Chapter 18: That’s it?

“Lilian… did she really say that?”

In the bedroom, Elenora was asking the young maid, Erin.

Elenora’s eyes were slightly darkened—clearly, she hadn’t slept well.

Erin nodded.

“Yes, yes, Miss, do you think…”

Erin didn’t dare continue.

She saw Elenora lower her head and fall silent.

“Then… should I still have Lilian comb your hair, Miss?”

“Hmm.”

A muffled reply came.

Erin hesitated for a moment; she felt things couldn’t go on like this.

She had to give Miss Elenora some confidence!

“Miss, trust me. If you apologize properly, Lilian definitely won’t mind!”

“Hmm.”

Erin left the bedroom just as Lilian arrived.

She looked completely unaffected, still carrying that carefree demeanor.

It seemed like Elenora’s mood hadn’t affected her at all.

Is this really effective? Erin wondered silently.

“That was quick.”

“Yeah, yeah, Lilian, hurry in. Don’t keep Miss waiting.”

Erin didn’t dare say anything unnecessary, only silently cheering Miss Elenora on in her heart.

Lilian pushed open the door and carefully stepped inside.

She had no idea how Elenora would treat her today.

As usual, Elenora sat with her back to Lilian, but Lilian felt something was off.

The morning sunlight still streamed in, birds sang sweetly, and Elenora wore a faint fragrance.

But still, something felt wrong.

Picking up a comb from the side, Lilian moved behind Elenora.

“Lilian.”

Elenora spoke.

So suddenly, Lilian was caught off guard, and her hands paused.

Shouldn’t Elenora wait until she started combing to try to attack?

No matter!

I resolutely uphold the Three No’s principle!

As long as I say nothing, I won’t make a mistake.

So Lilian continued combing Elenora’s hair as usual.

“How’s training going?”

Here it comes—definitely about the wager!

“It’s fine, pretty easy. I’ve basically finished training.” Lilian feigned indifference and added, “You can confirm that with Miss Shaya, I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

‘Pretty easy,’ ‘Mistress,’ ‘I wouldn’t lie about something like this.’

Hearing Lilian’s words, Elenora lowered her head, biting her lip.

She thought back to the small training ground, where Lilian stubbornly shouted, ‘I want to train hard, improve myself, and protect Mistress!’

Elenora’s eyes instantly reddened, and she hurriedly looked down to avoid her reflection in the dressing mirror.

Because Elenora had her back to Lilian and kept her head lowered, and Lilian’s attention was elsewhere, she didn’t notice anything unusual.

Lilian was filled with confusion.

From the beginning until now, the system hadn’t made a sound—it was as if dead.

So, calling ‘Mistress’ is useless now.

Sure enough, such a convenient way to grind experience points would be banned quickly.

I can only mechanically complete the tasks…

Wait, something’s wrong.

Holding Elenora’s hair, Lilian quickly sensed her head trembling slightly, twitching in small jerks.

Elenora… is crying?

Lilian’s first instinct was to deny this.

That can’t be.

Her combing was gentle, and when the comb caught, she carefully freed the hair—not a chance she hurt Elenora.

Even her clumsy past self would only get scolded for hurting Elenora, who never shed a single tear.

Wait.

As a maid, comforting Mistress is part of her duty, right?

Experience points, here I come?

This sounded a little schadenfreude, but Lilian thought that whether or not the system was around, she would comfort Elenora out of human kindness.

So, Lilian softly and gently asked, “Miss, are you alright?”

She had switched back to calling her Miss, since ‘Mistress’ earned no experience and sounded a bit too intimate—almost suggestive.

Plus, Lilian had no such special fetishes, so she reverted to the original address.

But it seemed she triggered a keyword, as Elenora took several shaky breaths before finally breaking down.

“Wuwuwu—”

Elenora hugged her legs, burying her face and quietly sobbing.

Lilian was at a loss.

Lilian, female, with nearly forty years of combined life experience across two lives, was middle-aged but genuinely didn’t know how to comfort a crying girl.

She had no siblings or close relatives in her past life…

And in this life, before awakening her memories, she was the one crying.

Not to mention, Lilian didn’t know why Elenora was crying.

Think, damn it!

Lilian scrambled for useful thoughts.

Normally, you’d soothe her first, right?

A hug would be best at this moment.

So, Lilian knelt before Elenora and was about to give her a silent embrace.

Elenora suddenly threw herself at Lilian, pinning her to the ground and wrapping around her like an octopus, burying her little head in Lilian’s chest.

Lilian soon felt a chill on her chest—Elenora was really crying.

When she’d pounced, Lilian thought it was a trap.

The back of her head touched the floor, which was cold.

Elenora was soft and warm as she clung on.

The ceiling was brown…

Lilian patted Elenora’s back.

“Alright, alright, it’s okay, don’t cry.”

After a long while, Elenora stopped crying.

She didn’t move, just kept her head buried in Lilian’s embrace.

“Lilian,” she spoke through a thick nasal tone.

“Hmm?”

“Sorry.”

“Huh… huh!???”

Why am I involved?

Hey, what did you do to deserve an apology and cry like this?

Lilian was a little flustered.

Her current feeling was like being a palace eunuch, suddenly kowtowed to and apologized to by the emperor.

Usually, this happens if the emperor accidentally exterminated your entire family.

But my parents died long ago—what worse could you have done?

Damn, Elenora, why are you so cruel?

I was kind enough to comfort you, and you repay me like this?

“Wh-what happened to you?” Lilian stammered, afraid she might hear something that would make her faint.

“I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

“Huh? Miss, what did you say?”

“The day before yesterday, I shouldn’t have said you coveted my feet, or that my punishment was a reward to you, or called you a perverted maid…” Elenora hesitated, then apologized again, “I’m sorry.”

Th-that’s it?

Lilian sighed in relief.

At least it wasn’t some kind of resurrected parent incident or being accidentally sent to the underworld by Elenora.