Chapter 7: Showdown at the Dinner Table

“This is… quite an old estate,” Ard said, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the heavy, charged silence that stretched between them. He felt an overwhelming need to say something, anything, to fill the void. “Haha, I’ve always been curious about places with a bit of history, so I was just, you know…”

Yexi stopped, her movement so sudden and silent it was startling. She turned to face him, her expression a mask of unnerving calm. After a long, drawn-out moment that made the hairs on Ard’s arms stand on end, she spoke, her voice as smooth and cold as glass. “Is that why you were standing in front of the maids’ changing room for so long? I understand that a guest’s heart might be filled with… impure desires. That’s only human. I can sympathize. Isn’t that why I provided a maid’s uniform for you? Or perhaps,” she added, her eyes glinting in the moonlight, “you prefer one that’s just been worn?”

Her gaze remained placid, but now that Ard knew how to read the currents beneath that still surface, he could feel the profound, bottomless disdain for his character churning in its depths.

“!!!” Ard’s jaw dropped. He looked back down the corridor in disbelief. He had lingered there for a time, yes, but he swore on his life, on the very gods themselves, that he had just been lost in thought. He had no idea it was the maids’ changing room!

After a moment of sputtering like a landed fish, he finally managed, “I didn’t know.”

“Hmph.” The sound was a dagger of pure contempt.

“I really didn’t know, believe me!” Ard pleaded, feeling his image in her eyes shrink from a simple organism to primordial sludge. He desperately tried to salvage something, anything, to at least claw his way back up the evolutionary ladder in her estimation.

“The Lord and Lady are waiting. Please hurry, Mr. Guest.” With that, Yexi turned and continued leading the way, her back ramrod straight. The sharp-tongued maid had expressed her utter disdain with her actions, accepting no explanation, offering no quarter.

“…” Once, Ard had been full of ambition, determined to forge a new destiny for himself. He hadn’t expected his reputation to be utterly demolished at his very first stop, branded as a brute, a rogue, a barbarian, and a lecherous pervert by a beautiful, terrifyingly sharp-tongued maid. The blow to his pride was devastating.

Determined to salvage his disastrous first impression, Ard drew upon the etiquette of his past life and conducted himself with impeccable manners throughout the banquet. His refined conversation and easy grace genuinely impressed the Lord and Lady of the Trefle family. While they were not ones to stand on ceremony, a polite and charming guest was always a pleasure.

At the very least, Ard had earned their warm welcome. He instinctively glanced toward Yexi, a flicker of triumph in his heart, wanting her to see that he was not the lout she thought him to be. He was met with bitter disappointment. She stood by the wall, her posture as rigid and unmoving as a marble statue. When she noticed his gaze, her golden eyes locked onto his, cold and hard as steel.

Stare! (Turn your eyes back where they belong, pervert.)

That was the annotation Ard supplied for her glare. It seemed this chasm of misunderstanding would not be bridged anytime soon.

“Brother Ard, a toast!”

Just as Ard turned his attention back to the table, Klieg, the eldest son, slung a friendly, drunken arm over his shoulder and raised a glass. Seeing the flush on his face, Ard knew he couldn’t refuse and clinked his glass against Klieg’s with a smile.

Does this guy have such a low tolerance for alcohol? Ard wondered, looking at the ruby-red fruit wine in his glass. The alcohol content was minimal; even he, not much of a drinker, felt no buzz.

Then, Ard noticed something. Every time Klieg finished his drink, he would hand the empty glass to Yexi. And as Yexi poured, Ard caught a subtle, almost imperceptible movement—a flick of the wrist, a shadow of motion—as she swapped the freshly poured wine with another. The action was so swift, so impossibly fluid, that one would miss it if they weren’t paying rapt attention. Puzzled, Ard began to observe the rest of the table with a new, keen interest.

The Lord of the Trefle family, who had been jovially hosting the dinner, now sat stiff and silent as a stone. The Lady’s eyes were sparkling with a feverish anticipation, as if she were waiting for the curtain to rise on a grand play. Across from Yexi, Elienla was serving the Lady, looking worriedly at the increasingly drunken Klieg but unable to leave her mistress’s side.

Ard was just beginning to put the pieces together when a glass of fruit wine was placed silently before him.

“Your wine, Mr. Guest.”

A beautiful hand, a lovely voice, and a terrifyingly pointed gaze. Yexi was communicating with him, a silent, deadly conversation.

Stare! (You saw it. If you dare say a single word, you’re finished!)

That was Ard’s interpretation of her look. Terrifying.

But it wasn’t just wine. Yexi also personally piled a large plate with a mountain of food and set it in front of him.

“Mr. Guest, these are all local specialties. Please, enjoy yourself. If it’s not enough, I can get you more.”

A perfect, standard maid’s smile. Such attentive service. Ard was genuinely moved to be receiving Yexi’s normal maid service for once. At the same time, he performed a secondary, more accurate, interpretation of her words.

(Just shut up and eat. There’s enough food here to seal your mouth shut for good.)

Ard behaved. He diligently applied himself to the borderland cuisine. This is delicious. This is quite good.

“My dear, beautiful maid,” he called out, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Could you please get me some more of this?”

“As you wish, sir.”

“And this. And this one too. My, you are such an attentive and wonderful maid.”

