Chapter 140: You Sure Know How to Have Fun, Don't You?
"Ah~Mmm~!"
Leah let out a yawn as she stretched her lazy body.
She dragged her hazy form out of the bedroom, shuffling slowly toward the door.
The mont she opened it, her eyes not yet fully open, a flash of white drifted past her.
Leah: ?
The sluggish drowsiness evaporated instantly. Sowhat puzzled, she stuck her head out and looked in the direction the figure had gone.
The mont she made out who it was, Leah froze in place.
It was a girl dressed in a black-and-white Maidservant uniform.
Had they hired a minor at so point?
Her gaze traveled downward along the outfit—and stopped at the girl's lower half.
There, peeking out, was a…
White tail!?
That snapped Leah fully awake. She furrowed her brow, utterly baffled.
When had a Demi-human Maidservant appeared in the house?
Wait!
Co to think of it, she had indeed brought ho a Cat-girl yesterday.
And now that she looked—the white fur color of this Cat-kin Maidservant in front of her matched the one she'd brought back last night exactly.
She was just about to call out to the Cat-kin Maidservant when a gentle voice beat her to it.
"Good morning, Miss Leah."
As if sensing Leah's presence in advance, the girl turned her head, t Leah's gaze, and gave a respectful bow.
"…?"
That finished Leah off entirely. She pressed a hand to her head as wave after wave of confusion crashed through her mind, leaving her unable to think straight.
"You… can speak?"
Oh wait, Demi-humans could speak to begin with.
She should have asked how the girl had learned the human language.
She'd gotten up too fast.
Leah's head was still a bit foggy. She'd dealt with Demi-humans for about a decade and understood their innate wildness better than anyone.
Having grown up in the wild, they were nearly impossible to ta.
That was precisely why, aside from Helnersen—who had remained at the old Manor as Steward owing to his extraordinarily long lifespan—not a single Demi-human had ever managed to beco a Maidservant.
Their very nature made them fundantally unsuited to serving others.
In a daze, Leah heard the Cat-girl in front of her speak.
That soft, gentle voice drifted toward her, soothing beyond asure:
"You may call by my na—Xiangyilan."
"It is the na my master gave ."
Xiangyilan? Master?
A flash of clarity—Leah instantly thought of Viktor.
He sure knows how to have fun… no, wait—how on earth had he managed this?
Completely dumbfounded, Leah waved the Cat-girl Maidservant over.
"Co here for a mont, Xiangyilan."
"Yes, Miss Leah."
Xiangyilan obediently drew close.
Leah looked her over from top to bottom.
Cat-kin tended to be small in stature—female Cat-kin especially so, appearing all the more petite.
The white-furred girl before her barely reached Leah's chest.
"Unbelievable…"
Leah breathed the words in stunned disbelief.
She still rembered how exhausted she had been teaching those Demi-humans. Just getting them to read and hold a normal conversation had taken her the better part of 2 years—to say nothing of anything beyond that.
And yet she had only, on a whim, sent this Cat-girl to Viktor's bedroom.
One single night.
Not only could the girl now fully understand the human language, she could even introduce herself with perfect courtesy.
Demi-humans had never had any concept of courtesy to begin with.
Even Leah's own operatives only showed deference to her and no one else.
Leah studied the Cat-girl carefully. Her every word and gesture was indistinguishable from that of an ordinary human Maidservant.
"Magic… it truly is astonishing…"
She could only credit all of this to the wonders of Magic.
All she could say was that Xiangyilan had exceeded every expectation she'd had.
And so, with a hint of anticipation, she asked the question that was currently most interesting to her:
"Can you use Magic right now?"
"You know—that kind where you go bam! and a giant fireball cos blasting out…"
Xiangyilan simply tilted her docile little face upward and smiled quietly as Leah acted it out with wild gestures.
It wasn't until Leah herself started to feel a little embarrassed that Xiangyilan lowered her head and replied with a respectful dip:
"I apologize, Miss Leah. I am still working hard to learn."
"My master told that becoming a Mage is not sothing that can be accomplished overnight—it requires talent, and even more so, constant effort."
"Uh… ah, alright, you're right."
Leah hadn't imagined that one day she would be lectured by a Demi-human.
And one who was so much younger and smaller than her, no less—a Cat-kin girl.
She really had been getting ahead of herself.
The idea of having a Mage among the Demi-humans in the household had been a sudden flight of fancy on Leah's part. Even if Viktor hadn't pulled it off, she wouldn't have said a word.
Suddenly, two small, soft hands closed around hers.
Leah blinked in surprise—but in the next instant, Xiangyilan lifted her hand and pressed it gently against her own soft cheek.
A warmth spread from Leah's palm and traveled all the way to her heart.
Are all Cat-kin this soft?
Xiangyilan nuzzled Leah's hand against her soft cheek for a good while before finally releasing it.
"Please don't worry about it, Miss Leah."
"My master said this would cheer up anyone who was feeling unhappy. I sensed that your mood wasn't very good, so I took the liberty."
"Oh—ah… thank you."
Leah stared at her own hands hovering in the air, flexing them, savoring the lingering softness still imprinted on her palms, feeling a little lost.
"Please don't thank , Miss Leah."
With that, Xiangyilan bent forward in a respectful bow.
"The kindness you showed by saving us is sothing we will never forget for as long as we live."
"You may call upon at any ti. I am yours to use."
Hearing those words, Leah could only smile with a helpless sigh.
She reached out and placed a hand on top of Xiangyilan's head, giving it a gentle ruffle.
