Chapter 88: Master? Lord?

Three people sat at the dining table, eating the breakfast the maid had brought over.

Ariella pouted, chewing her food sullenly for some unknown reason.

Lia, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care for the conventional breakfast at all, having long since grown tired of it.

Standing beside them was a blue-haired maid with a very strange expression.

“So, what exactly is an ‘exclusive maid’? I never heard anything about this.”

Indeed, Lin Yue only knew that Charles had a luxury villa; he hadn’t heard that the man had arranged an exclusive maid as well.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Melinda, the exclusive maid assigned to you by the academy. Your residence was transferred from Young Master Charles, who purchased the rights to an exclusive maid. The previous maid on duty resigned, and I was the only vacancy in the entire academy, so I was sent to fill the position.”

‘Is she for real…’

Lin Yue felt a bit of a headache coming on.

He didn’t want anyone other than himself staying in this house long-term.

He could handle the cleaning and the cooking himself; he had no need for this.

He was mostly afraid he might accidentally leak some secrets during his daily life.

The whole reason he had decided to get his own place was because of the lack of privacy at the camp, but now things were even stranger.

Seeing this maid who possessed an extraordinary temperament and clearly wasn’t an ordinary person, Ariella, sitting nearby, felt a bit of a temper rising.

“…”

After a bit of explanation, she finally realized that nothing had actually happened yesterday.

‘How could nothing have happened… Is my charm lacking?’

Now she was being told that Lin Yue had an exclusive maid.

If he had any carnal needs in the future, how could he possibly think of her?

She didn’t want other girls touching Lin Yue, and she certainly didn’t want to see Lin Yue in a physical relationship with a girl who had no emotional foundation, turning him into a total scumbag.

Generally speaking, the maids of Avelina sold their skills, not their bodies, but… as everyone knew, most maids ended up following their masters after graduation.

Therefore, after a series of reforms, most exclusive maids were now middle-aged women who had worked for decades.

They were skilled at their jobs and wouldn’t cause any of the previously mentioned “strange phenomena.”

This Melinda, however, was an exception.

She was young, beautiful, and possessed a very unique temperament.

Even the magical fluctuations within her body seemed to have a tendency to suppress Lin Yue’s.

Something was wrong—nine parts out of ten were wrong.

Lin Yue had no idea what Ariella was thinking and could only see if there was a chance to fix the situation.

“Can I get a refund?”

He preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He wasn’t used to being served and wanted to refuse directly.

Melinda shook her head and said: “I have never heard of anyone refunding maid services. It might require reporting to the Council Hall. However…”

“If you would rather report to the Council Hall than accept the assignment, it implies I failed to serve you well. I will be marked as a ‘bad maid,’ ridiculed by other maids, and I will be unemployed for the rest of my life.”

She spoke with such seriousness that she seemed to truly care about the job.

Lin Yue studied the maid in front of him carefully and suddenly found her somewhat familiar.

“Wait… are you the maid who opened the door for me at the entrance of the Council Hall that day?”

‘I knew something felt off. I’ve seen her before…’

He seemed to have an even deeper impression of her, but he couldn’t quite remember it.

One thing was certain: someone who could guard the doors of the Council Hall and introduce guests was definitely not low in status.

She was far more capable than most head maids, essentially making her a super secretary.

“Your status among the maids should be very high. No one would dare ridicule you, right?”

Melinda caught the flaw in Lin Yue’s logic and spoke slowly, “It is precisely because of that. If I were to return in disgrace on my first day, wouldn’t there be even more gossip?”

‘That makes sense. I have nothing to say to that…’

Lin Yue hesitated for a moment, thinking he might as well just be the bad guy this time.

“What if I insist on refusing?”

Thud!

With an expression of self-doubt and pupils trembling, Melinda dropped to her knees on the ground.

“What the hell?”

‘Is she trying to shorten my life?’

She remained silent with her eyes closed, kneeling on the ground, waiting for Lin Yue to speak.

