, but since Dr. Butterfly came, Miss Mitsuha's health has indeed been getting worse and worse.

I remember a few years ago, Ms. Mitsuha was actually in pretty good health; at least she could walk and jump.

But for some unknown reason, starting in the last two years, Ms. Mitsuha's left side of her body gradually became immobile, and she would sometimes suddenly space out or even fall into a coma.

I saw Ms. Mitsuha once before, sitting alone at her desk, lost in thought.

When I went up to ask, I learned that Mitsuha wanted to continue drawing her strange "martial arts manual," but she suddenly didn't know how to grind the ink...

So it's possible to forget something as simple as grinding ink?

According to some of the older maids, Miss Mitsuha's mother had also suffered from this disease and eventually died from it.

My father died of illness, my eldest brother was killed in the wild, my second brother disappeared when I was very young, my mother and daughter both contracted the same disease, and now even my only daughter is dying of illness...

Now the servants are all whispering behind each other's backs that the country has offended the gods, which is why it has been suffering these misfortunes one after another...

Ugh, these gossipy folks...

I don't think so.

I think the problem probably lies with that butterfly doctor.

Don't be fooled by Dr. Butterfly's ever-smiling and approachable demeanor.

But it was after she arrived that Miss Mitsuha's health began to deteriorate rapidly...

I suspect she might be a spy sent by a neighboring country! Her goal is to slowly eliminate Miss Mitsuha and then seize the opportunity to annex the entire country!

Of course, this is just my wild guess, and it's your business if you believe it.

Anyway, I'm just a not-so-bright little maid, I don't know anything and I don't understand anything...

But it cannot be denied that Miss Mitsuha has indeed become somewhat different since Dr. Butterfly arrived.

I could sense that every time Miss Mitsuha went to see that butterfly doctor, she would exude a faint air of joy.

Yes, I'm happy.

Having served Mitsuha for so many years, this is the first time I've felt this kind of emotion from her.

But that's precisely why I'm scared.

So, Ms. Mitsuha is actually a normal person?

So she can feel happiness too, and isn't some kind of puppet who can't feel any emotions?

Why didn't she ever show similar emotions in all those years before?

That being said, can a mentally normal human being really transform themselves into a puppet for so many years, perfectly impersonating "someone else"?

The thought of Mitsuha's normal, happy smile, and then of her perfectly refined expression that always carries a faint smile, terrifies me.

This is really terrifying.

These powerful and wealthy people are truly terrifying...

For the first time, I had the thought of leaving my country...

Speaking of which, there's a fireworks display tonight.

The streets will definitely be very lively then, right?

I really want to go out and have fun too...

But as Miss Mitsuha's personal maid, I can't just abandon Miss Mitsuha in her room.

If only Ms. Mitsuha could give me a little break so I could go out and have some fun...

Chapter 25 Let's have a fight if you disagree!

"Dingling bell~"

That night, in front of the shrine in the city, Butterfly and Mitsuha, who had been playing in the city for most of the night, washed their hands with clean water under the guidance of the shrine maiden, and then put their hands together in front of the shrine and prayed devoutly.