“Who’s trying to kill themselves? Let me go! It’s that woman!” Leo shouted, thrashing in Ian’s arms as he pointed toward the figure by the fountain outside the window.
“Which woman?”
Ian, exhausted by the boy’s antics, looked in the direction he was pointing.
“Right there!”
“Where?”
Leo rolled his eyes and snapped, “Can’t you fix your glasses?”
“Oh, I see her now.” Ian hurriedly adjusted the black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, finally dragging the little brat back from the windowsill.
They both looked down and saw Ailiya slowly and methodically rolling up her white lace sleeves.
“Young Master, that is the new Head Maid, Miss Ailiya.”
“The Head Maid?!” Leo’s eyes widened.
‘That ice-cold demi-human woman?’ Back at the pub, she hadn’t liked anyone and wouldn’t even look them in the eye.
She was certainly beautiful and quite skilled, but every time they met, she would stare at him as if he were an idiot and even throw biting sarcasm his way.
Now, she had suddenly become his household’s Head Maid?
But then Leo curled his lip.
‘So what?’ A Head Maid was still just a maid, a servant of the Kastian manor.
‘She probably thought the pay at that dumpy pub was too low and came here for a decent meal. She looks all high and mighty, but she’s just another person forced to bow to reality.’
At that thought, Leo felt much better.
“Wait… what is she doing?” Leo leaned over the window ledge, his voice dropping as curiosity took over.
“Miss Ailiya seems to be… planning to clean that fountain alone,” Ian guessed.
“Heh-heh.” Leo’s eyes darted around, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “It’s time for the Young Master to make an appearance. I should give this newcomer a warm welcome.”
He tried to slip out the door, but Ian clamped a hand onto his shoulder with a sly look.
“Young Master, you are currently under confinement. If you take a single step out of this room, I will have no choice but to report the truth to the Madame — that you are not only refusing to cooperate with your lessons but are also trying to escape through the window.”
The mention of the Madame immediately sucked the air out of Leo’s arrogance.
“Huh? What a total killjoy!”
Suddenly, Leo grinned and snapped his fingers.
Ian froze, sensing trouble.
Along with a crisp *snap*, a dim purple light flickered in the air. A cloud of black mist appeared out of nowhere and lunged straight for Ian’s face.
But Ian had learned his lesson long ago and was prepared.
His lips moved slightly as he completed a short incantation.
A light breeze swirled around him, catching the black mist and whisking it out the window, where it dissipated into the air.
“The same trick won’t work a second time, Little Young Master Leo.” Ian brushed the dust off his hands. “Now, please focus on the lecture.”
To his surprise, Leo didn’t throw a tantrum. Instead, he simply nodded. “Fine.”
Ian looked around suspiciously, checking for other traps. “You’re agreeing just like that?”
“Yes, I’ll listen. But once it’s over, you have to let me move freely around the manor.” Leo tilted his chin up to negotiate.
Ian rubbed his chin, considering the request. To ensure their progress and secure his extra reward, he nodded. “Very well. I will mention it to the Madame. Now, let us continue the lesson.”
Leo pouted, glanced at Ian, and then couldn’t help but look out the window again.
***
Downstairs, Ailiya had been aware of the undisguised gaze from above the entire time.
Furthermore, it was hard to miss the commotion of magical clashing by the window.
She paused briefly, cleaning tools in hand, and looked up with precision.
Those ice-blue eyes met Leo’s gaze from dozens of meters away without a hint of emotion.
Leo’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly yanked the curtains shut and urged Ian, “Continue the lesson! Hurry up!”
Ailiya let out a soft chuckle at the sight of the closed curtains. She withdrew her gaze and prepared to start cleaning the fountain.
However, as she turned, she saw the young maid, Sasha, standing there like a wooden post.
Ailiya looked back, somewhat surprised. “Hmm? Why are you still here?”
“Um… should I leave too?” Sasha asked, nervously rubbing her apron.
Sasha had witnessed the entire argument with Martha earlier. She didn’t know whether to stay or go, and she had no idea how to interact with this new Head Maid.
‘What if she’s just as strict and picky as Martha?’
Sasha swallowed hard. “Uh… you haven’t assigned me anything to do yet.”
Ailiya scanned the surroundings and gave a casual command. “Go sweep the leaves off the ground nearby.”
“Okay!” Sasha nodded repeatedly, looking like she’d just been granted a royal pardon.
With a clear task, she felt much lighter. After all, having something to do meant her colleagues wouldn’t mistake her for being lazy, and she wouldn’t be teased or questioned by Martha.
She grabbed a broom and ran toward the area surrounding the fountain.
Now, Ailiya was alone.
‘So, where should I start…?’
