Chapter 47: Spicy Maru

“Ugh… This tastes awful… You liar…”

Latia couldn’t help but burst out laughing, her silvery, bell-like laughter echoing especially loud in the quiet coffee shop.

“Hahahaha… Miss Donna, your ‘whatever feels good’ approach… really is an eye-opener!” She wiped away the tears of laughter at the corners of her eyes, then resignedly took Donna’s tragic “Syrup Mixture”.

Watching Donna, who looked like she was about to die on the spot, and Latia, who was laughing without a shred of noble grace, Aier honestly didn’t know what to do. She could only keep up a running commentary in her mind to relieve the awkwardness.

“Sit up, be good,” she said, stifling her laughter, her eyes still full of mirth, “Let big sister make you a new drink that’s just right for our little lady.”

She took away Donna’s disaster of a “Creative Coffee”, her tone carrying both amusement and a hint of barely perceptible affection.

Latia quickly got to work again, moving even faster this time. Soon, a cup of coffee, beautifully milky in color with plenty of milk and syrup, was pushed in front of Donna.

A classic Latte.

Aier sighed inwardly.

Why not just make this from the start? What was the point of all that fuss? Just to see Donna’s breakdown? That Marquis’ Peculiar Taste…

Summoning the last of her courage, Donna braced herself as if facing death, and carefully, with extreme caution, took a tiny sip…

Hm? Sweet? A milky aroma beneath the coffee?

Her orange eyes instantly went wide, like she’d discovered a new continent, and then she broke into a rescued, blissful smile, completely won over by the sweetness.

“It’s delicious!”

She cried out in delight, as if she’d found a treasure, and immediately took another greedy gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Her smile was as radiant as the noonday sun shining once again on Donna’s golden hair.

Though Donna was usually a spoiled young lady who often caused trouble, in that moment, her adorable smile made Aier lose herself for a second.

She had to admit, Donna was a bona fide beauty, especially with that voice as lovely as a voice actress’s, enough to stir ripples in one’s heart before you even realized it.

But Aier quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Now that she was someone else’s Canary, what right did she have to think about such things…

Just then, Aier glanced at the old-fashioned, elegant wall clock inlaid with intricate brass ornaments. Alarm bells rang in her heart: Crap, only ten minutes left before class! It’d take at least seven or eight minutes just to walk back!

Without a change in expression, she reached out and gently tugged Donna’s sleeve, signaling the time with her eyes, and whispered softly, “Donna… It’s almost time for class.”

“Eh? Then let’s hurry up and go.”

With that, Donna immediately stood up to leave, completely forgetting how much she’d just loved that latte.

“Aren’t you going to pay?” Aier asked in surprise.

“Go on, hurry up. Come again next time~” Latia’s tone was relaxed and carefree. “As long as my guests enjoy what they drink, that’s the best reward for me.”

She still gave Latia a slight bow: “Thank you for the coffee, and sorry to have bothered you.”

Etiquette still mattered.

And then Donna, impatient as ever, dragged her by the arm toward the Alley leading back to the Academy.

Watching the two adorable girls dash off, Latia’s smiling eyes turned into thin crescents as she slowly opened them.

“So that’s the Golden Canary raised by Duke Sheiyl? Not bad at all~”

In the end, Aier and Donna made it back to the classroom just in time.

The day’s classes finally ended—

The golden rays of sunset streamed through the leaves of the tall Plane Trees, spreading warm patches of light at the Academy’s entrance.

Aier stood beneath the familiar tree, watching as the pitch-black four-wheeled carriage from the Duke’s Mansion stopped precisely in front of her.

When the carriage door opened to reveal only Ailei’s signature, perfectly groomed silver hair and calm, deep blue eyes, the stone that had been hanging in Aier’s heart finally dropped with a thud.

Seeing that only Sister Elei had come this time, her nerves finally relaxed.

Aier’s face broke into a relieved smile. In her heart, Ailei was someone she could trust, so she instinctively quick-stepped over.

“Ailei… Butler?”

But as soon as she got up close, her sweet little voice abruptly changed, perhaps out of some survival instinct and fear of a sting operation, and she reflexively used the honorific, her voice carrying a barely noticeable tension.

Aier remembered the half-finished threat Duke Sheiyl had given her that day.

If she got caught this time, and something like what happened to Senior Mary happened again, wouldn’t she be doomed?

Ailei also noticed the rich changes in Aier’s expression, especially that adorable reaction of wanting to call her sweetly, only to choke it back at the last second—she was just too cute ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ).

So Ailei decided to tease her a little, too. On her usually calm face, those deep blue eyes suddenly flashed with a clear, chilly light tinged with both hurt and reproach.

“Calling me that again?”

Aier tensed up and hurriedly corrected herself: “No, no… Ailei… Sister~”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place…

“Hmph.” Ailei let out a soft snort, but the subtle chill around her melted away like thin ice under the sun.

She raised her hand, gloved in white silk, and gestured for Aier to get in the carriage. “Don’t let it happen again.”

Her tone had already returned to the gentle one she reserved only for Aier.

Confirming that Duke Sheiyl wasn’t in the carriage, Aier’s taut nerves finally relaxed, like a loosened string.

She scrambled into the carriage, burying herself deep in the plush seat as if to absorb some sense of security.

The horse’s hooves clopped rhythmically on the stone road, almost lulling her to sleep.

But the short journey home soon ended. The carriage passed through the grand gates of Iron Eagle Fortress and stopped outside the villa district.

Aier silently followed behind Ailei, her gaze falling on Ailei’s straight back and that head of silver hair gleaming coldly in the setting sun.

Suddenly, a question popped into her mind:

“By the way, Sister Elei… why didn’t the master come today?” Aier’s voice was soft, tinged with pure curiosity.

Ailei’s steps paused.

Her profile, under the gentle light, curved ever so slightly into a fleeting, mischievous smile.

She turned around, her face still wearing that warm Butler expression, but her voice dropped, carrying a hint of mystery: “Her? She’s got a bit of a physical issue, not feeling well.”

Aier’s heart skipped a beat. “She’s sick?”

Ailei’s beautiful blue eyes narrowed slightly. She leaned in a bit closer, her voice full of deliberate suspense: “Mm… To be precise… she’s… pregnant!”

Crack—

Aier felt as if a string had snapped in her brain!

What the heck?

Pregnant? How is that possible?