That’s right. Ard was taking full advantage of the situation, a petty act of rebellion to soothe his wounded soul. Yexi continued to serve him, her smile never faltering. Give this guy an inch and he thinks he’s a king! She couldn’t very well smash a plate in his face in front of her masters, so she could only maintain her professional smile and provide impeccable, if menacing, service. The Lady noticed their little standoff, an amused expression on her face as she watched Ard’s valiant efforts to eat and Yexi’s valiant efforts to supply.

Just as Ard felt he was about to burst, Klieg shot to his feet, slammed his hand on the table, and drunkenly slurred, “Everyone! Look over here! I… I have a big announcement to make!”

“Young Master, you’re drunk. Let me help you to your room,” Elienla said, rushing to his side as he swayed unsteadily.

“No!” Klieg pushed past the table and stumbled over to Elienla.

“Ah!” she cried out as Klieg grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. He shouted, his voice ringing with liquid courage, “Father, Mother! I… I know you might object, but I can’t stand it anymore! I’m going to marry Elienla! My mind is made up, and I won’t accept any objections!”

Lady Trefle shot to her feet, her expression suddenly, theatrically serious. “Are you certain, Klieg?!”

“Yes! I’m certain!” he declared firmly.

“And you, Elienla?”

Elienla bit her lip, then her resolve hardened. “My Lady, the Young Master and I are truly in love. Though I know I…”

“Oh!” The Lady leaped into the air with a joyful cry that shook the chandeliers. “Wonderful! I’ve been waiting for this moment for… how many years? Let me see, hmm, almost five years! Confetti! Cake! Music! Blessings for you both, where are you!”

The next moment, joyous music erupted from hidden minstrels. A group of maids and butlers wheeled in a towering cake, applauding enthusiastically. Outside, the cheers and blessings of the entire city’s residents erupted in a deafening roar.

“Congratulations, congratulations!”

“May you have a son soon!”

“May you grow old together!”

…

Klieg and Elienla stood frozen in the center of the storm, completely and utterly stunned.

“Mother,” Klieg stammered, “you… you don’t object?”

“Object? Why would I object? You are my child, and Elienla is my dear child as well. I am so incredibly happy!” The Lady rushed over and hugged them both in a crushing embrace. “You must have many children. Mama is so bored at home.”

Still reeling, Klieg looked to the nominal head of the Trefle household. “Father, you don’t object either?”

Stare! (A death glare of apocalyptic proportions from the Lady.)

Lord Trefle panicked. He had intended to act with paternal authority, but he immediately caved. “You silly boy, don’t be ridiculous. Me? Object? Of course not. Just listen to your mother. That’s right, look at your mother, don’t look at me.”

“So that’s how it is. The Lady is the mastermind.” Ard marveled at the scene. “That death glare… Like master, like maid. So that’s a real death glare.”

Clink. Another plate, piled high with roasted meats, was placed silently in front of Ard.

Yexi’s voice, laced with the chill of the abyss, drifted to his ears.

“Your food, Mr. Guest. Also, could you please explain what you meant by ‘like maid’? What kind of person do you think I am?”

Ard swallowed hard. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut? He turned his head and met Yexi’s captivating eyes. So beautiful, even if his existence in them had now been downgraded from primordial sludge to something that didn’t even register on the scale of life.

Yexi smiled sweetly, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Please, look me in the eye and answer.”

“Beautiful!” The word flew out without hesitation. Ard gave that smile a perfect ten. “Lovely, dignified, and graceful. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were a noble princess from some faraway kingdom, as pure and proud as the moon…”

Ard exhausted his vocabulary of praise, a desperate, fumbling attempt to cover his mistake. But judging by the cold, indifferent look in her eyes, it wasn’t working.

“My, my. I had no idea our guest thought so highly of our Xi-chan,” the mastermind Lady said, appearing suddenly behind Yexi and hugging her. She teased Ard from over Yexi’s shoulder, her eyes dancing with mischief.

Ard said righteously, “I am merely speaking the truth. I’ve never been one for telling lies.”

“Mr. Guest, I think you should learn,” Yexi said coldly. “My Lady, please stop nuzzling me. Didn’t you invite the townspeople? You should go greet them properly.”

“Puff, Xi-chan is so cold. Well then, I’ll leave this guest in your care.” And without waiting for an answer, the Lady pushed her still-confused son and Elienla out to receive the crowd’s blessings.

“Well, I’m about full, so I think I’ll be leaving now.”

Sensing his doom approaching, Ard tried to slip away, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder with surprising strength.

Yexi smiled. “Mr. Guest, perhaps you should have your ears checked. The Lady just asked me to take care of you. Besides, the real party is just beginning. You can’t leave without permission. It wouldn’t do for me to be accused of poor service, now would it? As that kind of maid.”

A cold sweat broke out on Ard’s back. He truly couldn’t eat another bite, but he had a feeling reality wasn’t going to care about his feelings. He desperately looked for a lifeline. Look, what’s this? Isn’t that the Lord of the Trefle family? Although he was supposed to be the host of the banquet, it was clear that with a certain someone in high spirits, that role no longer belonged to him. He was sitting silently at his seat, drinking alone, a forgotten king in his own castle.

“Marquis, allow me to raise a glass to you!”

Ard had successfully changed fronts, moving to the one place at the table Yexi could not touch. Ard’s great, and perhaps final, victory.