It had been three full days since the farce at the training ground.
Madame Elsa’s potion worked wonders, that much had to be said. In just three days, the little brat Leo was hopping around as if nothing had happened.
Thanks to Elsa’s intervention, that arrogant third young master of the main family, Cedric, had completely quieted down.
He stopped causing trouble for Leo and spent his days either cooped up in his room meditating or occasionally wandering into the city to do who-knows-what.
Without that buzzing mosquito around, Ailiya’s work routine finally regained the calm and efficiency it deserved.
At least, that was how it should have been.
If not for the golden-haired shadow behind her that refused to shake off.
“Ailiya.”
“Ailiya?”
“Ailiya, talk to me!”
In the second-floor library, the afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive stained-glass windows, scattering dappled patches of color across the antique floorboards.
Ailiya stood on a small wooden step stool, a feather duster in hand, methodically cleaning the dust off the high shelves. Swoosh, swoosh.
The duster brushed over the heavy tomes, stirring up fine particles that danced in the sunbeams.
Below the stool, a head of bright golden hair followed her every move through the shelves like a persistent ghost.
“Hey, Ailiya, you said the other day that attacking the throat, eyes, and groin would win a fight—but what if the mage has a shield? How do I get close and break through?”
“And also! The way you backhanded that thug leader in the alley with just one hand—what’s that move called? Is there some technique to the force?”
“Ailiya? Did you hear the young master talking?”
Leo stood with his arms crossed, chattering nonstop like a noisy golden retriever wagging its tail for attention at her feet.
Ailiya’s icy blue eyes remained utterly calm.
She focused her gaze on the system panel in front of her, watching the life experience points tick up, and employed the highest level of noise cancellation for the source below—
Treating him as if he were air.
Ever since she gave that “barely passing” evaluation, something in this kid’s brain seemed to have short-circuited in a strange way.
He no longer studied magic tomes in his room or practiced magic accuracy on the wooden targets in the backyard.
Instead, every day at dawn, he began roaming the estate, tracking her down with pinpoint precision.
When she went to dust a vase, he’d be there asking how to train reaction speed.
When she went to the kitchen to check accounts, he’d be making clumsy punching motions next to her. Now that she was sweeping dust, he was still rambling nonsense below.
This persistent, clingy behavior was almost exactly like that Cedric from a few days ago, who had nothing but dirty thoughts in his head.
The difference was, Cedric wanted something else; this kid probably wanted a beating.
To reach the topmost shelf, Ailiya stood on tiptoe.
As her body stretched, the black-and-white maid uniform hem lifted slightly, out of her control.
A slender ankle wrapped in pure white stockings was exposed to the air without warning.
Up along the graceful, shapely calf line, between the hem and the thigh-high stockings, a small section of soft, slightly indented skin peeked out.
A seductive forbidden zone known as the absolute domain was inadvertently displayed below the stool.
The chatter from below suddenly cut off like someone had grabbed Leo by the throat.
Sensing the silence, Ailiya frowned and glanced down coldly.
The noisy golden retriever was currently twisting his head away, face bright red, eyes darting frantically between the bookshelf and the floor, even the tips of his ears burning red as if ready to bleed.
“What are you looking at?” Ailiya asked, her voice flat, her gaze scrutinizing.
“N-nothing! I wasn’t staring at your legs! The young master was just… just looking at that vase over there!”
Leo stuttered, his voice rising, so flustered he didn’t know where to put his hands or feet, looking pathetically guilty like he was trying to cover up.
Ailiya followed his gaze to the vase in the corner, a flicker of undisguised contempt in her eyes.
“Young Master.”
Ailiya finally stopped dusting and looked down at him from her height.
“As a mage, instead of improving your pitiful knowledge reserves, you come asking a maid about close combat.”
“Do you plan to win future duels by headbutting your opponent’s soles?”
“That’s called martial and magical dual cultivation! Comprehensive development!”
Leo raised his chin obstinately. “A mage is doomed if someone gets close. I need backup plans. You obviously know stuff, so just teach me a couple of moves. It’s not like it’ll interfere with your sweeping!”
“Unfortunately, my job only includes maintaining the estate’s cleanliness and taking care of your daily needs.”
Ailiya stepped down from the ladder gracefully, smoothing her skirt.
“It does not include training a pampered noble young master into a street brawler.”
“Please move aside. You’re blocking my path to the mop.”
With that, she sidestepped him like an inconvenient piece of clutter and walked straight out of the library.
“Hey! This is hand-to-hand combat!” Leo shouted indignantly behind her, but he quickly scurried after her anyway.
***
Half an hour later.
In the hallway on the first floor leading to the backyard.
Ailiya carried a wooden bucket full of clean water and held a long-handled rag mop, beginning to clean the steps in this area. Splash.
The mop dipped into the bucket, lifted, wrung out, and then pushed a clean streak across the floor.
But the golden retriever still hadn’t given up.
Not only did Leo follow, but he also walked right onto the floor ahead of her that hadn’t been mopped yet, acting like a hyperactive kid, walking backward as he continued to pester her.
“Just teach me one move! One move!”
