The backyard of Kastian Manor, beside the vegetable garden. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a sense of peaceful tranquility.
Several free-range fat geese were leisurely strolling on the lawn, occasionally lowering their heads to peck at some grass.
As for the so-called “pigs crazily gobbling up cabbage,” there wasn’t even a single pig hair.
Leo pulled Ailiya along as they sprinted all the way here, finally stopping. He let go of her hand, placed his hands on his knees, and gasped for air without any form of politeness.
Ailiya stood beside him, not a single drop of sweat on her fair cheeks, her breathing as calm as if they had just taken a walk.
She lowered her head to glance at her slightly wrinkled sleeve from his grip, then raised her hand and slowly smoothed out the creases on the cuff.
Her eyes quietly swept across the empty vegetable garden, then landed on the few fat geese.
“So, Young Master.”
Ailiya clasped her hands in front of her, her tone as plain as a glass of unsweetened water.
“Where are the two pigs you mentioned that couldn’t be knocked down even by a Water Bullet spell and were crazily gobbling up cabbage?”
“Have these pigs mastered some magic superior to yours and disguised themselves as these big white geese?”
“Cough, well… maybe I ran too fast just now, and they’ve already been caught by the guards! Yeah, that must be it! Uncle Garick and the others are very efficient!”
Ailiya watched his performance silently for a full five seconds.
Ailiya’s voice echoed particularly coldly in this empty corridor, carrying a condescending scrutiny.
“Although I am very grateful that you pulled me out of that boring social event, however… if next time you fabricate an excuse, you could take into account some basic common sense of the Kastian Manor, I would be very grateful.”
“Also.”
Ailiya did not intend to let him off easily and continued to ruthlessly twist the knife. “Your loud shouting in the reception room just now was very deliberate.
Third Young Master Cedric may be arrogant, but he is not stupid. Interfering with his affairs time and again like this will only deepen his hostility toward you.”
Leo scratched his golden hair and plopped himself down on the wooden bench beside him.
“I… I was acting in a hurry! Who cares if there were pigs! I know I acted terribly, and I know it would anger him. The goal was just to get you out, I didn’t want you to pour tea for him. I just didn’t like it.”
Leo put away his slacker demeanor, his expression turning somewhat serious. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
“And, can’t you sense it? That masked guy in the room just now, he’s very dangerous! As soon as I entered, every hair on my body stood on end.”
“Cedric brought him to the manor, he must be up to no good! Even if you don’t care about anything, you don’t want to get into conflict with them either, right?”
Seeing Leo, who was clearly scared to death but still forced to drag her out, Ailiya’s eyes flickered with a faint trace of unusual emotion. “Young Master’s intuition is sharp. That is indeed a dangerous person.”
Ailiya affirmed his words, but then shifted her tone.
“However, since you knew he was dangerous, how could you dare to rush in and pull me out without any precautions? If you really angered him, how many seconds do you think you could hold him off with your half-baked magic?”
“I…” Leo was speechless, his neck stiffening. “I just didn’t think that much!”
‘Watching this golden retriever with its hackles raised, Ailiya silently sighed in her heart.
‘This kid’s intuition is unexpectedly keen. The drive to rush out regardless of consequences gave Ailiya a long-lost… surprise.’
‘In the game, NPCs would only react according to preset AI settings.’
‘But this golden-haired boy, for the sake of his nominal servant, repeatedly provokes someone he should have tried to avoid.’
‘Is this some strange possessiveness? Or has his chuunibyou delusional kid read too many knight novels, fantasizing about a hero saving a beauty?’
“Young Master.”
Ailiya walked over to the bench and looked down at him. “Thank you for this unnecessary and flaw-ridden heroic act, Young Master.” Although her tone was still flat, it lacked its usual sharpness.
“That masked man is a Third-Order Expert. If he really wanted to make a move, your rush in just now would have been nothing but a free kill. Also, Young Master, it seems you still have some misunderstandings about me.”
