Chapter 7: A Maid’s Misunderstanding

Ahrin’s original storyline in the game was a tragic one.

She only became a prominent character midway through, with no real events or combat role, remaining a background figure.

Even her appearances in Sayoreinne’s illustrations depicted her small, withdrawn, and with a tense expression.

Sayoreinne’s casual insults about Ahrin’s low birth and orphan status certainly fit the “villainess” role.

Despite this, Ahrin remained devoted, though her efforts went unappreciated and were met with mistreatment. She endured it all, time and again.

But everyone has a breaking point. Ahrin’s exhaustion played a significant role in Sayoreinne’s downfall and tragic end.

Ahrin’s story concluded with her disappearing, consumed by guilt and grief over betraying the lady she served.

A sad ending, and one I no longer need to know.

“M-Miss… I, I’m a commoner… and your maid… this kind of thing…”

“It’s alright. We’re alone here. No one will say anything.”

“But… But… It’s embarrassing…”

“…There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Ahrin.”

“Hee hee…”

Inside Sayoreinne’s dorm room, Sayo wasn’t exploiting her position to tease Ahrin; she was letting Ahrin use her lap as a pillow.

The reason? Since realizing that Ahrin was someone she felt comfortable around and could talk to easily, Sayo found her more endearing and wanted to become closer.

Meanwhile, Ahrin was flustered, once again resting her head on her mistress’s lap. Still, the gentle stroking of her mistress’s hand felt pleasant.

‘Wait. Why is Miss being so nice to me?’

Ahrin had only been with Sayo for a little over a week.

Back at the Marquisate, Ahrin found Sayo irritable, with an unsettling aura that made her seem intimidating and difficult to approach.

But at the academy, that atmosphere gradually dissipated, replaced by kindness, and now, an almost sisterly intimacy.

‘Were the things the Marquisate staff said just meant to tease me?’

To Ahrin, Sayoreinne, despite occasional moments of intimidation, was beautiful, elegant, and kind.

She didn’t resemble the ill-tempered, unpleasant person described by the Marquisate staff, someone who looked down on and mistreated others.

Stroking sounds

Ugh, sleepy… Ahrin was often scolded for being sleepy, both at the orphanage and during her training at the Marquisate. The gentle touch and the feel of Sayo’s thigh made her drowsy, but she didn’t want to be so disrespectful as to fall asleep on her mistress’s lap.

‘I already slept earlier today. I can stay awake this time.’

“Mmm…”

“Sleeping soundly, aren’t you?”

Despite her earlier resolve, Ahrin quickly fell asleep.

Sayo poked her soft, plump cheeks. The springy, soft texture was addictive.

Sayo didn’t have a clear explanation for the calmness and comfort she felt around Ahrin. She considered the differences between Ahrin and everyone else at the academy and the Marquisate. One difference stood out.

Sayoreinne had never interacted with Ahrin before.

That was the only difference Sayo could think of.

‘That seems to be the only reason for now.’

Back at the Marquisate, Sayo felt constantly irritated. The gazes of the staff were annoying and bothersome. That’s why she confined herself to her room. Even now, the memory of those judgmental stares made her seethe.

Back then, she spent every day trying to suppress her anger. As she’d said, simply being at the Marquisate was draining, so being with Ahrin hadn’t felt particularly comforting.

‘So I simply didn’t notice until now, and only realized it after coming to the academy?’

Come to think of it, she hadn’t felt uncomfortable on the magic train or at the restaurants outside the academy before the semester started.

‘This theory seems likely. I’ll know for sure if I go out of the academy this weekend.’

If her hypothesis was correct, it meant Sayoreinne had no issues with unfamiliar people, which wasn’t bad news. However, it seemed practically useless for her academy life.

Still, it wasn’t meaningless when considering the ‘future.’

‘If I can interact normally with strangers, it means I should eventually be able to do the same with familiar people, right? Let’s stay positive.’

With that thought, Sayo gently pulled and stretched Ahrin’s soft cheeks. They were so squishy and fun to play with.

“Mmm…”

Sayoreinne, the villain, and the protagonist were both in Class A.

Naturally, in the game, most of the events revolved around Class A, where the protagonist was.

The female romance options were the princess, Euru Minorus, the commoner Nell Soltren, and Ryu Sowol.

The male romance options were Lutz Forsgen and Tern Sephet. All five romance options were in Class A.

