Leaving the second-floor corridor, Ailiya continued following Martha to familiarize herself with the other areas of the manor.
As the two turned a corner, they happened to run right into Ian.
He was carrying several thick magic books in his arms. Judging by the direction he was headed, he was clearly preparing to go to Leo’s room for a lesson.
The three of them stopped simultaneously in the hallway.
Martha spoke first, her hands clasped in front of her as she assumed the posture of an elder caring for a junior. “Mr. Ian, off to give the Young Master another lesson? How has the teaching progress been lately?”
Ian pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose with a look of helplessness and sighed. “Ah, you know the Young Master’s temper. The lessons I give basically go in one ear and out the other.”
Upon hearing this, Martha immediately perked up. “Mr. Ian, you young people need to have patience when doing things. Don’t be discouraged. You have to guide him by following his interests…”
As Martha rattled on and on, making small talk, Ian simply listened politely without immediately responding.
His gaze moved past Martha and landed on Ailiya, his eyes lighting up.
“Beautiful lady, have we met in the library before?” Ian offered what he thought was a familiar smile, attempting to strike up a conversation.
Martha’s flow of words was interrupted, and her expression stiffened slightly, though she quickly masked it. “Oh, this is the new Head Maid, Ailiya. Since you are both young, you can communicate more whenever you meet in the manor.”
Ian froze, his face filled with surprise. “Uh… Head Maid? Hasn’t the Head Maid of the manor always been you, Ms. Martha? I thought this lady was just a new junior maid.”
Martha gave a couple of dry, forced laughs.
“Hahaha… Mr. Ian surely likes to joke. I’ve just been at the manor for a long time, so my seniority is a bit higher. All the juniors here were trained by me, so it’s only natural for me to give them a little guidance occasionally.”
“Actually, after working here for so many years, whether I’m the Head Maid or not doesn’t make much difference. It’s just a title, and the work I have to do hasn’t decreased at all.”
Ian was a clever man and nodded tactfully. “Oh, I see how it is.”
To ease the awkwardness, Ian immediately turned to Ailiya, adopting a more formal and appropriate attitude.
“My apologies, Miss Ailiya. I was so busy speaking with Ms. Martha that I nearly ignored you. Please accept my apologies.”
“As a colleague, I hope you’ll bear with me during the few remaining days of my teaching here at the manor.”
“It is no matter. Please bear with me as well,” Ailiya replied in a flat tone.
“Well then, please excuse me, Miss Ailiya, and… Ms. Martha.” Ian gave a slight nod of greeting and prepared to leave with his books.
As he brushed past them, Ailiya suddenly let out a soft chuckle. “By the way, here is a reminder. When you enter the room in a moment, pay attention to the hidden spots like under the desk or the bed.”
The noises she had heard from outside the door earlier could not escape Ailiya’s ears.
Ian stopped and looked back. His expression was surprised at first, but then he realized what she meant. He turned back with a helpless, soft laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve long since grown accustomed to it. No need for the reminder, but thank you.”
Watching Ian’s receding figure as he shook his head and walked toward Leo’s room, Martha’s tone became much more rigid.
“Let’s go, Miss Ailiya. We still have many things to finish.”
“Mhm.” Ailiya nodded and followed with an expressionless face.
***
Ian pushed open the door.
Unsurprisingly, a faint magical light immediately flickered on the door frame as a small magic circle was triggered.
Ian didn’t even bat an eye. With a practiced motion, he raised his hand, and a gentle breeze swirled the incoming water ball away.
Sitting behind the desk, Leo saw that his carefully arranged “door-opening kill” had been easily neutralized once again. He immediately looked like a deflated balloon and curled his lip. “Boring. You’re so guarded every single day.”
Ian pushed his glasses up and placed the heavy books in his arms onto the desk. “Now then, let us begin today’s lesson.”
Leo didn’t immediately pull the covers over his head to sleep or throw his books today. Although his face was full of impatience, he at least kept his eyes on the blackboard.
Seeing this, Ian felt a slight sense of relief.
