With a soft click, Ailiya pushed open the second-floor door, closed it behind her, and completely shut out the nauseating, hypocritical socializing from the dining room downstairs.
The room was quiet.
The wooden floor was dry and clean. The magic tome on the desk was arranged somewhat haphazardly, but it was nowhere near the disaster Leo had been shouting about in the dining room—water everywhere, a complete mess.
Obviously, it was just a flimsy excuse the young master had concocted to forcibly separate her from Cedric.
‘I was hoping to grind some high-difficulty cleaning experience…’
Looking at the pristine room, Ailiya sighed inwardly with slight regret.
Still, adhering to the mindset of ‘since you’re here, you can’t leave empty-handed,’ she casually gathered a faint wisp of magic power at her fingertip.
Cleaning Spell
A gentle breeze, carrying cleansing magic, swept through every corner of the room, easily banishing the sparse dust.
[Life Experience Points Earned: Maid +15]
Listening to the faint, rhythmic notification sound in her mind, Ailiya pulled up a chair by the window, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began to mentally replay the scene from the dining room.
That third young master from the main family in the royal capital, Cedric.
From the moment he set foot in the manor, Ailiya had mentally tagged him with the label “Classic Villain NPC.”
Arrogant, hypocritical, lecherous, and extremely narcissistic. In a game, a character like that would have a name glowing bright red as a hostile target—prime material for dropping gold coins.
And the timing of his appearance was too convenient.
Just a few days prior, the assassin named Graves had been thoroughly beaten by her, and then this young master from the main family waltzed in under the guise of a visit, taking up residence.
Coupled with the faint scent on the butler a few days ago, vaguely suggesting some contact with Graves…
Ailiya didn’t believe there was no connection between the two.
***
About half an hour later.
A hurried series of footsteps echoed from outside the door.
Then, the door was pushed open a crack, as stealthily as a thief. Leo slipped in like a slippery loach, turned back to lock it, and then leaned against the door panel, letting out a long, relieved breath.
“Phew… That was suffocating! Having to sit at the same table and eat with that hypocrite was more torturous than being forced by Ian to memorize spells for two hours!”
Leo complained, tugging irritably at his cravat as he turned around.
And then, he saw Ailiya sitting quietly by the window, still as a perfect sculpture.
Leo was stunned for a moment, then immediately switched to a smug expression, hands on his hips as he strode to the center of the room.
“You… You actually cleaned? I thought you’d see the room was already clean and just slack off.”
Ailiya slowly opened her eyes, staring at him with an expressionless face.
“Back to you, young master, it has been cleaned.”
Her voice was flat, devoid of any inflection. “I used the cleaning spell to thoroughly remove the nonexistent water stains in your room. Even the pathetic lie you told was purified along with it.”
Leo’s hand, still reaching for his cravat, froze mid-air. His cheeks flushed bright red instantly.
“Wh-What’s wrong with you? Can’t you appreciate kindness?” Leo walked over to the desk, plopped down, and glared at her indignantly. “I was saving you back in the dining room! Didn’t you see that Cedric was up to no good?”
“I did,” Ailiya replied calmly.
“Then why were you so composed about pouring his wine?!” Leo fumed.
“Aren’t you usually tough enough when you’re beating me up in the training ground? What, did you get cold feet seeing the young master from the main family? Do you know what he was trying to do?!”
Leo lifted his chin, with a hint of wanting credit.
“That guy’s name is Cedric. He’s a notorious playboy in the royal capital. Relying on his status as a main family young master, he’s ruined who knows how many people. And that look in his eyes earlier… it was disgusting.”
“If I hadn’t been clever and gotten you away, you would’ve been in serious trouble!”
Watching Leo’s anxious display, a glint of light flickered in Ailiya’s icy blue eyes.
“Young master’s rescue was indeed timely. However, you may have misunderstood something.”
“Huh? What?” Leo blinked.
“Your actions earlier were not saving me.”
Ailiya’s voice remained utterly flat, as if stating an objective fact. “What you saved was the reputation of the Kastian Manor.”
“Huh?” Leo was dumbfounded, but his mind worked fast. In less than two seconds, he grasped the implication.
The room fell silent for a moment.
An image involuntarily formed in Leo’s mind.
