“Mmm mmm! That’s definitely big sister’s scent!”
Ni Wei closed her eyes and sniffed hard, her brow furrowed.
Rafina was lying under the desk, her body starting to tremble slightly.
‘It’s over! Over, over, over!’
“Um, your sister came by this afternoon to bring me some fruit. Maybe that’s where the scent came from, haha.”
His forced out an unnatural smile, answering with feigned calm.
“Hmph, is that so?”
Ni Wei shot him a skeptical glance and snorted.
“A scent from just dropping off fruit lasts this long?”
Ni Wei crossed her arms, her gaze sharpening.
“Hey, you creep, you wouldn’t have touched my sister while I was gone…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
His quickly waved his hands.
“You’re overthinking it. Your sister left right after bringing the fruit.”
“Oh? Really?”
Clearly unconvinced, Ni Wei leaned in closer.
Rafina curled up under the desk, clamping her hands over her mouth, afraid to breathe loudly.
“Your desk… it’s a real mess today. Not like you at all.”
Ni Wei stared at the desk, looking thoughtful.
“I’ve been a bit tired lately. I fell asleep here earlier. Messing up the desk is normal, right?”
“Fell asleep?”
Ni Wei suddenly laughed.
“You’re the Young Master—you just eat, drink, and enjoy life all day. What’s there to be tired about? Unlike this poor maid, who works from morning till night.”
“Don’t you usually just clean the study? You haven’t even done that today…”
“That’s still exhausting, okay!”
Ni Wei put her hands on her hips and glared at him, righteous and unyielding.
Listening from under the desk, Rafina’s eyes went wide.
‘My own little sister… she has this side to her?’
In her memory, Ni Wei had always been a docile, timid girl who spoke softly in front of others.
But this? What was this?
She actually dared to talk back to her employer?!
“Alright, alright. You’re the most tired.”
His raised his hands in surrender.
“Hmph, at least you admit it.”
Ni Wei gave a satisfied little hum and stuffed the gold coin His had just handed her into her pocket.
Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, she tilted her head at His.
“You’re not giving me this money because you feel guilty, are you?”
His felt a throb at his temple.
“If you don’t want it, give the gold coin back.”
“No way.”
Ni Wei turned and dashed out of the study.
Only after he confirmed that the footsteps in the corridor were fading did His let out a long breath.
“Um… you can come out now.”
Rafina crawled out from under the desk, looking a bit disheveled.
Having been curled up too long, her legs gave way as she stood up, nearly making her fall again.
Luckily, His was alert this time and caught her.
“Careful.”
“Thank you, Young Master…”
Saying so, Rafina lowered her head and brushed the dust off her skirt.
The atmosphere in the study grew awkward again.
“Young Master His.”
Rafina was the first to break the silence.
“Is Ni Wei… always like this?”
“Huh?”
His blinked in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
“In front of Young Master His, she’s always been…” Rafina chose her words carefully, “this kind of personality?”
His thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Pretty much. Always sharp-tongued.”
Rafina paused, then couldn’t help laughing.
But soon her laughter faded.
“I never knew…”
The girl lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers.
“In front of me, Ni Wei was always so well-behaved. I always thought that was her real nature.”
Rafina’s voice grew softer.
“I never imagined she’d be like this with you, Young Master His. As her older sister… I had no idea.”
His looked at her downcast expression, silent for a moment, then spoke.
“What’s so strange about that?”
“You don’t think it’s strange, Young Master His?”
“To her, you’re someone she wants to protect. Of course she wouldn’t show you a side that might worry you.”
“Protect me?”
Rafina lifted her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
“Why do you think she pretends to be good in front of you?”
Rafina shook her head.
“Because she knows that if she acted like she did just now in front of you, you’d worry about her.”
“But…”
Rafina bit her lip gently.
“Don’t worry. Ni Wei’s a good kid. If she can be this relaxed around me, doesn’t that just mean she feels safe here?”
His reached out and smoothed some of Rafina’s tousled hair.
“Now that you’re both here, no matter what, I’ll consider you important family.”
Family!
The word hit Rafina’s ears, and her heart seemed to tighten.
A warmth slowly welled up from the bottom of her heart.
The girl felt her nose tingle.
“Mm…”
Rafina looked up and responded softly.
A glistening tear trembled in her eyes, but the corners of her mouth rose.
“Thank you, Young Master His.”
“Ahem, well…”
Seeing her like this, His felt his heartbeat quicken, so he quickly changed the subject.
“Since Ni Wei is gone now, you should hurry. She might come back any minute.”
“Okay.”
Back in her room, Rafina touched the hair at her temple.
The feeling of His smoothing her hair still seemed to linger.
‘Family?’
Rafina smiled.
‘Maybe… that’s not so bad?’
***
On the other side of the Duke’s Mansion, Lila was standing alone on the balcony.
At that moment, she was staring intently at her own hands.
A faint, dark purple light flickered at her fingertips, like a candle about to go out.
‘It’s back!’
The black-haired maid’s eyes shone with excitement.
‘Magic power… it’s finally back!’
Lila clenched her fist, drawing the faint light back into her body, then turned her gaze toward the study.
For some reason, ever since that man named His brought her here, her magic power had recovered much faster than before.
Lila looked away.
‘But now that my magic power has returned, that means my time as a maid here is over.’
Judging by the Young Master’s string of business moves lately, there had been friction between the Human and Demon Realms again.
‘I have to get back there as soon as possible.’
‘Before I leave… should I say goodbye to the Young Master who kindly took me in?’
A smile curled at the corner of Lila’s lips.
‘Better not.’
‘I wouldn’t even know how to explain it to him.’
‘We’ll just have to meet again if fate allows.’