Maid, Kiss Me

I wonder what Leidi, holding me in her arms, was feeling right now?

As for me—

I felt like I was going to be sick…

From the moment Leidi said “begin,” something unseen yet palpable began to shift. My body was gripped by a peculiar pulling sensation, like being seized by the feet and spun relentlessly in place. A bit like a giant pinwheel, I suppose.

Of course, that was the only change I could perceive. The scenery around us was still the same empty room, with Sister Ruka watching us with a gentle smile. We hadn’t entered the “Corridor”…

“Ah… looks like they don’t plan on letting me succeed on the first try,” Leidi said with a self-deprecating laugh, lifting her head.

“Did it fail…?” I asked, gently slipping out of her embrace with a disappointed look.

“Don’t be so down. It took me nearly a month to learn how to enter the ‘Corridor.’ Besides, your situation is so unique. Let’s just take it slow and figure it out.”

Sister Ruka’s comforting words seemed a little forced, as if she were putting on a smile…

‘It took her almost a month to learn. If Leidi had succeeded just now—in less than a few hours… Wow, from her perspective as a senior, that would have been pretty awkward…’

“Hey, why don’t we take a break in the garden? This is surprisingly tiring, though not in a physical way,” Leidi said, slumping against me again as if exhausted.

“That’s because I’m the one handling the physical part of the labor…” I grumbled, gently pushing her head away as she tried to lean on me.

“You two really are close,” Sister Ruka observed, a meaningful smile gracing her lips.

Leidi and I exchanged a brief glance, and we both smiled faintly. She was right. We were incredibly close.

“Oh, right, we should pick up these ball pit balls first. I’d feel bad making the maids clean all this up,” I said, looking at the dense carpet of plastic balls covering the floor. I could already imagine how tired the maids would be.

“Sure, but let me handle it~”

In an instant, the ocean of balls vanished from the room, accompanied by Leidi’s soft laugh. Then—

*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*

They all landed perfectly in the storage box in the distance!

“A genius! I concede!” Sister Ruka exclaimed, pressing her palms together in front of her head in a gesture of surrender, a defeated smile on her face.

Leidi really was amazing…

“Sister Ruka, why don’t you go on ahead to the garden? I just need to give the maids a few instructions, then Colt and I will join you.”

“Alright. Don’t be too long, you two.”

With that, Sister Ruka turned and left the room, leaving just Leidi and me behind.

“What instructions do you need to give?”

Leidi was still draped over me, refusing to get off, making me practically drag her along.

“To tell those maids not to be so formal with you anymore. That they can be as casual as they want~”

“Huh?”

I froze for a moment, not quite understanding what she meant. What was this about?

“I’m just saying, you’re a young lady of the house, aren’t you? Could you try acting a little more like one? Are the maids you hired just for show?”

“…Well…”

So that’s what this was about… Was what I did wrong?

“But…”

“No buts. You need to recognize your position in this ‘Chrysalis’ Manor. You are the master here,” Leidi said, her tone growing serious, leaving no room for refusal.

“I’ll try my best…”

I just wasn’t used to this kind of hierarchical, commanding role…

“Hah~? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you~”

“Ngh—! I-I’ll do it! D-don’t blow in my ear!”

How cruel! Leidi had definitely noted down my weakness to having my ear blown on!

****

“Aah~”

I opened my mouth in bliss and took a bite of the enchanting matcha cake. Ah, I felt like I was melting. Princess’s skills were truly magnificent.

In the unique garden of the “Chrysalis” Manor, under the bright, radiant sun, Leidi, Sister Ruka, and I sat around an elegant glass table, leisurely enjoying our tea and sweets.

The matcha cake was something Leidi had asked a maid to buy from “Beethoven.” It was shaped like a sphere of green moss, and in terms of appearance alone, it completely outshone the skull chocolates and eyeball jellies from before. This was far cuter. And delicious, too.

“You know, you’ve got cream on the corner of your mouth,” Leidi remarked with a smile after taking an elegant sip of her tea.

“Hm? Here?” I put down my cake plate and wiped my mouth with my thumb.

“You’ve made a mess,” she said, shaking her head with a smile. She then used a napkin to gently wipe the cream from my lips.

‘This is so relaxing. If only every day could be like this.’

“Even though I don’t understand the Chinese you’re speaking, I feel like I can guess what you’re talking about,” Sister Ruka said, pulling the fork from her mouth and giving us a wink.

“Hehe~” we both chirped.

We returned her gesture with smiles of our own.

“Speaking of which, Sister Ruka, has Brother Mingdao never taught you Chinese?” I asked out of curiosity.

Somehow, my intuition told me that was impossible, so I figured she must understand at least a little.

“Number Two did teach me, but my pronunciation was so strange that I eventually gave up completely,” she explained, waving her hand in embarrassment.

“Why do you always call Brother Mingdao ‘Number Two,’ Sister Ruka?”

I’d always wondered why she never used his actual name. It felt odd. The only time I could recall her saying “Mingdao” was during Liliya’s prank.

“Can we not talk about it…?” A shy blush began to creep across Sister Ruka’s face.

“Well then, shall I take a guess this time?”

“Eh—?!”

Resting her chin on her hand, Leidi’s lips curved into a confident arc as she looked at Sister Ruka. Wow, had she already figured it out?!

“It’s because of the word ‘maid,’ isn’t it?”

“What?!”

Leidi’s words left me stunned. What did she mean? What did this have to do with a maid?!

“…Y-you’re right…”

Sister Ruka’s face puffed up like a blowfish! It was adorable!

No, wait! What on earth was going on?!

Leidi’s gaze shifted between Sister Ruka and me before she switched to Chinese. “Remember during Liliya’s prank? Sister Ruka said ‘Mingdao’ then, right? Her pronunciation was actually very close to the Japanese word for maid.”

“Huh? Was it…? Wait a second! That’s not a guess at all!”

That was just cheating with your memory!

“When I speak Chinese, I get tongue-tied. It’s quite embarrassing…” Sister Ruka mumbled, taking a sip of her tea to hide her flushed face.

Tongue-tied, huh… Hehe, I never would have guessed…

I tried to picture it—

There they were, Brother Mingdao and Sister Ruka, walking arm-in-arm down a bustling street, radiating love like a shower of pink hearts, creating sweet memories as a devoted couple. But beautiful moments are always fleeting. Under the hazy, crimson sunset, their figures became silhouettes against the fading light. At that moment, a lovestruck Sister Ruka puckered her lips at a shy, blushing Brother Mingdao and whispered, “Maid, kiss me.”

…

…

…

That would absolutely shatter the romantic atmosphere…

I wondered just how vast the resulting psychological trauma for Brother Mingdao must have been…

Speaking of which, what was the Japanese pronunciation for maid again?

Was it *meido* in hiragana? Or katakana?