He turned around and picked up a piece of chalk.
“Today, we will discuss the basic introductory theory of Wind Magic. The core of Wind Magic lies in ‘lightness’ and ‘flow.’ Feeling the changes in the surrounding air currents is the first step…”
Ian taught with great earnestness, the chalk making a scratching sound against the blackboard.
However, just as he reached a critical part and leaned forward slightly to draw a mana circuit diagram on the board…
*Click.*
A dim purple light flickered, followed by a cloud of black mist lunging toward Ian.
“What!?” Ian’s face went pale with shock. He hadn’t expected the real killing move to be hidden under the desk.
A thick cloud of black smoke with a pungent, sour, and rotten smell exploded instantly, spraying Ian directly in the face.
“Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!”
Caught off guard, Ian inhaled a large gulp of the black smoke. He was immediately choked to the point of tears and snot running down his face.
His originally refined and fair face instantly turned deathly pale, even taking on a few shades of grayish-green from the fumes. He looked pathetic to the extreme.
“Hahahahaha!” Leo sat in his chair, laughing so hard he doubled over. He pounded the table and shouted, “I knew you couldn’t guard against this chain trap! This is a Shadow Smoke Bomb! Suck on that!”
Ian covered his mouth and coughed violently, taking several steps back.
He struggled to raise his hand, and a soft white light appeared at his fingertips as he quickly cast a Basic Healing Spell and a Mind Clearing Spell on himself.
As the white light washed over him, the pungent smell of smoke and the burning sensation in his throat finally faded away. Ian’s complexion finally returned to normal, though the rims of his eyes were still a bit red.
Seeing Ian recover so quickly, Leo’s laughter came to an abrupt halt, and the excitement on his face vanished without a trace.
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, finding the whole thing completely boring again.
“Tch, how dull. Why didn’t it knock you unconscious?” Leo muttered, resuming his slouching, school-hating posture.
Ian took a deep breath. He didn’t get angry, nor did he yell like other teachers.
He simply pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, calmly wiped the remaining ash from his face, and then turned his gaze toward Leo.
“Young Master,” Ian’s voice was calm, yet it carried a rare hint of sternness.
“You put a lot of thought into this. To engrave a dark spell under the desk and use the water ball trap at the door to distract me shows that you have at least some understanding of how to apply magic.”
Leo blinked, clearly not expecting Ian to praise him.
He snorted and lifted his chin. “Of course. This Young Master is a genius.”
Ian pushed his glasses up, his tone remaining steady.
“As long as you study seriously and put this effort onto the right path, you could become just as powerful as me.”
“But if you continue like this, Young Master, and make no changes at all… it actually doesn’t matter to me.”
Leo frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I am just a part-time student earning my tuition. When the time comes, I will take my salary and leave the Kastian manor.”
Ian looked Leo straight in the eye.
“Your future life is not my responsibility.”
“But are you truly willing to keep slacking off like this forever? Are you willing to carry the reputation of being ‘trash,’ to be mocked by everyone outside, and even be beaten into the dirt by those low-level thug mercenaries?”
Those words precisely struck Leo’s most private and painful spot.
Images of the humiliation from a few days ago instantly surged into his mind.
Leo’s face flushed bright red, and his fists clenched instinctively.
He felt that Ian’s words were piercing and annoying, but… he couldn’t refute them.
He grit his teeth and irritably ruffled his golden hair. “So annoying! You’re just a teacher, why do you talk so much!”
Despite his stubborn words, Leo silently sat up straight and flipped open the book on his desk that was covered in a layer of dust: *Basic Magic Theory*.
“Hurry up and start the lesson. My time is very precious.”
Looking at the awkward teenager, a faint, nearly imperceptible smile touched the corner of Ian’s mouth.
He turned back and picked up the chalk once again. “Very well, let us continue from where we left off with the Wind Magic mana circuit…”
At the same time, the perspective shifted to the other side of the manor’s outer courtyard.
Sunlight shone down on the vast courtyard, but the scene here was far from relaxing.
