Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the streets, the patrols by the city defense army and the church knights remained strict.
Wanted posters for that dangerous assassin were plastered all over the city.
But that guy, Graves, seemed to have vanished into thin air, not revealing a single trace since. For the Kastian manor, the storms raging outside seemed to have no effect on the life within.
In the second-floor corridor.
Ailiya pushed a meal cart and stopped before Leo’s door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Young Master, please open the door. It’s time for lunch.”
The room was silent, with no response.
Ailiya waited patiently for a moment, then raised her hand again.
Knock, knock, knock.
Still no reaction.
Ailiya lowered her eyelids slightly, her voice instantly dropping two degrees in temperature, carrying an undeniable pressure: “Hm… How many times must I repeat myself before resorting to unconventional means of entry?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a flurry of frantic movement sounded from inside the room.
“C-Come in! The door’s unlocked!” Leo’s voice sounded somewhat panicked.
Ailiya turned the doorknob and pushed the meal cart inside.
In the room, Leo was sitting bolt upright at his desk. A thick book lay open before him, and he held a quill in his hand, presenting the image of someone diligently studying.
Alas.
The book was upside down.
Ailiya pretended not to see his clumsy disguise and began placing the dishes one by one on the small round table beside him.
“Young Master, please enjoy your meal. I will wait here while you eat and then collect the dishes.”
As usual, waiting here for Leo to finish his meal and then clearing the dishes would earn her a meager bit of experience.
Leo put down the upside-down book, walked over to the round table, sat down, picked up his knife and fork, and cut a piece of roasted meat.
He chewed a couple of times, looked up at Ailiya who was standing stiffly beside him like a piece of wood, and felt the atmosphere was a bit too oppressive.
Ever since the experience of being brutally beaten with a brush at the training ground and that “intervention” in Mud Water Alley.
Leo’s view of this Head Maid had become somewhat complicated.
Fear was a given, after all, he couldn’t beat her.
But at the same time, there was also a faint trace of reverence and curiosity that he himself was unwilling to admit.
Probably because he had been so unbearably bored these past few days, with no one to talk to, a sudden, inexplicable urge to confide welled up in Leo’s heart.
“Ahem…” Leo cleared his throat, speaking somewhat awkwardly, “This steak is a bit tough. I won’t finish it that quickly.”
“Don’t just stare at me. It’s giving me the creeps. Sit down, anywhere.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
She naturally pulled over a chair and sat down not far from the dining table.
Her hands were folded on her knees, her back straight. Even while sitting, her posture remained impeccable.
The only sound left in the room was the slight clinking of cutlery against porcelain.
Leo ate his meal while secretly observing Ailiya out of the corner of his eye.
The afternoon sun filtered through the white window gauze, spilling onto her profile.
Her silver-white, ear-length bob shimmered with a soft, almost holy halo in the sunlight.
Her face, always so cold, was actually exquisitely beautiful.
Her skin was fair, her nose bridge straight. Those ice-blue eyes, though devoid of emotion, were as clear as a deep, untainted pool.
The black-and-white maid uniform she wore didn’t look bulky on her at all; instead, it perfectly outlined her slender and well-proportioned figure.
To be honest, Leo silently admitted in his heart, if one ignored this woman’s cold personality and the terrifying violence she wielded with a brush… When she sat there quietly, she was truly beautiful.
“Have you seen enough?”
Ailiya’s flat voice abruptly shattered the room’s tranquility.
She didn’t even turn her head, but she had clearly noticed Leo’s gaze.
“Cough, cough, cough!” Leo choked on his food, quickly taking a gulp of juice to cover his embarrassment.
“Who’s looking at you? This Young Master is admiring the scenery outside the window!”
“Oh.” Ailiya responded noncommittally, not calling him out on it.
Leo wiped his mouth. To ease the awkwardness, he forcibly brought up a topic he thought was quite profound.
“Hey, Ailiya. There’s something I’ve never been able to figure out.”
“Young Master, please go ahead.”
“I’m just asking casually.” Leo put down his knife and fork, leaning forward, his eyes probing.
“You… just how did you train? Being so efficient with daily chores is one thing, but being able to spot a magic trap at a glance…”
This was a question that had been weighing on Leo’s mind for a while.
He was, after all, a noble young master with a dedicated tutor.
Though he was a closet pervert and occasionally unreliable.
But Ailiya was just a maid busy with chores all day. The gap in their abilities left him utterly perplexed.
Faced with this soul-piercing question, Ailiya tilted her head slightly, as if seriously considering how to answer.
Should she tell him she was a cheat with a system? Or tell him she was a professional game tester who had cleared countless runs and had the game mechanics memorized backwards?
Obviously, neither would do.
So, on Ailiya’s cool, expressionless face, an extremely perfunctory yet matter-of-fact look appeared.
Ailiya didn’t even lift an eyelid, casually brushing it off. “Probably because I do a lot of miscellaneous work, so I’ve built up strength.”
Leo rolled his eyes.
“Miscellaneous work can train that kind of terrifying reaction speed? You really think I’m a three-year-old you can fool?” Leo suddenly pointed at Ailiya. “I bet you’re a demi-human warrior hiding her true strength…”
“Just like in those adventure novels, tired of killing, so you changed your name and came to our house to work as a maid, right?!”
“Is that so hard to understand?” Ailiya said flatly. “Then it’s probably because I’m a genius.”
Leo was stunned. He never expected this woman, usually as quiet as a clam, to give such an unexpected answer.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Ailiya folded her hands, her ice-blue eyes meeting Leo’s directly. Her tone remained devoid of inflection, yet each word struck a nerve.
“After all, even someone of your caliber, Young Master, can call yourself a genius without blushing in daily life.”
“So, for someone like me, who can single-handedly beat you senseless with just a brush, to call myself a genius among geniuses… isn’t that a very reasonable and logical deduction?”
She paused slightly, a barely perceptible flicker of teasing in her eyes.
The room fell into a deathly silence.
The expression on Leo’s face instantly froze, his mouth twitching violently.
He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but sadly found he couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal.
“You… you…” Leo pointed at Ailiya, his finger trembling with anger.
This woman not only hit hard, but her mouth was so poisonous it could kill a man with rage.
“I was merely following your logic, Young Master, to answer your question.”
Ailiya innocently spread her hands, returning to her usual expressionless state. “If you find that reason insufficient, I can change it.”
“For example, I am actually the descendant of a reclusive master, forced onto the streets due to a family tragedy…”
“Stop! Enough!”
Leo waved his hand irritably, completely giving up on pursuing this topic any further.
He finally understood. Talking to this woman was purely asking for trouble.
He took several deep breaths, angrily picked up his fork, and quickly finished the food on his plate.
“I’m full! Take this stuff away.”
“Very well, Young Master.”
Ailiya stood up, deftly cleared the dishes, and pushed the meal cart out of the room.
Watching the door close, Leo flopped onto his bed in a huff.
He stared at the ceiling, and against his will, the image of Ailiya sitting quietly in the sunlight, looking so beautiful, surfaced in his mind again.
Then, he remembered the hard-bristled brush slapping his face and that “genius theory” from earlier, where every word struck a nerve.
Leo sneered, silently grumbling to himself.
Such a pretty face, yet cursed with a mouth that could infuriate the living and a willingness to hit people without batting an eye.
Who knows what poor fool will end up marrying her someday.
Probably get beaten for a lifetime, ha…
Thinking this, Leo’s heart finally felt a little more balanced, as if he had scored a point in some mental victory.
It’s you brother🫠🤣