But as the saying goes, when some are happy, others are bound to be upset.
Andrea was delighted to have moved into the big house, but Jody, now facing the countless Servants, couldn’t even muster a smile.
All of these were attached to this residence, more like complimentary long-term tenants, having gone through strict selection and were all first-rate in their skills.
Yet Jody wasn’t shy about thinking her own abilities surpassed the sum of theirs.
After experiencing the upheaval in the Green Family, she’d developed an unexplainable distrust of other colleagues, let alone these people who’d apparently heard some rumors somewhere—there was a kind of unspeakable fear in their eyes whenever they looked at Ailaira.
Just now, for example, Jody had tried asking a maid to deliver tea to Ailaira, but the maid’s hands had trembled so much that she spilled the tea?!
“With you all like this, how can I possibly trust you to do your work safely by Miss’s side?”
For once, Jody summoned up the dignity befitting the Housekeeper of the Green Family, gathering everyone from the new house, including the guards, into the main hall.
Standing on the steps, she knocked some sense into these Servants whose hearts were all in different places.
“I know many prominent people have lived here before, and you’ve all served them.”
“But I need to remind you—never compare Miss to anyone else, not even in your hearts. She is always unique.”
“She’s never set any especially harsh standards. All she needs is for you to take care of things when she asks. She even manages most of her daily life on her own, afraid others won’t do it to her liking.”
“Miss is truly the best employer you could have, so why are you all so afraid of her, as if she’s some monster?”
That was what Jody didn’t understand. Whether it was the former Young Master Ais or the current Miss Ailaira, neither had ever changed in her eyes. Their relationship wasn’t exactly close, but working under her always felt comfortable to Jody.
So why were these Servants so afraid of Ailaira?
In fact, it was an instinctive fear of the strong. Most of these people had witnessed with their own eyes the battle between Ailaira and Kadella that night. Ailaira’s unrestrained outburst beneath the night sky had completely shaken their spirits.
They had indeed served wave after wave of important people, but no one had ever displayed their power so openly in the courtyard!
So in their subconscious, they’d been left with the initial impression that their new mistress was exceedingly violent.
Jody tried every way she could to correct their mindset, but it hardly worked, leaving her so frustrated she wanted to throw them all out. But because she valued her job so much, she empathized with how frightening unemployment must be. If she really couldn’t use them, she’d just have to try and make up for it as best she could.
With that kindhearted thought, Jody knocked on Ailaira’s study door.
Ailaira was organizing her Experiment Notes, analyzing the fusion results of [Devouring Magic] and [Sacred Affinity], when she heard the knock. “Come in.”
As soon as Jody entered the study, her eyes went straight to Ailaira’s slightly cooled teacup. She quickly refilled it with hot tea before respectfully speaking up, “Miss, I wanted to report on the current situation with the original Servants in our new home.”
Jody detailed the situation to Ailaira: the regular work was handled competently, but any task involving Ailaira would always go wrong.
“Miss, it’s not that they aren’t capable—it’s just that your status is so exalted that they’re overly cautious. The more worried they are about making mistakes, the more likely they are to make them.”
Ailaira sipped her hot tea and calmly asked, “So what do you think should be done?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jody steeled herself and declared, “Why not just give them a severance package and dismiss them all? Later, I can select a new group and train them from scratch.”
“Of course, that’s just my opinion. Ultimately, the decision is yours, Miss.”
Ailaira wasn’t surprised at all—she’d never planned to use these people anyway. Not to mention the risk of her experiments being leaked, even Andrea’s true identity could be easily discovered.
Before Jody arrived, Andrea had been nagging Ailaira, asking when she’d be allowed to roll around in the courtyard.
“Then do as you see fit. Set a reasonable amount for the severance, and I’ll approve the funds.”
“As for hiring new people, there’s no need. This house just has the two of us and a Dragon. With you alone, that’s enough.”
That meant Jody would be responsible for all affairs in the entire residence—a workload incomparable to that of the previous house. But Jody was so excited that she immediately promised to manage everything. In fact, deep down, she’d always felt a bit resistant to letting others serve Ailaira—she’d just never expressed it.
Jody bounced away, never once mentioning the workload explosion or the fact her salary wasn’t increasing.
With that matter settled, Ailaira turned her focus back to her notes. She carefully recorded her findings: “…After catalyzed fusion, the nature of the magic undergoes a drastic transformation.”
“[Devouring Magic]’s absorption of mana is enhanced, while [Sacred Affinity] raises the absorption limit. The two stimulate each other, and the resulting grayish-white mana is extremely predatory to all things with life force.”
“Its existence (name pending) is toxic to all living things.”
As she finished the last line, a notification suddenly rang in Ailaira’s mind, and the System’s interface popped up before her eyes:
[Vista Green]
[Race: Pureblood Human]
[Trait: Sacred Affinity (Highly compatible with demon traits)]
[Development Progress: 30%%]
[Trinis Verlendel]
[Race: Human]
[Trait: Devouring Magic (Cursed by the God of Filth and Ultimate Depravity—Sahimul)]
[Development Progress: 30%]
[Development progress has reached the target value. Reward has been deposited in the System Mailbox. Please check promptly.]
[Next progress target: 60%]
It was still a brief notification. This time, Ailaira didn’t intend to delay. She immediately set up the Ritual right there in the study and clicked to receive the reward. [Reward claimed. Devouring Magic Trait and Sacred Affinity Trait have been implanted into host’s Bloodline.]
“Since both are human, the reward this time isn’t a Bloodline? But these two Traits…”
Before Ailaira could finish analyzing, a beam of dark light suddenly descended from above, enveloping her. Strange specks of light streamed through the openings into her body.
The searing pain tore through her, forcing out a suppressed moan as she felt a violent force rampaging within her, reshaping her body to suit its own existence.
This time, the prepared Ritual did its job, temporarily suppressing the force and easing Ailaira’s agony. Second by second, time ticked by until, aided by the Ritual, she managed to adapt to the fused mana, soaked with sweat from the pain.
It felt as though all her bones were being shattered and then regrown anew. Fortunately, Ailaira had previously stored some of the mana produced by the fusion of the two Traits in her blood, which now served to accelerate the infusion process.
But before Ailaira could catch her breath, the outburst of mana after the new Trait fusion sent a powerful shock through her mind. The skin beneath her arm throbbed, as if something was about to burst forth.
Outside, Andrea finally managed to find the study’s location. Impatiently, she knocked, urging, “It’s time to eat. Stop working already.”
Before she could finish, the door opened a crack. As Andrea was about to push it open in surprise, a gray-white, tentacle-like appendage coiled around her waist and, catching her off guard, dragged her into the room.
“Click.”
The door locked shut.