Unlike her sharp tongue, Roselia’s offensive wasn’t actually that violent.
In fact, it was extremely delicate and gentle, almost like the entanglement between lovers.
If Maurice were still a hot-blooded teenager, he would probably have been easily defeated by Roselia.
But for Maurice, who was now well into his late twenties—at an age where it wouldn’t be strange for him to have children—while this sort of thing was certainly hard to endure, it wasn’t something he couldn’t withstand at all.
Don’t underestimate a knight’s endurance.
So Maurice simply endured in silence, outwardly pretending that nothing was wrong as he continued to hold his plate and eat.
And in order not to let his attention get distracted by such trivial matters, Maurice, of course, kept his head down, focused only on eating.
Even as Roselia across from him continued to make scathing remarks, Maurice just acted as if he didn’t hear a thing.
Don’t listen, don’t listen, eating is the priority.
If nothing unexpected happened, Maurice would be able to maintain his victory at least until the end of the meal.
But soon, Roselia launched a new offensive.
As if displeased by Maurice’s act of treating her as if she didn’t exist, Roselia suddenly changed her style, becoming wild and intense.
You could say that a light rain suddenly turned into a torrential downpour.
The abrupt shift almost caused Maurice to lose control of his plate, and it nearly slipped from his hand, but thankfully he managed to steady it just in time.
In fact, Maurice had anticipated that the disadvantaged Roselia would eventually do something like this. He also knew she had deliberately been hiding her true strength to create an even stronger contrast.
He just hadn’t expected Roselia to have concealed so much; this backlash was even greater than the maximum he’d predicted.
Maurice, having failed to anticipate this, inevitably looked up to throw a few sarcastic comments at the secretary lady across from him, hoping to regain his composure.
“Incredible, just as expected of Queen Elvira’s aide, Miss Roselia. Truly impressive. Does Elvira know you’re this knowledgeable?”
“Hmph, spare me your sarcasm. How ugly, seeing you unable to admit your own mistake.”
Roselia’s mood showed no signs of improvement; if anything, she looked even worse, her gaze filled with contempt, as if she were looking at a pig in a slaughterhouse.
Yet her offensive did not stop.
If Maurice weren’t the one involved, even he would have thought someone was forcing her to act this way.
But in reality, it was the opposite—no one was forcing her at all; she was doing it entirely of her own accord.
“Ah, or maybe you still think it’s not enough, and you want to provoke me even more? Truly unbelievable, you really are gutless—can’t even say what you mean directly. This is good enough for you, right?”
Just as Maurice prepared to steel himself under the enormous pressure and refocus on his meal—
Roselia once again spat venom at him.
Maurice could admit he didn’t possess much knightly spirit or faith, but to say he was gutless—that was something he could not pretend not to hear.
He was ready to strike back, but before he could, Roselia’s new move interrupted his retort.
Using her left hand to steady herself on the table, Roselia actively used her right to tear down the defenses on her battlefield.
Allowing her commander to meet Maurice’s main force.
What stunned Maurice wasn’t the act itself, but rather that her commander looked clearly strained, just as weary as he was.
And even in such a state, her face was still filled with contempt and disgust, hating Maurice from the bottom of her heart.
It definitely didn’t seem like an act.
But that made it all the more baffling for Maurice.
How could she manage to look so exhausted in her commander while apparently despising Maurice this much?
Could she be the sort of person with some special “kink”?
“Hmph, what, did you think this means I like you, Lord Maurice? How conceited! Do you actually think I’d fall for you? Do you think this is just some tsundere act?”
Seemingly guessing Maurice’s thoughts, Roselia sneered, looking at him with even more disdain.
Her offensive grew fiercer.
That broke Maurice’s train of thought, and he almost lost control of his expression—but only just.
Pretending to be composed, he gave a small smile and said:
“As you say, how could I possibly misunderstand? I understand, I understand. You absolutely don’t like me, and you absolutely don’t love me. This isn’t some tsundere behavior at all. Yes, I get it, I truly get it.”
Maurice didn’t actually think Roselia liked him.
But he still put on a face that seemed to have understood her tsundere attitude, acting like a gentle man who could accept it with open arms.
He deliberately put on a warm, tolerant smile just to disgust Roselia.
“!”
This time, it was Roselia’s turn to look stunned.
She really hadn’t expected Maurice to counterattack even in such a situation.
But after a moment of shock, Roselia returned to her fierce, furious expression, as if she’d been completely provoked by Maurice’s words and was about to go wild.
“What do you understand! What’s with that! That disgusting smile! Truly nauseating!”
“Ha~ha~ha! Still trying to hide your embarrassment, Roselia, you really are an adorable one!”
Maurice, realizing how effective this was, wasn’t nearly as calm as he seemed, but still pretended nothing was wrong, struggling to keep his plate from falling while ‘tolerating’ Roselia.
By now, the battle between the two had reached a fever pitch.
Though Maurice clearly couldn’t finish the food on his plate, Roselia’s composure had also been shattered by him, making her turn irritable instead of staying unruffled.
It was a situation where both sides lost.
But for Maurice, both losing was still better than him losing alone—definitely better than Roselia humiliating him afterward with that calm, disgusted attitude.
Yet the direction of the war didn’t continue down the path of mutual defeat.
Because just as both were throwing themselves into this contest with all their might—
The door suddenly opened.
Maurice, facing the door, immediately calmed down the moment he saw it swing open, and wanted to tell Roselia to call a temporary ceasefire, so neither of them would be finished.
Roselia seemed to notice his change in expression as well, because she instantly withdrew her offensive, and in almost the same instant, she cast some kind of magic, switching her indecent bunny girl outfit back to a standard maid uniform.
The speed with which she tidied herself up left Maurice both relieved and infuriated.
So that’s why she wasn’t worried about getting caught—she can just change clothes in an instant! How despicable!
If only he had such a handy spell!
Without the aid of such convenient magic, Maurice had to straighten himself out manually, quickly shoveling food into his mouth as if he’d been dutifully eating this whole time.
“…What’s going on here? Roselia?”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.