Other romance options were Leia Katarina and Astes Minorus in Class B, and Morrow Pal in Class C. There were no romance options in the other classes.

The Class A characters, being easier to build rapport with, were considered low to mid-difficulty. The characters in Classes B and C were mid to high-difficulty.

The game included same-s*x relationships, and in the game world, homosexuality wasn’t particularly stigmatized. ‘Truly a convenient fantasy world!’

…And that must be why Ahrin was saying these things.

While getting dressed for school, Sayo noticed Ahrin hesitating.

She seemed to have something to say but was struggling to voice it.

“Ahrin, is something bothering you?”

“Huh?! Oh, n-no…”

‘Ahrin really needs to work on her poker face.’

“Your face says otherwise. I’m here to listen, so feel free to tell me.”

After a moment of hesitation, Ahrin took a deep breath and spoke with a determined expression.

“D-do you… like me, My Lady…?”

Ahrin’s voice was hesitant and barely audible. The question itself was shocking.

“Excuse me?” ‘I must have misheard.’

“Like… letting me use your lap as a pillow! And touching me! Those are things couples do!”

“…Excuse me?”

‘Why do I keep hearing these strange things? And when did I touch Ahrin? I just stroked her hair a little…’

“Um… I-I don’t… dislike you, My Lady… but… could you give me some… time to think…?”

Ahrin’s flushed face and barely audible voice made the question even more shocking.

“…Excuse me?”

Thanks to Sayoreinne’s influence, Sayo had become adept at maintaining a dignified composure and a poker face.

But now, that facade crumbled.

The question was too sudden, too unexpected.

A surge of irritation welled up within Sayo. She flinched. This wasn’t Sayoreinne’s emotion.

So, first—

She grabbed the folded fan on her vanity,

And brought it down on Ahrin’s head.

—Whack!

“Ow!”

With a crisp sound, Ahrin yelped, clutching her head as she sank to the floor.

[TL Note: The “fan hitting” is a comedic moment, common in anime-style humor. It’s not serious violence but a playful reaction tied to Sayo’s tsundere persona.]

“Feeling a little more clear-headed now?”

Sayo was smiling, but not really. Her expression was undeniably ‘Sayoreinne’s.’ But Ahrin hadn’t earned her reputation for cluelessness for nothing.

“Waaah. Even if you, you resort to vi-violence, I still need to think about…”

Ahrin looked up, tears welling in her eyes, still spouting nonsense.

Sayo raised her hand again, her face cold.

Ahrin frantically covered her head with her arms, but—

—Smack!

“Urgh!”

This time, the fan struck Ahrin’s exposed forehead from below.

“Sigh… Ahrin. Come here. Let’s talk…”

Sayo slumped onto her vanity chair, feeling drained.

A maid sitting on the floor, clutching her forehead and head.

A mistress staring blankly at her, a look of exhaustion on her face.

This comical misunderstanding between mistress and maid was thankfully resolved before they left for the academy.

Sayo, contemplating whether she needed to be stricter with her maid, chuckled at the sight of the girl beaming and giggling at her.

But Ahrin’s smile suddenly froze, her finger pointing behind Sayo.

“M-M-Miss! A b-bug…!”

“What?”

Sayo turned to see a rather large, unidentified flying insect. The dormitory windows had fine mesh screens, but apparently, there was a hole.

“I-I’ll catch it, so please don’t move, Miss!”

Ahrin’s trembling didn’t inspire confidence, so Sayo decided to take care of it herself.

‘I thought she wouldn’t be afraid of bugs since she’s a commoner from an orphanage, but I guess I was wrong.’
As Sayo gathered mana in her fingertip, a small blue orb formed. She launched it at the insect clinging to the wall. Struck by the fast-moving, mana-infused projectile, the bug fell to the floor, either stunned or dead.

“A-Amazing, Miss!”

Sayo tore off a piece of tissue, intending to pick up the dead insect. But she felt a strong aversion to touching it, something she wouldn’t normally hesitate to do.

“…I’ll leave this to you, Ahrin.”

“Y-Yes!”

Despite her enthusiastic reply, Ahrin’s grimace made Sayo sigh. “As a guy, I should be doing this,” she grumbled internally, picking up the bug and tossing it in the trash.

‘But is it really right for me, the mistress, to be doing this instead of Ahrin, my maid?’

Looking at Ahrin beaming and thanking her, Sayo couldn’t help but smile back.

What does it matter?

A smiling face is better than a crying one, isn’t it?