Chapter 34: Conversation in the Corridor

Far East City, in a corridor of the Duke’s Mansion.

“Elise, how long have I been unconscious in bed?”

Having collapsed from mana depletion and falling into a coma, Ian had lost his sense of time.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he passed out.

“It has already been two days.”

Elise walked beside Ian, speaking up to solve his confusion.

‘Have I really been unconscious for that long?’

Two days had passed, which meant only five days remained for his agreement with Lilian.

It seemed he needed to pick up the pace.

Once he returned from the hall today, he would have to start Medicine Refining.

Suddenly remembering something, Ian turned to Elise and asked, “By the way, how is Veronica?”

If he remembered correctly, after Veronica was attacked by that Black Shadow Figure, she had overdrawn the Divine Power within the Sword of Courage, leading to her collapse.

Her presence had felt incredibly weak back then, and he didn’t know what her current condition was.

However, as the Protagonist of the game, she wouldn’t die that easily, would she?

Hearing Ian’s question, Elise paused her steps, her expression appearing slightly sorrowful.

“Lady Veronica has not woken up yet.”

After all, Veronica was the teacher who guided Elise’s cultivation and was one of the few kind people she knew.

With her still in a coma, Elise didn’t feel very well.

“Oh, is that so?”

“But don’t worry. Veronica will definitely wake up.”

“Really? If that’s the case, then that’s wonderful.”

Elise naturally believed Ian’s words unconditionally.

After all, wasn’t Ian the person she trusted most?

Seeing Elise’s happy expression, Ian couldn’t help but complain in his heart.

‘Veronica is the Protagonist. In a situation like this, she’ll definitely turn calamity into a blessing.’

The two of them chatted as they walked, heading straight down the corridor of the Duke’s Mansion.

Just then, two familiar figures appeared in front of Ian.

‘Lilian? Why is she here?’

‘And who is that person next to her?’

It looked like the maid who had bullied Elise before.

What was her name again?

‘Oh, right. It seems to be Camilla.’

What were those two doing here?

“Hey, you! Hurry up and pick up your broom! Clean this area. Do you want your wages docked?”

Acting like a senior, Camilla was currently lecturing Lilian, who was dressed in a maid uniform and cleaning the floor.

Hearing those words, Ian’s face turned pale with fright.

‘No, lady, do you even know who is standing in front of you?’

Lilian could kill her a thousand times over with a single glance.

Truly, the ignorant are fearless.

Ian gave Camilla a silent thumbs-up in his heart.

He had wanted to teach Lilian a lesson for a long time; he just lacked the courage.

“This is the area you are responsible for. Why do I need to clean it?”

Lilian wasn’t even angry at Camilla’s scolding.

Perhaps she felt it wasn’t worth getting angry at someone like her.

“Is that how you talk to a senior?”

“You dare to disobey a senior’s orders? Do you realize you are still in the maid training phase?”

“As long as I tell the Head Maid that you failed your test, you will be fired from the Duke’s Mansion.”

Camilla replied angrily to Lilian’s retort.

Although Ian had previously demoted her to a novice maid, the Duke’s Mansion had expanded its maid staff recently.

Since there weren’t enough people to train the new maids, Annie had specifically promoted Camilla to help train the newcomers.

Recalling her previous experience, Camilla grew angrier the more she thought about it.

She didn’t know how that girl Elise had managed to latch onto the Young Master.

Just because she had scolded her a little, the Young Master had docked half a month’s salary.

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became.

With no other outlet for her rage, she could only vent it on the new maid she was responsible for.

In any case, the people who came to the Duke’s Mansion to be maids were either destitute or had no background at all, just like Elise before.

Camilla wasn’t afraid of Lilian retaliating.

“I have no obligation to clean the area that was originally assigned to you. Therefore, you should be the one cleaning these spots.”

Lilian simply reasoned with her without saying much more, turning around to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Camilla was truly enraged by Lilian.

This was the first time a new maid had dared to refuse her orders.

She had to teach her a lesson.

Thinking this, Camilla reached out, intending to strike Lilian.

Watching this scene, Ian shouted inwardly that things were going south.

‘This fool! How does she have the nerve?’

Just as he was about to step forward to stop her, Elise beat him to it.

“Stop.”

Elise grabbed Camilla’s hand as it reached toward Lilian, pinning it in mid-air.

“You—!”

Clearly not expecting to be stopped, Camilla instinctively wanted to start cursing.

However, the next second, once she saw who it was, she swallowed the words she was about to spit out.

“Elise? Why is it you?”

After seeing Elise, Camilla instinctively looked to the side.

Every servant in the Duke’s Mansion knew that Elise was Ian’s personal maid.

Whenever Elise appeared, Ian was usually not far behind.

Sure enough, she saw Ian walking toward them from the side.

In an instant, her legs went weak, and she slumped to the ground.

“Young… Young Master.”

She was trembling so much she could barely speak.

She had been caught by the Young Master the last time she bullied Elise.

Now, while bullying another new maid, how had she been caught by him again?

Camilla lamented her terrible luck.

To get caught by the Young Master twice in a row while bullying newcomers was a disaster.

This time, the outcome likely wouldn’t be as simple as the last.

Camilla quietly closed her eyes, preparing to receive Ian’s reprimand.

However, not only did Ian not scold her, he even gently patted her on the shoulder.

He wore a very meaningful expression.

Opening her eyes, Camilla was a bit stunned by the scene.

‘Shouldn’t the Young Master be punishing me?’

Instead, he was looking at her as if she were about to die, like he was saying “take care.”

It was very strange, and she was completely baffled.

Ian didn’t linger by her side.

He walked over to Elise’s side and listened to the conversation between the two women.

“In the future, don’t let people bully you,” Elise said to Lilian.

“However, if anyone continues to bully you, you can tell the Young Master. He will help you.”

“All right.”

Although Lilian was a bit surprised by Elise’s sudden appearance, she still agreed.

Hearing their conversation, Ian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘What use is telling me if Lilian gets bullied? I’m still being bullied by Lilian myself!’