Snacks.
“Mm, I understand.”
Ireya nodded slightly, then put on her shoes and walked toward the door.
As she passed by Amisha, the young lady finally spoke.
“Does your face still hurt?”
“Eh? Ah…n-no, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Amisha trembled all over, as if she was afraid.
“Thank you…for your concern, Young Lady.”
“Mm, good if it doesn’t hurt.”
Ireya nodded slightly, then said nothing more and left the room directly.
“Tch.”
Watching the young lady’s departing back, Amisha frowned slightly.
Why is it different from last time…shouldn’t the young lady…
“What’s wrong?”
Ireya turned her head to look at Amisha.
“Uh? N-nothing…Young Lady, please come with me.”
Step step step…
About ten minutes after the two left, the rolling sound of a food cart’s wheels echoed from the end of the corridor.
It was Ireya’s two personal maids, pushing the cart toward their young lady’s room.
On it were the snacks prepared for the young lady’s afternoon tea.
More precisely, it was Yumina alone pushing the cart, while Veil just followed beside her, eyeing the cute and delicious little treats.
“Stealthily~ stealthily…take one~”
“Stop!”
Smack!
“Ow!”
Veil looked at her senior with a face full of grievance after Yumina smacked her hand.
“That’s the young lady’s afternoon tea! If you want to eat, ask the young lady yourself later!”
“Yumina-senpai, so strict…eating one wouldn’t even be noticed~ she wouldn’t mind~”
“No! And—! Call her ‘Young Lady’! What kind of address is ‘that person’?!”
The red-haired maid glared fiercely at Veil.
This girl was just spoiled by favoritism!
“Ugh…I…I won’t call her that anymore, okay…”
Veil shrank her neck.
She was a goddess after all…no way she’d stoop to argue with a maid~ hmph~
Soon, the two arrived at Ireya’s room door.
After knocking softly, no response came from inside.
“Young Lady?”
Yumina called out into the room with some confusion.
Click!
But the next second, the door was already being opened boldly by Veil.
“Hey! You—ah, Young Lady, eh?”
Yumina was about to say something, but then realized the room was empty.
She pushed the cart inside and touched the teacup on the table…
The tea was already cold, seemed the young lady had left for a while.
Nom nom nom…
While Yumina was still thinking, chewing sounds suddenly came from behind.
“Wha!”
She spun around sharply, only to see Veil stuffing the last bite of chocolate cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffed up like a little squirrel full of nuts.
Mochi…
“You…you little…”
“Mmmmmm!!”
Before Yumina could scold her, the goddess was already blushing, pounding her still-underdeveloped little chest repeatedly.
Was she…choking?
Ate too fast?
Yumina sighed lightly, then picked up the still-warm teacup from the table and handed it to Veil.
Hm?
This tea had spilled, the young lady really was careless…
Phew!
But before she could think more, Veil had already taken the cup and gulped it down in one go.
“Gulp gulp—ah~ saved…”
After drinking, Veil smacked her lips.
Hm?
Why did this tea taste kind of weird?
A bit sweet…
“I’m telling you! How could you steal your master’s sweets? You’ll be punished for this! Understand?”
But before she could savor it carefully, Yumina’s lecturing voice came from in front.
However, all these words went in Veil’s left ear and out the right~
“I said, are you even listening properly !”
“Aiya~ Yumina-senpai, just don’t tell that per…uh, I mean, the Young Lady~”
Veil stepped forward, grabbing the twin-tailed maid’s little hands and shaking them.
Then she used her super cute smile to land a critical hit on the twin-tailed maid’s heart!
Ugh!
It’s the irresistible plea of a cute junior…
“Ahem, you…this is the last time! Don’t ever do this again, understand?”
Yumina sighed as she pulled out a rag from under the cart to wipe the water stains on the table.
Creaaak…
Just as the table was being cleaned up, the sound of the door opening came from the side.
“Mm? Young Lady, you’re back.”
“Mm…yeah…”
Entering the room, Ireya’s eyes were a bit blank as she hugged a pile of scroll-like things, slowly walking inside.
Seeing her two personal maids, she still seemed…somewhat dazed.
“This is…”
“Young Lady, did something happen?”
Yumina stepped forward with some concern.
“Ah? Nothing, nothing at all, hehe, uh…nothing at all.”
Ireya repeated the same line three times, which showed just how confused she felt inside.
Actually just now…she had gone to her mother’s room, and the other party had given her some…start-up capital to build her own faction.
“It’s just that mother gave me some land deeds.”
Those were the deeds to 25 shops on Ruby Street along the Golden Road in the Central District, and 8 high-quality mines outside the city.
Without having to lift a finger—just sitting here sipping tea—
Ireya could probably earn hundreds, even thousands of gold coins every second.
Ireya didn’t really know the exact number, but…she had truly achieved the so-called “financial freedom” at just 13 years old.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but only now did Ireya finally understand the weight behind the titles “Marquis’s eldest daughter” and “Pearl of the Eastern Territory.”
Even when she had led troops to stand up for Jenny before, she had never felt this reality so keenly.
“Ah…so that’s how it is. Seems Madam truly thinks the Young Lady has grown up now~”
As for Madam Shudrian’s generous hand, Yumina wasn’t surprised at all.
In fact, she thought it was only natural.
But money…even in the eyes of the Young Lady’s maids, it was just a string of numbers.
Compared to that…
“Hmm? Young Lady, why are your socks wet?”
Yumina blinked, noticing the little brown tea stains at Ireya’s snowy white toes.
“Ah…just spilled some by accident earlier.”
Ireya took a deep breath, settled her heart, tossed that pile of deeds onto the bed, then plopped down herself.
A moment ago, she had indeed gotten carried away, slipping into the mindset of her previous life—a poor, lonely university student—and felt a surge of emotion.
But once she snapped out of it, she realized that money…for her current self, for Ireya…didn’t actually matter much at all.
Thinking this, her mind gradually regained its calm and indifference…and she began to notice some details around her.
For example…that person standing nearby.
With two big round black eyes darting nervously about, something dark smeared at the corner of her mouth…
Miss Goddess.
Was that…chocolate?
Ireya raised an eyebrow slightly, then those red eyes turned toward the food cart.
The empty plates on the cart, the chocolate at the corner of her mouth, and the anxious little maid in the back…
All of this already told her exactly what had happened.
“Veil~ come here.”
Ireya’s lips curled into her signature mischievous smile.
Her legs, wrapped in white stockings, crossed elegantly as she crooked her finger at the goddess.
“Eh? Ah…o-okay!”
Helpless, Veil could only brace herself and shuffle over in small steps to stand before Ireya.
“Whaaat…de—dear Young Lady~”
She put on a silly grin, trying to cover up her “crime.”
“You didn’t clean all the cake from the corner of your mouth~ Now let me think…you girls haven’t had dessert yet today, have you?”
Eh?
Ugh!
I’m doomed!
Veil’s face instantly went a few shades paler, while Yumina behind her subconsciously covered her forehead.
This girl…stealing food and then forgetting to wipe her mouth, how could she be so hopeless…
Hoo~
And before Veil could try to explain, a small foot wrapped in white stockings, still stained with a little tea, stretched out in front of her.
“As punishment, lick it clean~”