The first light of dawn was faint, and the sky over the Kastian manor was still cloaked in a thin layer of grayish blue.
In a single room of the maid dormitory, Ailiya was curled up in her soft bedding.
However, this rare tranquility did not last long.
Tap, tap, tap…
From the corridor outside the door came the sound of regular, deliberately hushed footsteps pacing back and forth, accompanied by someone’s muttering.
Under the covers, a pair of fluffy silver-white wolf ears twitched sharply.
Her perception of her surroundings far exceeded that of ordinary people. Especially the pair of silver-white wolf ears on top of her head, which were usually docile, were extremely sensitive to sound.
Bang bang bang!
“Ailiya! Are you awake? Ailiya!”
A door-pounding sound like a death knell, accompanied by that familiar voice like a noisy parrot, ruthlessly pierced the morning stillness. Under the covers, the fluffy silver wolf ears twitched in irritation twice.
Ailiya snapped open her ice-blue eyes, took a deep breath, and threw off the covers.
Because she had just woken up, her mind was still half-booted, and the habit of hating trouble from her past life unconsciously took over.
She couldn’t be bothered to change into the complicated maid uniform, so she casually grabbed a loose white linen shirt and threw it on.
The collar was crooked, revealing one delicate collarbone and a large expanse of dazzlingly fair skin. Too lazy to even put on shoes, she walked barefoot on the cool wooden floor with her pale little feet.
Creak
The door opened only halfway. Ailiya leaned against the doorframe with one hand, poking out half her body and head, looking down at the culprit outside the door.
Outside the door, Leo, who had been raising his hand to knock again, found his voice instantly stuck in his throat.
He stared dumbly at the Ailiya before him. The usually impeccably groomed, aloof, perfect head maid was now presenting a defenseless, languid state.
Her silver-white short hair was disheveled, with a stubborn cowlick sticking up on top; and behind her, the large silver tail that usually hung gracefully was now flicking back and forth in the air like a bristled feather duster. This was like a devastating mental spell that instantly shattered Leo’s defenses.
Gulp. Leo swallowed hard, his face turning red all the way to the root of his neck, and his eyes began to dart around wildly.
Ailiya crossed her arms, the wide sleeves slipping down to reveal two slender, flawless white arms folded.
She was completely unaware of how provocative she looked right now, and just stared at Leo as if he were a low-level monster.
“Young Master.”
Ailiya’s voice was slightly hoarse from just waking up, her speech slow but each word piercing.
“Did the watchdogs and roosters in the manor all collectively lose their jobs last night? That it requires you, the esteemed young master, to personally come and act as a morning alarm clock?”
“I… well…” Leo stammered, his eyes fixed on the floor. “I came to learn from you…”
“If the speed of your brain development could keep up with the frequency of the noise you make, you would already be a professor at the magic academy by now, instead of practicing physical impact on my door here.”
Ailiya coldly interrupted him. “Now, immediately disappear from in front of my door.”
“W-wait!”
Leo seemed to sense danger, and his survival instinct kicked in. He squeezed his eyes shut, tremblingly pulled a heavy cloth bag from his chest, and held it out to Ailiya in a comical pose.
Clink
The cloth bag made an extremely crisp, wonderful, and soul-satisfying clinking sound.
“I brought tuition!”
A heavy linen money pouch was shoved in front of Ailiya. The pouch wasn’t tied tightly, revealing a small stack of gleaming gold coins and two magic crystals emanating magical fluctuations.
“Wuwuwu… This is all my allowance for this month, even the money for buying magic scrolls is in here…” Leo said with his eyes closed, his voice trembling with heartache, but his hands still stubbornly held out. “Just teach me something else! Even if it’s just theory!”
The air was silent for three seconds. At the moment Ailiya saw the gold coins and magic crystals, a faint, imperceptible glimmer flashed in her eyes.
As a veteran professional gamer in her past life, the habits of “pay-to-win” and “squeezing NPCs” were already etched into her soul. Since money was given, the nature of the situation changed.
Whisk
The money pouch was taken away with extreme skill.
Leo opened his eyes to see the head maid, who had been full of murderous intent just moments ago, now steadily weighing the pouch in her hand twice, then casually stuffing it into the wide pocket of her nightgown.
The bristled silver tail behind her miraculously smoothed down, and even wagged slightly in a good mood.
“Ahem.”
Ailiya cleared her throat. Her eyes were still cold, but now carried a businesslike, emotionless tone.
She leaned against the doorframe, then lazily yawned and casually rubbed her disheveled silver hair. A hint of physiological tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, making her look languid.
“I thought that aside from water, your head only contained that meaningless noble arrogance.”
“I never expected you could actually comprehend equivalent exchange. This is practically a miracle.”
“Can’t you praise someone without using this kind of scolding tone…”
“Tell me, esteemed young master, what kind of beating do you want today?”
“Who wants a beating!” Leo immediately retorted, but his gaze kept uncontrollably drifting toward Ailiya.
He shook his head violently, forced himself to look away, and said loudly with a red face, “I want to learn your combat techniques. Yesterday I tried poking a scarecrow with a wooden stick, but I didn’t have that penetrating power you have.”
“Since the young master has shown such sincere desire to learn, as the head maid, I naturally have the duty to satisfy the master’s reasonable needs.”
Ailiya’s voice remained cold, but with a hint of businesslike professionalism.
Bang.
The door slammed shut mercilessly in front of Leo, leaving only a faint remark coming through the door panel.
“Wait outside for five minutes.”
Five minutes later, the door opened again right on time.
The lazy girl with disheveled hair, messy clothes, and a face full of morning drowsiness from just moments ago seemed to never have existed. Standing before Leo was the impeccably dressed, flawless head maid.
Her black-and-white uniform had not a single wrinkle, pure white stockings snugly encased her long legs, her silver short hair was neatly combed, and the wolf tail behind her had returned to its smooth state, quietly hanging below the hem of her skirt.
“Let’s go, young master,” she said in a flat tone. “We’re going to the training ground.”