Elisha’s sky-blue eyes widened as she took in Carla’s appearance, and she stuttered,
“I didn’t an for you to go this far with it…?”
“???”
What do you an? You were the one who practically threatened to keep an eye on us!
Confused, I glanced at Carla.
“…?”
Carla also tilted her head, just as puzzled.
It seed Carla also hadn’t expected this reaction from Elisha.
Amidst the bustling atmosphere due to class assignnts, an awkward silence enveloped our surroundings.
Both realized that there had been a serious misunderstanding, but neither was willing to break the silence.
As I looked at Elisha in bewildernt, she returned my gaze with an equally puzzled expression.
Unbelievable…
But now, seeing her like this, I realize sothing.
Despite a few issues, Elisha was essentially a good person. She was a major supporting character in H&A.
She wasn’t on the sa level as those overly proud aristocrats or generally insane mages I had been so wary of on the outside.
Even though Elisha may feel inferior to Carla and be obsessed with her, she likely didn’t wish for Carla to be entirely broken.
So, then, what did she an when she sternly told to keep Carla in line the other night…?
I found myself frowning before I even realized it.
Suddenly, I noticed that Elisha had been alternating her gaze between Carla and , and her look was strangely familiar.
“Ah.”
I just rembered it then.
Wasn’t that the sa expression Carla had when I first commanded her?
…All things considered, Elisha was as much a lady as Carla was.
The Sylvan Magic Tower was an elf tower, and as a high elf, she must have been treated like a princess for most of her life.
So, naturally, her knowledge about sexual matters would likely be at a similar level to Carla’s when I first bought her.
Thinking about it now, Elisha in H&A was also quite naive.
I thought it couldn’t be helped since it was a ga suitable for all ages, but what if Elisha’s sexual awareness in real life was just as innocent as in the all-ages version of the ga?
In that case, the ‘night service’ that Elisha knew of would be much softer compared to what Nana or Carla knew.
Maybe it was at the level of sex education that a typical aristocratic lady would have, like Carla once ntioned.
So, I decided to subtly ask Elisha to clarify.
“Uh… Glenchiel?”
“Wh-what is it, Yandel?”
Elisha seed montarily flustered, probably not expecting to be called out.
High Elves were said to have keen senses, so this distance should be fine. So, I asked her softly,
“May I ask what you ant by ‘night service’?”
“…Under normal circumstances, that would be an extrely rude question, but I suppose I must make an exception this ti.”
Elisha sighed lightly and unfolded her fan with a ‘whoosh.’
With her lips concealed behind it, she leaned in slightly and whispered, after glancing around cautiously.
“It refers to a servant sharing the bed with their master, doesn’t it?”
“Ah… And if you were to sternly discipline a slave during this ‘night service,’ how would you go about it?”
Elisha pondered for a mont, her sky-blue eyes blinking a couple of tis before answering.
“A little spanking…?”
“……”
Okay.
That settled it.
Elisha was as naive as a baby when it ca to this.
At this point, even Carla had realized what the misunderstanding was and stood there, mouth agape.
Frankly, imagining oneself before becoming a slave wouldn’t be that difficult.
However, judging by how Elisha’s expression gradually brightened, she seed to interpret our reactions in a particular way, and eventually began to smile triumphantly.
“Oh? It seems you’ve slightly exaggerated my words, Yandel.”
“Well, uh…”
Elisha nodded modestly as if she understoond everything. She was about to nod along with Carla when she looked at her and hesitated.
“Hmm. I appreciate your keen interest, but I’d be even more ‘grateful’ if you rember that we are in an academy, a place for learning.”
Her tone was sowhat admonishing.
But if you listened closely, it had an undertone of, ‘Shall we just pretend there was a misunderstanding when there wasn’t?’
And emphasizing ‘grateful’ likely referred to a better reward, as she had ntioned before.
The only problem would be how the surrounding people interpreted what Elisha just said.
To those who didn’t know the full context, it could easily look like was criticizing my nightly activities.
Well, from Elisha’s perspective, she was offering a reasonable compromise. But to those who didn’t know the details, it could look like it was entirely my fault.
In fact, if you listen carefully now, you can hear people pretending not to eavesdrop on our conversation but murmuring among themselves.
“My goodness… Never judge a book by its cover, and yet with such a fair face…”
“Was it a commoner? This is why vulgar people give themselves away.”
“Tsk. What do they think this sacred academy is?”
Ah, just as I thought. It was this kind of atmosphere.
Although my reputation wasn’t crucial for what lay ahead, there was also no reason to tarnish it aninglessly.