"How old are you, really? You don't need to act so grown-up."
The rubbing felt so good that Xiangyilan couldn't help letting out a soft purr.
Cat-girls had their down monts too, and Leah sotis comforted them when they did.
Leah smiled, her eyes full of fond indulgence:
"See."
"You're still just a little kid who needs soone to lean on."
***
"Viktor?"
Leah pushed open Viktor's bedroom door without ceremony and stepped inside.
She noticed the half-open window beside the bed—a gentle breeze slipping in through the gap.
Viktor was seated in a chair, leaning against the windowsill.
In his hands was a dense, abstruse to on Magic, and he was reading with complete focus.
The morning breeze stirred the folds of his clothes, giving him an almost ethereal quality in the early light.
A poised, refined Count.
Leah looked at him, and found herself looking a mont too long.
"Hmm?"
Viktor slowly raised his eyes.
Feeling his gaze land on her, Leah suddenly felt uncharacteristically self-conscious.
"Did I… interrupt you?"
The words were barely out before she regretted them.
She'd never given it a second thought before.
In the past, she would've shoved his bedroom door open without hesitation, no matter whether Viktor was asleep or not.
Saying it now made the whole thing feel awkward—like she was the one acting strange.
But Viktor didn't seem to mind. He simply lowered his gaze.
The book shimred faintly, dissolving into pinpoints of starlight that vanished from his hands.
"It's fine."
At his response, Leah let out a small breath of relief.
"Oh, right."
"How did you do it?"
Viktor knew what she ant—Xiangyilan. The Cat-girl who'd been brought back yesterday.
In truth, she had beco one of Weija's Followers.
Hmm… Weija's 3rd Follower, to be exact.
As an Evil God, rewriting another person's mind was the simplest thing in the world.
Even Angus had been powerless to stop Weija from reducing him to an idiot and rewriting his beliefs at will.
A little Cat-girl with no independent thought of her own was naturally putty in Weija's hands.
Weija had given her consciousness, filled her with knowledge, and allowed her to skip the entire slow and ssy process of becoming civilized.
That said, this was not sothing he would be telling Leah.
And so Viktor put on a suitably cryptic expression and offered his explanation:
"The power of Magic."
"Does it surprise you?"
Leah nodded, reluctantly accepting that.
She imdiately moved on to her next question:
"You and Gwen were supposed to co back together, weren't you?"
"Where did Gwen go?"
Word of what Viktor had stirred up in the Northern Frontier had long since reached the Royal Capital.
Angus had been slain by Jaxiu—and Jaxiu, in turn, had been killed by Viktor and Gwen working together.
The whole sequence of events left people shaking their heads in disbelief.
Though Leah still didn't quite understand it—Viktor had beaten Angus to a pulp, fair enough, but why did Angus's son want to kill him over that?
Was Uncle Angus really so easy to resent?
Not that Leah particularly cared. Gwen aside, she'd never been especially fond of that side of the family to begin with.
Viktor simply gazed out the window and said evenly:
"Gwen?"
"She was summoned by the Emperor and returned to the Royal Capital ahead of ."
Leah blinked, looking a little puzzled.
Why had the Emperor summoned her?
Before she could press further, a Maidservant appeared at Viktor's bedroom door.
She was gasping for breath, her face flushed—clearly in a great hurry.
The mont she spotted Leah, the Maidservant quickly steadied herself, patted her chest, and said urgently:
"Miss Leah, I've finally found you."
"Ah, and the head of the household…"
The instant she caught sight of Viktor, she stopped dead—as if the words had lodged in her throat.
Leah noticed the Maidservant's hesitation and waved a dismissive hand:
"You don't need to mind him going forward. Whatever it is, just say it."
"Y-yes, understood."
The Maidservant lowered her head in a flustered bow and continued:
"A ssage has co from Lady Leon. She says—"
"Among the 'children' rescued yesterday, there is… one who is an Elf."
Leah heard that and went blank on the spot.
"An Elf?"
"That is what Lady Leon said."
Leah pressed her fingers to her forehead, looking as though a headache was settling in, and fell into thought.
As nature's beloved, Elves could not simply be captured on a whim. Anyone who dared coerce or abduct an Elf would face punishnt from nature itself.
And beyond that, Imperial law was explicit on the matter—on the international stage, Elves held the status of friends of the Empire.
If soone were bold enough to actually abduct an Elf, and word got out…
The Empire's army would probably be at your door by the next morning.
As for Cocotte—she didn't count. She had signed a Contract with the Clavena Family and was a proper employee. Fair ga to push around as they pleased.
Leah stroked her chin, murmuring quietly:
"Those people with the surna Rether… they've got quite the nerve."
After all, the shipnt they had just intercepted had been bound for the Rether Family.
Now Leah understood why a vessel carrying Demi-human slaves had needed a 4th-Tier warrior as an escort.
They had been hauling quite the explosive secret.
"And then what? What's beco of that Elf?"
At Leah's question, the Maidservant kept her head bowed and reported with so hesitation:
"She is safe and well, only…"
"Only?"
Leah tilted her head, watching her, gesturing for her to continue:
"That Elf young lady keeps saying… she wants to find the Elven Queen of her kingdom—one who has been missing for many years."
"What? The Elven Queen who went missing years ago?"
***
In the Royal Capital—not so far from Blairstone.
The Viktor Manor.
In the middle of the flower garden, a drowsy Elf dressed in barely-there attire lay sprawled atop a fluffy cloud.
She suddenly jolted awake—and sneezed.
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