Lucia kept glancing at the door, then toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, before finally dropping her gaze to the floor in front of her.
She was waiting for Enya to come back…
But the wait had been long.
There were plenty of maids at the estate, and cleaning a house this size didn’t take much time—just two hours had already made the villa ready for someone to move right in.
Seeing that no one was returning yet, even someone as well-mannered as Lucia started to feel a little restless.
On top of that, her maid outfit came with hard-soled low heels.
They added a lot to her appearance, but they weren’t very comfortable, and standing for so long made her feet ache.
Lucia turned her head slightly, using the corner of her eye to look at Wendy, who was lounging on the sofa.
She really wanted to do the same, but she felt that Wendy could get away with it because she was close to Enya, whereas Lucia was just a newcomer.
The forest elf girl on the sofa, showing off her graceful figure, stretched lazily.
Her feet, clad in semi-sheer white silk stockings, tensed for a moment before she dropped them limply.
Wendy turned on her side, crossed her legs, lifted her swanlike neck, and looked up at Lucia, who was still standing there.
‘This human would make a fine sentry,’ Wendy thought. ‘
If she were a forest elf, she’d definitely be assigned to a watchtower and stand guard for a hundred or two hundred years. I could never do that.’
While Enya was out, Lucia had actually taught Wendy some of the human language.
Even though they couldn’t communicate directly with words, they could still use pictures to guide each other.
Basic knowledge was easy to remember. In just a few hours, Wendy could half-listen and half-guess what Lucia meant.
Wendy’s cool, dark green eyes stayed fixed on Lucia’s profile. After a moment, she spoke.
“Hey… you, uh…”
“…”
Lucia turned to face her, a slight smile forming on her lips.
“You want to ask if I’m tired?”
“Should be?”
Wendy looked into Lucia’s eyes and guessed the meaning of her words.
Then she saw Lucia let out a light sigh and shake her head, denying that she was tired.
Wendy, who had just straightened up, flopped back onto the soft, comfortable sofa.
She even laid her pretty, delicate face on it, yawned, wriggled her body to find a comfortable position, and then closed her eyes.
“Lucia… remember… call… me.”
Wendy said this in broken human language, then began to steady her breathing, intending to take a short nap.
Lucia sighed to herself. Just as she pulled her gaze away from Wendy, she saw a figure appear in front of her.
“!”
Startled, she quickly calmed down once she saw who it was. She was about to address Enya as “Mistress,” but Enya pressed a finger to her lips.
Enya raised her other index finger to her own lips, making a shushing gesture at Lucia.
Lucia nodded, while also feeling a cold sweat break out for Wendy.
She actually liked this elf girl…
Enya made no sound and gave off no aura, moving silently to the sofa.
She narrowed her eyes at her lazy maid and couldn’t help but sneer.
And she wanted a high salary?
Enya’s gaze shifted to Wendy’s exposed feet. She reached out, grabbed an ankle, and lifted it.
The moment Wendy felt her ankle being grasped, a sense of dread rose in her heart. But before she could even open her eyes, she was flipped upside down.
Wendy’s head was still on the sofa, but one leg was raised high while the other dangled, forming a high split position.
The view beneath her skirt was fully exposed.
Lucia was stunned. When she came to her senses, she covered her eyes. A burning heat rushed to her face, neck, and ears—all of them flushed red.
“Wah!”
Wendy met Enya’s gaze as Enya looked down at her. She pursed her lips, putting on an innocent expression.
Enya shot her a glare. She didn’t do anything else to her, just let go of the raised elf leg, letting Wendy fall back onto the sofa, then turned and picked up the golden birdcage.
She stepped out from between the sofa and the coffee table, then said to Lucia, who was still covering her face:
“Lucia, take me to my room.”
“Ah? Yes, yes, Mistress.”
Lucia parted her fingers over her eyes and saw that Enya and Wendy were already done.
She felt a strange sense of disappointment.
A mistress punishing her maid—that was a common scene in storybooks. Lucia wasn’t especially fond of it, but she did want to see something like that happen in real life.
Words could never compare to images, after all.
Too bad. What a shame…
Lucia snapped out of her daze quickly.
Once the excitement faded, the flush from her surging blood retreated, leaving only a faint blush.