If everything had gone according to the original plan, even with a hit to my reputation, I would’ve gained Elisha’s support for three months. Moreover, all this could’ve been blad on Elisha!
But now, this makes the sole bad guy.
This was a problem.
And if I could hear this, High Elf Elisha would undoubtedly hear it, too.
Did she not anticipate that her words, which were ant to clarify the misunderstanding and aim for a better future, would be interpreted this way?
Though she covered her mouth with her fan, the eyes revealed above it were trembling uncontrollably.
Realizing too late that she had spoken in a way that could easily be misunderstood, Elisha stamred,
“No, I… Umm…”
Before she could make an attempt to correct the situation, Carla stepped in, raising her arms to block my path and loudly exclaid,
“Master has done nothing wrong!”
“…Carla?”
Elisha seed taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected this.
Carla must be puzzled why even in this situation, she was defending .
“It was , a re slave, who spoke familiarly to Lord Glenchiel like before! That’s why Master scolded !”
“Carla, are you seriously…”
If Carla’s words this morning were true, then Elisha could tell whether Carla was speaking sincerely or making things up.
And right now, even I can feel the sincerity radiating from Carla.
“Because of my faults, Master had to apologize to Lord Glenchiel. So, it was only right that I also apologized to Master physically!”
“Physically? What on earth did you…?”
Elisha couldn’t tear her eyes away from the kiss mark on Carla’s neck, swallowing hard. And so, Carla discreetly covered the kiss mark with her hand.
“Hehe… It’s my fault for being stupid. Master shouldn’t be blad. He just put to my place as you said, Lady Glenchiel.”
Her wandering eyes never settled, and her slender limbs were trembling. The forced smile on her face looked as if she was recalling a painful mory and suffering from it.
In reality, she was just overwheld with her attempt to lie when she wasn’t good at it.
Initially, that kiss mark was just one of many that Carla had practically begged for. How could it be a bad mory?
However, the people around us probably wouldn’t think so.
Just monts ago, the crowd was blaming , but now their eyes shifted toward Elisha. Unlike , she seed to be choosing her words carefully. Still, one didn’t need to speak to get their point across.
By now, a story must have taken shape in their minds. Once close friends, due to their standing as the heiress of the Lindelheit family and the successor of the Sylvan Magic Tower, they grew distant as they felt the widening gap between them. And jealousy and inferiority slipped into that gap.
Then, one day, the Lindelheit family fell from grace due to accusations of social misconduct, becoming slaves.
In a twist of fate, or perhaps not, they returned to the Academy as slaves and greeted their old connections. But what ca back was a cold shoulder and bla directed at the master.
Because I might have been a bit excessive in disciplining Carla, now Elisha was trying to step aside to avoid trouble. Even now, Carla stepped up, saying it was her fault, wary of the backlash that might co her way if the bla was laid on her master.
The crowd’s gaze naturally cooled. Perhaps thinking the sa, Elisha opened her mouth with a troubled expression.
“Enough! That’s enough, Carla!”
Then she looked at and said in a tired voice,
“Yandel, I believe your training is sufficient. Please, show so magnanimity as a master.”
“I will take your advice to heart, Lady Glenchiel.”
“Sigh… Then, I shall take my leave. We’re in the sa class, Class A, right? I look forward to working with you, Yandel.”
“I, too, am honored to be in the sa class as Lady Glenchiel.”
Matching her tone, Elisha nodded and quickly left with her servant.
Then I patted Carla’s shoulder, who was left standing alone in front of .
“Well done.”
“Master?”
Unsure if it was intentional or not, Carla kept tilting her head, puzzled by the sudden change of events.
Seeing this, an idea popped into my head, and I leaned in to whisper,
“Carla, let’s go ahead as planned for today.”
“Um… do we still need to show this to Elisha?”
Carla asked.
“I’m not doing this for Elisha.”
I replied.
I was doing it to show the others.
At least until the rumors die down, people would think that how I treated Carla was entirely due to Elisha’s coercion.
I’d been manipulated enough, so a little petty revenge like this should be okay.
“Ah, of course, Carla. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
I assured her.
“I don’t mind. We initially planned to do this anyway, and more importantly, it’s sothing you, my master, want. …You’ll reward if I do well, right?”
Carla looked up at , her eyes filled with curiosity.
“Of course. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Um…”
Carla hesitated for a mont, glancing around before lifting one leg slightly like a magpie.
Then, as if sharing a secret, she whispered in a very low voice,
“I’d like to eat whatever you’re having, Master.”
“……”
I paused. Such a cunning creature.
Reviews
All reviews (0)