Ailiya leaned forward slightly, closing the distance to Leo. The cool fragrance instantly enveloped him, making him involuntarily hold his breath, his heart starting to race.
Then, Ailiya naturally reached out, plucked a blade of grass that had somehow stuck to Leo’s shoulder, and flicked it away.
“In this manor, the person who can bully me does not exist yet.” Her voice was very soft, yet carried an absolute confidence that could not be questioned.
“Including that lofty Third Young Master and including that dangerous-looking Mr. G. So, please put away your superfluous protective instinct and focus on improving your magic level.”
Ailiya straightened up and resumed her perfect standby posture.
Leo stared dumbly at Ailiya who was so close, looking into her ice-blue eyes that seemed to see through everything, and swallowed audibly.
“If you really want to help, then next time you make an excuse, please use the limited intelligence you have.”
Ailiya lifted her skirt slightly and performed a standard curtsy.
“However, since the farming business was fake, I still need to prepare ingredients for dinner. Please continue exchanging magic insights with the white geese here.”
With that, she turned and left, leaving Leo standing alone in the vegetable garden, staring blankly.
“This woman! She can’t even say one nice thing!”
Leo angrily kicked away a small pebble, but looking at her slender back gradually disappearing, he couldn’t muster any real anger.
He slumped back onto the bench and looked down at his shoulder where Ailiya had touched, his mind in a mess.
‘Superfluous protective instinct…’
‘The way I rushed in just now must have looked as ridiculous as a jumping clown in her eyes.’
He slumped back onto the bench and looked down at his shoulder where Ailiya had touched, his mind in a mess.
‘He was a young master of the Kastian clan, but he was just an exiled illegitimate son. And Ailiya, though nominally a maid, was strong, calm, and so beautiful it was hard to look away.’
‘Her entire being exuded a composure he could never reach. In this manor, other than pestering her every day and pulling her away with clumsy excuses like just now, he couldn’t find any way to communicate with her as equals.’
‘No matter how hard he tried to attract her attention, even clinging to her like a stalker, all he got was her indifferent attitude as if looking at air.’
‘But this was also the only means he had so far to create communication and contact with her. Even getting scolded was better than being completely ignored. What is this? Unrequited affection?’
Leo rubbed his cheeks irritably.
“Why do I care about someone who mocks me every day and hits me with a mop… Although she did teach me some combat skills, in the end, it was because Cedric’s appearance forced me to learn. If that annoying guy hadn’t come, I could have continued being a carefree young master.”
“That’s right, it must all be that Cedric’s fault!”
Thinking of that hypocritical Cedric looking at her with that disgusting gaze, Leo’s anger churned uncontrollably. He suddenly stood up, angrily finding a perfect justification for his actions in his mind.
“If that blond hadn’t come to the manor, I wouldn’t have been idle and meddled with this maid out of unrequited affection.’
‘I’m afraid they’ll conflict, which is bad for the manor! I did it for the peace of the manor, not for her. Yes, that’s it!”
Leo suddenly stood up again, pulled out the short wand from his waist, and shouted a harsh word at the big white geese that were squawking in fright.
“Think I’m superfluous? Think I’m stupid? This young master will get stronger and show you!”
***
Late at night.
Ailiya’s room.
No lamp was lit, only the cold moonlight spilled through the gaps of the curtains onto the wooden floor.
Ailiya sat on the chair with her eyes closed, her consciousness already sinking into the depths of the mental link.
[Report the situation.]
Graves, who had been enjoying himself lying on a soft bed, jolted and instantly turned over to sit up.
“I’m here!”
Graves responded extremely quickly in his mind, even straightening his posture.
“Today in the reception room… I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to go, but that kid insisted on dragging me to pretend to be some mysterious expert and show off! I swear, I absolutely have no intention of disrespecting you!”
“Save the nonsense,” Ailiya coldly interrupted his display of loyalty. “What’s the next plan?”
When it came to business, Graves immediately displayed the professionalism of an assassin.
“The situation is like this…”