She led the way, guiding Enya upstairs while explaining the overall layout of the house to her new mistress.
When Enya arrived at the master bedroom, Wendy, who had tidied herself up, hurried over.
She looked like she’d been caught slacking off—nervous and flustered. Enya found it amusing.
After hanging the birdcage, Enya looked at the two maids behind her.
Wendy was a forest elf, unfamiliar with human society. For now, she was only useful for lightening the mood—like a toy. Later, she might come in handy when visiting the Elven Kingdom.
Lucia, being human with years of maid experience, was a real worker, unlike Wendy, who was more of a…
Pet?
Enya looked at the black-haired maid, Lucia, who was standing at attention, and a faint smile crossed her face, making Lucia nervous.
Enya smiled and said:
“Lucia, from now on, you’ll be in charge of taking care of my daily needs. There’s also a lot of other work for you to handle. If you want it to be easier… then teach Wendy as soon as possible.”
“Let her be your assistant. I’m saying this, so she won’t have any objections. Just order her around. If she doesn’t listen, tell me.”
When Enya finished, Lucia was completely stunned. She had always thought Wendy was Enya’s trusted aide…
Not fully understanding yet, Lucia decided to agree first.
“Yes, Mistress. To serve by your side is my honor.”
“Mm.”
Enya was too tired to tell people to stop with that kind of formal speech. If they wanted to talk like that, let them.
Just then, Lucia clenched her hands, took a breath, and said:
“Mistress, the steward came looking for you earlier. It seemed to be about something. Would you like me to call him over? Also, regarding dinner, would you like to dine in the main hall’s dining room, or shall the servants bring it here?”
Enya paused for a fraction of a second, then replied:
“Call him over. As for dinner… never mind, just prepare something simple and bring it here. If there’s nothing else, you can go.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Lucia curtsied and, when she stepped out, pulled Wendy along. Wendy looked confused but followed, knowing that staying might get her hit.
Enya looked at the hanging birdcage.
Its black cloth cover made it look less terrifying, but if anyone knew that inside was a human head—and a living one at that—
It would definitely give them a shock.
Enya thought this idly, then went over and lifted the black cloth. The golden birdcage was revealed, and Sylvia’s head inside saw the light of day for the first time in many days.
Sylvia opened her eyes and looked at Enya outside the cage. Even though her appearance had changed a bit, she still recognized her. But she didn’t speak first.
Enya gave a wicked smile, stuck her finger through the bars, and scraped her nail against Sylvia’s cheek. In a low voice, she said:
“If I turned you into a book, it would be a very thick record of information, wouldn’t it?”
“You really are more of a villain than I am…”
Sylvia muttered. Even though she couldn’t see inside her cage, she could hear everything outside.
As for the comment that Enya was more of a villain, Enya didn’t deny it.
Enya’s fingers brushed against Sylvia’s pretty lips—soft and springy, a delicate pink that looked tempting.
She pulled her hand back, gave a faint smile, then her expression suddenly turned cold. She lifted her chin and looked down at Sylvia.
“So, what do you have to say about the Golden Opera House and that audience member?”
“…”
Sylvia didn’t answer.
Enya rolled her eyes, gave Sylvia a disappointed look as if her plan had failed, and walked over to the large bed. She surveyed her surroundings.
The master bedroom was spacious. The newly made bed was soft, big enough for five or six people to lie side by side.
The floor was tiled with yellow and white ceramic that mirrored images.
The furniture in the room had a unified style, all lavishly decorated with gold and silver, adorned with intricate patterns.
Everything was designed to make it clear just how wealthy and tasteful the room’s owner was.
Enya didn’t care. She lay down on the soft, comfortable bed.
“Fine~”
Since Sylvia wouldn’t talk, she’d ask a different question first.
After lying for a few seconds, Enya sat up.
“About Lakeside City—what do you have to say about it?”
“Do you want to hear about the Lily of the Valley Chamber of Commerce?”
Sylvia understood what Enya wanted to ask, and she proactively narrowed the information down to the chamber of commerce.
The more precise the category, the less information it would contain.
Enya saw through that little trick but didn’t mind. She nodded for Sylvia to go on.