Lin Yue was stunned.

He turned to Lia and asked, “If I don’t agree, is she going to keep kneeling here?”

Lia didn’t seem to care much and said casually, “Maybe…”

He was speechless.

Just as Lin Yue was wavering, Lia spoke up for him.

“I have an idea…” She stroked her chin, blinked, and nodded, feeling like she was a genius.

“How about this… just do it for me. Take her in and teach her how to cook. That way, I won’t have to come looking for you every time. She’ll be useful and won’t go to waste…”

“??”

‘This girl has nothing but food on her mind.’

Knowing what Lin Yue was thinking, Lia continued: “I haven’t settled the score with you for secretly running off to hijack the Church’s carriage yet…”

Lin Yue was caught off guard; he hadn’t expected her to know about that.

He thought he had done a good job keeping it a secret.

What happened?

“How did you find out?”

As if mentioning something unpleasant, Lia’s cheeks puffed out, and she continued to scold him.

“Hmph… did you really think you could hide it from me? Running into a nest of the Godroot on your own, not even knowing how many high-order priests were inside before diving in.”

She had taught Lin Yue space magic so he could save his life, not so he could seek death.

When things went wrong during the last exam, at least she had been present.

Even if they had been cut in half or charred to a crisp, she could have gone to Loseph to at least preserve their lives.

Running out of Avelina to save someone was not something she could simply decide.

It was reckless, conceited, and irresponsible!

Lin Yue might not realize it, but she understood clearly.

Lin Yue’s life no longer belonged to him alone; many people placed their expectations and care upon him.

She had been sulking for a long time before going to the back mountain to find him, but because she was too busy and the timing was wrong, she had missed her chance to scold him.

“However, given your performance recently, I won’t be angry with you anymore—on the condition that you teach her how to cook… Otherwise, I’ll ignore you…”

“This…”

Lin Yue looked at the maid kneeling on the floor and then at the pouting Lia, letting out a deep sigh.

‘Why does it feel like Lia is becoming more and more like a child? She’s completely different from when she first appeared.’

Lin Yue had no choice; he could only wait for a future opportunity to send her back.

“Fine… get up first.”

Hearing his instruction, Melinda tilted her head and asked, “Is that an order?”

‘Is there a difference?’

“If it is not an order, I will continue to kneel…”

“It’s an order… hurry up and get up.”

Faced with such a rigid personality, Lin Yue was powerless.

Once she received confirmation, Melinda stood up, patted her skirt, and bowed to him.

“I understand. I look forward to your guidance, Master.”

“Don’t call me that… I’m not used to it…”

“Lord?”

“…”

“Whatever you want.”

Looking at this strange atmosphere, Lin Yue felt like he could see his future at a single glance.

He stood up, thinking he could finally go attend to business.

Just as he was about to put on his coat, he found that someone had already helped him into it.

“This…”

‘What incredible speed.’

Melinda had entered work mode.

By the time he snapped out of it, she was already inches away from him, finishing his tie.

“Have a safe trip, Master.”

Then, she opened the front door, respectfully folding her hands in front of her stomach and bowing slightly.

Well, she certainly was a professional; Charles’s money was well-spent.

From now on, he would have to plan things out carefully again…

He stroked his chin, thinking of that blue-haired girl in the time-stop scene.

She looked too much like the maid who had just appeared.

If it were just Lia’s little temper tantrum, there was no way he would have agreed so quickly to let an unidentified maid stay in his home.

He had just recalled that in the Sixth Act, where Lia served as the final boss, the person offering flowers to the two deceased in the ending CG was this very Melinda.

What was the relationship between the three of them?

He couldn’t figure it out now and could only wait for future events to unfold before making plans.

He instinctively walked forward, thinking about going to the infirmary to see Lilian, when his sleeve was suddenly grabbed gently.

Turning around, he saw Ariella, whose face had gone dark after being ignored.