Cedric reaching out a lecherous hand, only for Ailiya to grab his head and slam it crash right into the scalding truffle soup, followed by pitiful screams…
“You… You crazy woman…”
Leo stammered a curse, his voice trembling, cold sweat running down his back. “Would you actually dare to lay a hand on a young master of the main family?!”
“Whether it’s a noble young master or a thug on the street, there’s essentially no difference to me.”
Ailiya stood up and smoothed her skirt. “So, thank you for the timely interruption, young master. It helped me keep a fairly decent job.”
Leo was at a complete loss for words.
This woman didn’t hold back when beating him. If pushed too far, she would absolutely do it!
“But, young master,” Ailiya suddenly spoke, changing the subject.
“You really dislike that third young master, don’t you?”
Leo was taken aback, then pursed his lips. “Obviously. That guy’s been looking down his nose at people since we were kids, full of schemes. Who could like him?”
“Since you dislike him, your performance at the dinner table earlier didn’t quite match your usual style.”
Caught off guard by the blunt exposure, Leo’s body stiffened slightly.
He was silent for a long time. The frivolous, spoiled-boy mask on his face gradually faded, replaced by a self-deprecation that seemed out of place for his age.
He leaned back, falling flat onto the bed in a starfish shape, staring at the ceiling, his voice muffled.
“I’m just an illegitimate son.”
“My mother doesn’t even have an official status. If it weren’t for her being a High-Grade Magic Pharmacist and the main family needing her potions, we probably wouldn’t even have a chance to survive.”
Leo let out a bitter laugh, his eyes filled with a touch of sorrow.
“No matter what I do in this remote manor, they always seem to have a way of knowing. So, I have no choice but to be a useless waste.”
“As long as I’m trash enough—so trashy they think I’m not even fit to be a dog—they’ll completely ignore me. Only then can my mother and I live peacefully in this remote manor.”
The room fell into a brief silence.
Ailiya listened quietly to the speech. A glimmer of surprise flickered in her icy blue eyes.
She had originally thought Leo was just a spoiled, tsundere brat. She never expected that beneath that arrogant, domineering exterior, he harbored such a pragmatic survival logic.
“Endurance is a good habit.”
Ailiya looked at Leo lying on the bed, her tone, for once, less sarcastic and more objectively evaluative.
***
She prepared to leave the room.
At the door, she paused, tilting her head slightly.
“However, pretending to be useless can indeed avoid open hostility. But what if someone doesn’t even want to leave a useless person alive and just decides to flip the board?”
Leo’s heart lurched. He sat up abruptly. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. Just a reasonable hypothesis.”
Ailiya’s gaze was deep. “Pretend to be a pig for too long, and you’ll actually end up eating slop.”
“Playing dead lets you survive, but only by having a trump card in your hand that can take someone out can you truly sleep soundly.”
Leo swallowed hard, staring at Ailiya’s retreating back. “Hey, Ailiya.”
“Young master, do you have further orders?”
“That guy’s not only morally bankrupt, but I also saw him bragging to my mother earlier about bringing some high-level knight guard,” Leo muttered, somewhat resentfully. “What do you think, how strong is Cedric right now?”
Ailiya recalled the data feedback she’d gotten from Weak Point Insight when they crossed paths in the corridor earlier.
“His combat ability is roughly around the mid-level of the second tier, but his magic reserve is quite mediocre, and his aura is a bit unstable.” Ailiya gave a highly professional assessment.
“Tch, just a pot-bellied druggie propped up by the main family’s resources!” Leo snorted sourly.
“That is indeed the case.”
Ailiya delivered the conclusion with a blank face.
“He clearly lacks real combat experience. If they were really fighting for their lives in a closed space… Young master, if you skillfully utilized your… dirty tricks, he probably wouldn’t be able to beat you.”
Leo’s face just started to crack a grin when he suddenly caught on.
“Hey!! What do you mean by ‘dirty tricks’?!” Leo jumped off the bed in a huff. “That’s called tactical deployment! Ever heard of ‘all’s fair in war’?! Even Ian praised me for it!”
“Very well, tactical deployment.”
Ailiya opened the door, leaving him with a meaningful sidelong glance.
“In the next few days, while this third young master is in the manor, you’d better… keep your eyes wide open.”
With that, another soft click sounded as the door closed.
Leaving Leo alone in the room, pondering that cold but piercing remark.