The real me would never let such unreasonable behavior go unpunished. My glare intensified. The head handmaiden grew even more irate, seeing me rebel for the first time since joining the Mercure household.
“Wh-What did you just say?!” she shouted in anger. “You filthy little lowborn! I... Huh?! What are— Gaaah!”
I did not let her finish her sentence. Before she could spew more of her venom at me, the palm of my hand slammed into her cheek, hard enough to send her flying across the room. The force of my strike caused her to twist in the air before she crashed violently into the wooden wall. A cloud of dust raised into the air as her unconscious body hit the floor.
See? If you had done your job properly and cleaned my room, you wouldn’t have gotten covered in dust. You reap what you sow.
I’d only intended to slap her in the face, but I was so furious that I’d put way more strength than necessary into my strike.
I think I subconsciously used mana to reinforce my body—perhaps a side effect of not having used magic in a while?
Mana wasn’t exclusively used to cast spells; one could also use it to reinforce their body and improve their physical abilities, allowing them to hit harder or run faster.
“Phew. Guess I knocked that insignificant insect unconscious,” I muttered.
Brushing my hands on my skirt, I took a good look at the head handmaiden sprawled out on the floor. Day after day, she’d done as she pleased, thoroughly tormenting me.
How pathetic I used to be, but those days are over. From now on, I will live as I please.
Now that I had regained my memories, I had no intention of returning to my previous submissive and fearful self. I could live my life as I pleased without the need to rely on anyone. Why was I so sure of it? Well, that was simple: in my previous life, five hundred years ago, I wasn’t Lam but Aurora Ibrusus, the strongest mage in the world.
To this day, there were legends of the witch Aurora. After studying under her elfin master—an ancient magical race now thought to be extinct—she’d traveled far and wide, formulating groundbreaking magical theories. Most people believed her to be a myth, but I had really existed.
It was said that I’d spent most of my time helping other mages deal with cumbersome cases that they couldn’t manage on their own and teleporting to locations where vicious monsters had appeared to vanquish them, saving the locals. When unjust wars broke out, I’d supposedly stand at the front lines and mercilessly annihilate the enemy. Rumors also said that countless nations had been destroyed after their leader tried to pick a fight with me. I also had a reputation for developing potions and magic items to improve people’s lives and had raised three disciples whom I’d dispatch to various places around the world. Together, we’d left behind a strong legacy of achievements.
And all of these stories are true!
My personality as Aurora was the complete opposite of Lam’s. I was strong-willed and brimming with curiosity, always looking for a new challenge. My disciples had said that I had a “bad case of people-pleasing,” but I had never seen it that way.
Curious. I clearly remember my work and my disciples, but not the end of my life. How did I die? The memories of my death blurred and drifted as if they were shrouded in a fog. Hmm, I can probably figure it out if I try.
People still knew of the legendary Aurora, even now. I remembered seeing her—well, my name listed in the category of this world’s eminent figures in a history book I had read as Lam. From that fact, I deduced that the world I’d been reincarnated in was the same world I used to live in, just further in the future.
From what I knew, there were very few magic users in this day and age, and none of them were nearly as powerful as the mages of yore. I didn’t know all the details, but it seemed that after my death, the number of mages dropped and their social position declined.
Despite these circumstances, my name is still listed as one of this world’s greatest figures. That’s a bit of an enigma, isn’t it?
The House of Mercure was the last standing mage house in the kingdom, and they were responsible for basically anything related to magic, from defending the kingdom against outside threats to defeating monsters. There were no other magic users in the nation, and while foreign countries had mages of their own, their numbers were also few and far between.
Well, then. Time to carry on.
I directed my glare to the other servants in the dusty room. I’d hoped that they would run away on their own after seeing what I’d done to the head handmaiden, but they seemed to think it was just a stroke of luck on my part. To their minds, just because I’d managed to strike back one time didn’t mean I’d be able to do it a second time. Their fighting spirit hadn’t left them yet; they were preparing to retaliate.
“What did you do to the head handmaiden?! You’re just His Lordship’s wife. Don’t start acting all high and mighty on us!”
“How impertinent!”
What they said made no sense: as a countess, my rank was far above that of a mere handmaiden. It seemed that, to the maids, my upbringing as the daughter of a baron diminished my current status. But I had no intention of staying the craven woman they thought I was. If I wanted this absurd place to change, I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands.
“Let’s remind her of her place, everyone!” one of the maids said, and the others moved to surround me.
Oh, please! As if I’d lose to a bunch of young ladies who never learned how to fight.
In my past life, I’d taken down even the most ferocious of beasts with ease.
They noticed my attitude. “Don’t get cocky, you good-for-nothing madam!” one of them cried.
“Cocky? That would be you,” I retorted. “Every day, you kept ganging up on me, knowing that I couldn’t defend myself. Cowards like you deserve a good smacking!”
I stood, ready to counterattack. Just like earlier, one of the maids thrust her elbow at me. This time, I sent her flying in the opposite direction as the head handmaiden.
I put too much force into my strike again. This is more difficult than I thought.
I easily avoided the knee the second maid aimed at me, causing her to crash to the floor, and dodged the third one’s attempt at a tackle.
Oh dear, she rammed herself into the wall all on her own.
Once all of the maids had lost consciousness, I hoisted them up and threw them out of my room. I used a quick spell to clean my body and clothes of any dirt before heading down the corridor with determined steps. For now, I needed to get a better grasp of the situation I was in.
“What should I do next?” I wondered out loud.
Being the wife of the Earl of Mercure, I knew I should probably start by taking care of the duties that came with the position. I might have regained my memories, but I couldn’t just start introducing myself as the strongest witch in history and take on magic-related jobs like in my past life.