Looking at the moss-covered fountain, Ailiya didn’t act immediately. Instead, with a thought, she summoned her translucent system panel.
During this time, she had finished reading all the books she had bought. That knowledge had been converted into solid experience points. It was time for it to be of some use.
[Character Panel]
Name: Ailiya
Race: Wolfkin (Silver Frost Bloodline · Tier 1)
Main Class: Assassin Lv. 2 (195/200)
Total Level: 8 (Assassin Lv. 2, Warlock Lv. 2…)
HP: 180/180
Stamina: 140/140
MP: 100/100
[Basic Attributes]
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Constitution: 12
Perception: 15
Intelligence: 10
Charisma: 11
[Talents and Traits]
Silver Frost Bloodline (Tier 1): In cold environments or under moonlight, all attributes increase by 10%.
Perception checks for sight, hearing, and smell are doubled.
Indifference: Emotional changes are minimal and differ from ordinary people. Less susceptible to mental influence.
[Sub-classes]
Maid Lv. 3 (80/300)
Warlock Lv. 2 (110/200)
Blacksmith Lv. 1 (95/100)
[Professional Skills]
Basic Combat Lv. 5
Danger Sense (Lv. 2)
Stealth (Lv. 1)
Precise Throw (Lv. 2)
Handicraft (Lv. 3)
Chores (Lv. 3)
Mana Infusion (MAX)
[Skills]
[Assassin] Weak Point Insight (Lv. 1)
[Assassin] Sprint (Lv. 1)
[Warlock] Flash Spell (Lv. 1)
**[Mana Infusion]**: One of the professional skills of a Warlock. To put it simply, it allows mana to extend over the surface of an object with precise control.
In the game she once played, this skill was widely used by both life and combat classes, but it was most famous for one thing — being extremely mediocre.
There were many alternative skills and abilities. For example, for cleaning, wind or water magic obviously had a larger range and better effects.
As for combat, it only added a negligible amount of attack power to melee weapons or provided a bit of basic stability for ranged shots.
Because it wasn’t particularly outstanding, the acquisition rate among NPCs in the world was low.
Reality was harsh; to master magic, people had to rely on years of accumulation. Who would be willing to spend a massive amount of time over several years to master such a thankless, marginal support ability?
But for Ailiya, that wasn’t an obstacle at all. With the system, the cost of learning was practically zero. In the eyes of a player, this was a perfectly practical god-tier skill for commoners.
Ailiya closed the panel and picked up a long-handled brush leaning nearby.
She channeled the mana within her body. A faint glow spread from her fair fingertips, quickly enveloping the wooden handle before finally gathering and extending to the bristles at the bottom.
The once-ordinary brush now seemed plated with an invisible force field.
Ailiya walked to the outer basin of the fountain and gave a gentle wave toward the thick layer of dust and dried leaf debris.
The bristles didn’t even touch the surface of the stone bricks. The mana attached to the brush instantly expanded, forcing the cleaning area to increase several times over.
Ailiya converted the nature of the mana into repulsion, pushing forward gently like a snowplow.
*Whoosh—* The dust and sand on the ground were forcibly flattened by an invisible force. Without a single speck of dust rising into the air, the debris rolled obediently into a large pile.
‘It’s quite useful.’
Ailiya raised an eyebrow slightly, satisfied with the efficiency. This was much less exhausting than bending over and sweeping stroke by stroke.
Walking to the statue in the center of the fountain, Ailiya changed her strategy. She held the brush against the surface of the marble statue and applied a bit of force.
*Hummm—* The mana-infused bristles vibrated at a high frequency, acting like a powerful high-frequency cleaner.
The moss that had been stuck firmly in the cracks of the stone instantly loosened and disintegrated under the influence of the mana. Not a single drop of muddy water splashed onto her clean, sophisticated maid uniform.
Ailiya scraped along the contours of the statue with an expressionless face. Her movements were as fluid as water, without any unnecessary pauses.
Wherever she passed, the dirty stone carving — whose original color had been unrecognizable — immediately revealed the cold, clean white of the original marble.
When the brush head was full of absorbed dirt, she only needed to walk to the nearby cart, cut off the mana supply, or instantly transform the suction into repulsion. With a *splat*, a whole clump of mud fell precisely into the trash can.
For an ordinary person, this would be a dirty and exhausting task that could take days to complete. In Ailiya’s hands, it had turned into a game of precise data control and “weeding.”
After a while, Ailiya took a short break, listening to the constant pings of experience notifications in her mind.
‘The cleaning speed is good. I can even grind experience for Warlock and Maid while I’m at it.’
Nice, this is what you want to see in a novel with a game panel/system
Simple tasks, but done more efficiently, and even granting lots of exp to level up skills
Exactly, too many focus on purely combat, this is a nice, fulfilling change of pace.