“Young Master, please move.” Ailiya, mop in hand, had dropped her tone to freezing point.
“I won’t! If you don’t teach me, I’ll keep following you!” Leo turned shameless, spreading his arms to block the corridor.
“I don’t believe you can sweep me out of here with that stupid mop today!”
Ailiya paused mid-swing.
She slowly raised her head.
The usual cold calm in her icy blue eyes had finally shattered.
A faint, barely perceptible irritation mixed with coldness rose.
A tag-along, a roadblock, constant noise, and decreasing efficiency in grinding life experience points.
If this were a game, for such annoying NPCs blocking the path, there was usually one simple, crude solution.
“Since the Young Master is so eager to learn…”
Ailiya’s voice was soft, but it made Leo shiver involuntarily.
She gripped the long wooden mop handle with one hand, her wrist inside the white glove turning almost imperceptibly.
“I’ll make an exception and give you a free practical guidance session.”
“Huh? Really? That’s grea—”
The word “great” hadn’t even left Leo’s throat when—
Whoosh!
A gust of damp air rushed at him!
Ailiya didn’t even move her feet; her skirt spun slightly, and the mop in her hand became a deadly spear.
At a speed and angle that defied common sense, it swept directly toward Leo’s ankle.
“Holy crap!”
Leo panicked and instinctively tried to jump back.
But his pathetic reaction speed was like a slow-motion replay in front of Ailiya.
The mop head, wet and heavy with rag, struck him perfectly on the shin.
Thump!
“Ow!”
Leo felt his legs go numb, lost his balance, and fell flat on his back on the half-mopped, still-damp floor.
Before he could cry out in pain, a shadow loomed over him.
Ailiya held the mop with one hand, took a step forward, her slender leg in white stockings stopping gracefully beside him, looking down at him.
“Lesson one: Never walk into an opponent’s attack range without a weapon ready.”
Just as Leo clenched his teeth to roll over, Ailiya’s mop handle darted out like a viper, striking his chest with perfect precision. The force was controlled flawlessly—enough to knock the wind out of him without breaking a rib.
“Kh—”
Leo fell back onto the floor.
“You… you fight dirty! I wasn’t ready!” he shouted angrily.
“Lesson two: Your enemy won’t wait for you to strike that stupid starting stance.”
Before he could respond, Ailiya twisted her wrist, and the mop swung in an elegant half-moon arc through the air.
Then the mop head, soaked with clean but definitely not clean water, smacked straight onto Leo’s handsome face.
“Mmph! Ptooey! Water got in my mouth!”
Leo flailed his hands wildly, trying to push the mop away.
Ailiya smoothly rubbed the mop across his face and chest twice, giving him a deep facial treatment.
“Lesson three: When your vision is blocked, flailing your arms blindly only gets you killed faster.”
Ailiya’s cold voice came from the other end of the mop.
As she spoke, the mop head suddenly withdrew.
Just as Leo gasped for fresh air and his vision was still blurry, the wooden mop handle rested lightly against his vulnerable throat.
One slight push from Ailiya, and his windpipe would shatter.
Dead silence filled the corridor, broken only by the drip drop of water from the mop onto the floor.
Leo lay drenched, his golden hair plastered to his forehead in strands.
He stiffly stared up, swallowing hard, not daring to breathe.
“It’s over.”
Ailiya retrieved the mop and put it back in the bucket to rinse.
Her black-and-white maid uniform didn’t have a single drop on it, and her breathing was as steady as if nothing had happened.
“You have successfully experienced how a completely inexperienced rookie gets soloed by a mop in one second.”
Ailiya lifted the bucket with one hand, her gaze sweeping over the miserable young master on the floor, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Please take this valuable lesson and digest it thoroughly while lying there.”
“And please don’t dirty the floor I just mopped.”
“I hope the Young Master can deeply understand the gap between himself and real combat from this ‘guidance.’ Furthermore…”
Ailiya bent slightly, her icy blue eyes holding a warning that brooked no argument.
“Kindly d-o-n’t d-i-s-t-u-r-b m-y w-o-r-k a-g-a-i-n. Otherwise, the next lesson might be even more… thorough.”
With that, she lifted her skirt and walked away, elegant and merciless, without looking back.
A system chime sounded in her mind.
[Life Experience Gained: Maid +20]
[Combat Experience Gained: Basic Hand-to-Hand +1]
Only Leo remained, sprawled in the puddle of water.
He wiped the cold water off his face, staring dazedly at Ailiya’s retreating figure.
His body ached, and the pride of a noble young master had been ruthlessly trampled.
‘…That hurt like hell.’
Leo muttered through gritted teeth.
But weirdly, he didn’t feel angry.
Recalling that extremely clean, no-nonsense, lightning-fast triple combo, Leo’s eyes gradually lit up with a fervent gleam.
‘So… without magic, just pure technique and leverage can really be this strong…’
He rubbed his still-throbbing chest, a foolish grin spreading across his face.
‘No wonder she’s my… no, my head maid of the Kastian Manor!’
‘One day, I’ll definitely learn all her techniques… and then…’
Leo clenched his fist, silently vowing.
‘Then I’ll make her acknowledge me.’
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