Chapter 7: Are high heels an essential quality for a maid?

After yet another failure, Melina collapsed weakly onto the ground, her entire outfit drenched in sweat.

“M-Mother, I… I truly am so s-sorry, but I simply cannot…”

“Are you truly intending to give up just like this?”

Aida ignored her daughter’s plea.

Her expression was frigid, her tone stern as she declared, “The Radiant Knight you once idolized has now become your Companion Spirit Weapon.

Your deepest wish has been granted.

The sole price for this is merely sharing her pain.

And yet, you intend to abandon it already?

Or perhaps… you regret it?

Do you regret forging this contract with her?”

She then cast her gaze upon Merlo, who stood nearby with a worried expression.

“Should you truly regret this, I can arrange for the dissolution of your contract with her, allowing her to revert to a rogue spirit.

However, in that event, she would be of no further use to us.

The Esbelle family would naturally have no reason to keep her in our home, not even as a mere maidservant.”

Melina listened to her mother’s biting words.

A wry smile touched her pale face.

“Mother, why must you speak with such cruelty?

I know you would never truly do such a thing.

Do not your very words reveal that you wish for Merlo to stay, and even more so, that you do not wish for me to give up?”

Bracing herself on her knees, she struggled to stand once more, only to stumble and nearly collapse again.

Fortunately, Merlo was quick-witted and nimble, swiftly catching Melina’s plummeting body.

“Thank you,” Melina murmured apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I… I never imagined it would hurt this much.”

Upon returning home, Melina had immediately brought Merlo to her mother.

Through their conversation, she had learned the full story, finally understanding why Merlo, once the revered Radiant Knight, had become the Merlo she now knew.

She naturally dismissed the League’s absurd news reports as utter nonsense.

As for the Radiant Knight now becoming her Companion Spirit Weapon, ‘elated’ hardly began to cover it—Melina felt as though she were living in a dream!

Having grown up listening to the Radiant Knight’s tales, holding her as a lifelong idol and aspiration, Melina now found that, through an unforeseen twist of fate, this very person had become her Companion Spirit Weapon.

The sheer joy of her dream coming true made her feel as though she could simply soar!

However, the resonance training that followed immediately thereafter had brutally yanked her back down to earth from her heavenly bliss.

Thorn’s Kiss.

As a student of the Knight Academy, Melina was naturally well aware of this most severe torment for Spirit Masters.

Upon learning that her mother intended for her to share Merlo’s pain, Melina had confidently patted her chest, making a solemn vow.

Yet, the outcome was…

She had not succeeded even once.

She had never imagined that the process of resonating with Merlo to manifest the [Manifested Armor] would be so excruciatingly painful!

The ravages inflicted upon her body by Thorn’s Kiss felt akin to red-hot brands searing her very nerves!

And she… she had only intended to manifest the gauntlet for her right arm.

Melina gazed at Merlo, her eyes filled with profound pity.

“I’m sorry, I… I was too dismissive before.

I had no idea you were enduring such agony.”

Melina only felt pain in her right hand, yet Merlo, who had transformed into the gauntlet, had to endure the suffering of her entire being.

Moreover, thanks to Merlo’s care, Melina had only experienced one-tenth of that torment.

Aida observed her daughter’s condition and sighed.

She then turned to Merlo and inquired, “How do you feel? Can you continue?”

Merlo’s complexion was also somewhat pale, her forehead, too, dotted with fine beads of sweat.

After all, the pain she endured far surpassed Melina’s.

However, having survived the most brutal battlefields, her tolerance for pain was utterly incomparable to that of the pampered Melina.

Merlo nodded.

“I am fine, but I believe Miss Melina should rest.”

“I’m fine! I… I can continue!

I apologize for my cowardly words just now; please forget them!”

Melina insisted.

Merlo, however, shook her head.

“No one understands this pain better than I do.

It is a dual torment, both physical and spiritual.

Therefore, continuing now would only cause Miss Melina to suffer needlessly, and would not aid in improving our resonance in the slightest.”

Having spoken, she looked towards Aida, seeking the family head’s opinion.

Seeing this, Aida no longer pressed the matter.

After all, in this particular domain, Merlo was indeed the ultimate authority.

Furthermore…

Though she had become obsessive in her quest for vengeance, that did not mean she felt no heartache when witnessing her daughter’s suffering.

“Very well then… let us conclude for today.

Melina, you should prepare for rest after you’ve washed up.

This is also so you can be in a better state tomorrow.”

Next, she turned to Merlo and said, “Merlo, come with me.

Though you have become Nana’s Companion Spirit Weapon, you are still an Esbelle maidservant on a daily basis.

There are certain essential maidservant skills you must still learn.”

Merlo bowed slightly and replied, “Yes, Madam.”

Melina had recovered somewhat by this point.

She asked curiously, “Mother, where are you taking Merlo?”

Aida pushed open the door and exited without looking back, leaving only a single statement in her wake: “Naturally, it is to help her swiftly integrate into her role as a maidservant.”

****

“Madam, is this… truly the essential skill you spoke of, one that every maidservant must master?”

Merlo’s legs trembled slightly, her body swaying precariously as she struggled to maintain her balance.

At this very moment, her feet were clad in a pair of exquisite black high heels.

Having abruptly switched from flat leather shoes to high heels, Merlo, who had never worn such footwear before, found herself struggling to master them.

“What’s wrong?

Can it be that the esteemed Radiant Knight cannot even manage a pair of high heels?” Aida teased, a wide smile gracing her face.

“This is clearly just… your personal preference, Madam!” Merlo struggled to respond.

“Furthermore, even if you… say that, it’s not something one can immediately master through mere provocation—Ah!”

She suddenly let out a startled cry, her hands flailing wildly in the air.

She barely managed to steady herself by grabbing the nearby table, narrowly avoiding a fall.

Merlo lifted her gaze to Aida, a hint of resentment in her eyes.

“Madam… please don’t play tricks, alright?”

Just moments before, Aida had mischievously poked Merlo’s waist as she struggled to maintain her balance.

The instant Aida’s finger made contact with the soft flesh of that slender waist, even through the maidservant uniform, an intense ticklish sensation instantly shattered Merlo’s hard-won equilibrium.

“Hehe, I’m so sorry!

It’s just that you’re so adorable, Merlo, I suddenly felt like playing a little prank.

Please forgive me, I beg you~!”

As she spoke, Madam Aida, a woman with a seventeen-year-old daughter, gave Merlo a rather playful wink.

Merlo wore an utterly speechless expression.

She sighed.

She steadied herself against the table and stood once more.

Perhaps Madam’s playful poke had somehow opened her Du and Ren Meridians (TL Note: Referring to two vital energy channels in traditional Chinese medicine, often used metaphorically to describe a sudden breakthrough or enlightenment.), allowing her to instantly grasp a bit of the technique for walking in high heels.

In any case, the Merlo who stood again was no longer as wobbly as before.

She seemed to have somewhat tamed the high heels, whose stiletto-thin heels were no thicker than a pinky finger.

“Now, take this, and walk over here.” Aida placed a tray holding a teacup full of black tea into Merlo’s hands.

She then stepped back a few paces.

‘It’s gone from normal mode straight to hell difficulty in an instant!’