A girl in a maid’s uniform was standing by the fountain, holding a long-handled brush. She was swaying it back and forth, not knowing where to start.
The pool was overgrown with moss, and the stone statues in the center of the fountain were covered in bird droppings and grime. The water in the pool was murky, and its depth was unclear.
“How… How am I supposed to clean this…” Sasha muttered, gesturing in the air with the brush for a long time.
Just then, a steady sound of footsteps came from behind her.
Ailiya and Martha had just finished a round of inspection and happened to arrive there.
Seeing this, Martha frowned and immediately assumed her authoritative posture, her voice stern. “What are you standing around for? You can’t even do something as simple as this!?”
Sasha was clearly frightened. She wiped the corner of her eyes aggrievedly and began to explain the reason.
“This used to be cleaned only once every six months. The Madame suddenly ordered the fountain to be cleaned today. The water is so dirty, and the statues are a mess. How could I possibly manage this alone…”
“What are you crying for? If you can’t even handle this small task, do you expect the Madame to follow your whims?”
“You have to do it even if you can’t finish,” Martha said with a stern face. “Go, call the other maids over. Everyone will work together. We should be able to scrub it clean in half a day.”
“No need,” Ailiya suddenly spoke up, interrupting Martha.
She stepped forward and casually took the long-handled brush from Sasha’s hand, her tone devoid of emotion. “I can clean this fountain by myself. Go tend to other matters.”
Ailiya didn’t even blink, but she had her own plans in mind.
A project this large was a massive experience point pack.
If she called a group of people to help, the experience points determined by the system would definitely be diluted.
She couldn’t let such a chance to solo a task slip away.
Martha froze, seemingly not expecting this demi-human who seemed like a silent wooden block to suddenly step forward.
She frowned, her tone carrying clear displeasure. “Miss Ailiya, I know you want to show off in front of the Madame. But this isn’t the time to be overconfident. How long will it take you to do this alone?”
“I am the Head Maid. I decide the work assignments.” Ailiya turned her head, her ice-blue eyes staring coldly at Martha. “Or is it that Ms. Martha thinks I don’t even have the ability to clean a pool?”
Martha was rebuffed, her expression stiffening. In the end, she could only force out a dry, rigid smile.
“I understand, Miss Ailiya. However, as an elder, I must remind you that when working in the manor, it is better for everyone to help each other.”
Ailiya didn’t respond, instead beginning to roll up her sleeves to prepare for work.
“Fine. I look forward to your results then.”
Having been slighted, Martha left after dropping that parting remark.
***
Meanwhile, inside the room on the second floor.
Leo sat at the desk, still looking like he was in his usual distracted state.
“Young Master, you’re spacing out again.” Ian stopped his chalk and sighed helplessly.
Leo gave a huge yawn and waved his hand dismissively. “It’s been too long. Let’s take a break. My brain is about to explode.”
Ian checked his pocket watch. He had indeed been lecturing for some time, so he nodded. “Alright. We’ll take a ten-minute break.”
Ian walked to the window, pushed open the glass pane, and pulled back the heavy curtains.
A breeze blew in, causing the curtains to sway gently and bringing in the fresh air from outside.
Leo had been slumped in his chair, boredly spinning a pen, when his gaze randomly followed the drifting curtain and glanced outside.
Inadvertently, his eyes fell upon a silver-white figure by the fountain outside the house.
Silver-white short hair, the distinctive wolf ears, and that face he would never be able to forget in this lifetime.
“It’s her!?”
Leo jumped up from his chair so violently that he and the chair both crashed to the floor.
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the windowsill, leaning half his body out as he stared fixedly downstairs.
Ian was scared out of his wits by this sudden, frantic movement. He quickly lunged forward, grabbing Leo’s waist and pulling him back with all his might.
“Young Master, what are you doing!”
“Don’t jump! Let’s talk this out!” Ian was so panicked his glasses were crooked, and he pulled the young master back with desperate strength. “Even if you don’t want to attend class, there’s no need to seek death!”
“Let go of me!” Leo struggled excitedly, still trying to lean out.