Chapter 110
Chapter 110
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Winding Down with Lize
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Huaaah..."
"Are you very tired...?"
"Yeah, super tired."
I hadn't done much today, or so it seemed, but I still felt exhausted. The day had felt incredibly long.
Just the entrance ceremony and the class assignment exam, nothing more, yet it had worn me out completely.
"Lize, could you grab those documents on the desk for me?"
"Of course."
"Oh, no need for all of them—just the ones on top."
I made the casual request to Lize and stayed sprawled on the bed.
The documents I'd asked for were files on the new students entering with me this time, specifically the ones about the more notable freshmen.
Like the eldest daughter of the Nordal family I'd seen today, or the two saintesses... all of them were popular, famous girls.
Of course, there probably weren't any freshmen more famous than Nordal and the saintesses.
The saintesses might be less known since they're, well, saintesses... but Nordal was definitely the most famous, right?
Though it probably had nothing to do with me.
"Hmm... Lize, this girl was ridiculously pretty."
"Who do you mean?"
"Ivana Nordal from the Nordal family. First time seeing her in person today, and she was stunning."
Still lying on the bed, I brought it up to Lize.
She'd spent the whole day waiting quietly in the dormitory room, so she had no idea what had happened at the ceremony or the exam.
I wanted to tell her all about it, what had gone down.
"White hair—it's like the first time I've ever seen it. So fascinating. Have you ever seen white hair, Lize?"
"...No."
"Then we have to run into her while wandering the academy sometime."
"......"
"It felt totally different from blonde. Hmm... just so intriguing."
I'd known Ivana Nordal was pretty and had white hair, but seeing white hair in real life was genuinely amazing.
I'd seen black, red, blue, and blonde hair plenty, but white hair? Never. I had to talk about it.
"I see..."
"Yeah. No wonder the file mentions how pretty Ivana is. The freshmen were all gushing over her."
"........"
"I haven't seen the saintesses yet... Hmm... but I don't really want to meet them."
"Is that so...?"
"Yeah."
Meeting or bumping into the Nordal duke's daughter seemed fine. But the saintesses? Not so much.
They were insanely famous, saintesses of a major religion, after all.
Not just some family daughter—they were the ones blessed by gods, under divine protection, all that jazz.
Getting tangled up with them would spell trouble in an instant.
Sure, messing up with the strongest duke's family in the North would be bad too, but surely better than religion?
"Hmm... I always think this, but these adult nobles' kids have so little info compared to others."
I grumbled a bit while flipping through the files.
Seriously, there was barely anything. Hardly any useful details to glean from reading them.
Better than nothing, I guess...
"Sigh. Lize?"
"Yes, Young Lady."
"Hmm..."
I set the documents aside and looked at Lize.
She was diligently tending to our tiny dormitory room, which didn't need much cleaning. She'd probably tidied up alone while I was at the ceremony.
Why was she still fussing over it?
And she looked a bit down, too.
"Stop what you're doing and come up on the bed."
"...Pardon?"
"Come on, just get up here."
"...?"
The room hadn't needed cleaning to begin with, and I hadn't messed anything up since coming back.
I just beckoned Lize closer.
I wasn't sure why, but she seemed off, and I was bored anyway.
"...What's wrong?"
"You've been working non-stop, right? It's just us here, and I feel bad seeing you in your maid uniform scrubbing away."
"That's really not necessary..."
"Nah, it's fine. You've been keeping it spotless since we arrived."
"......."
Lize was so neat and diligent there was nothing to clean.
Heck, I had no idea why she'd been cleaning so hard earlier.
"Hmm..."
"Why are you looking at me like that...?"
"Just because?"
I kept staring at Lize, and she stared back, asking that.
I'd looked at her plenty before, but her reaction was always the same.
Maybe I should be used to it by now, but nah—Lize's responses were too delicious.
"Hehe..."
"........"
Teasing Lize, who was older than me yet more bashful, was always fun.
I kept her as my maid because she was competent, diligent, and kind, but really, her cute reactions were irresistible.
"Lize, what should we do tomorrow? Ceremony's over, and classes haven't started yet."
"Whatever you want, Young Lady..."
"Then how about we just lie in bed all day and do nothing?"
"Well..."
"Why not?"
"...Nothing."
"What were you about to say? Why stop?"
I sat on the bed and hugged Lize from behind as I kept prodding.
Her ears were already bright red, and I was gleefully teasing her.
As always, poor Lize—who was weak to this stuff—could only endure it in silence.
Not that she could do anything about it.
"Hmm... but staying cooped up might not be great. We gotta eat lunch and dinner."
"...Yes."
I whispered into her ear while still hugging her from behind.
"So, what should we do tomorrow? What do you want? Hmm?"
"I'll do whatever you want..."
"Come on, not that. I'm asking what you really want to do."
"I mean it..."
Hmm... was this for real?
Her answer was identical to her usual ones, leaving me unsure.
Every time I asked what to do, she said this... it was confusing.
I'd asked nicely and followed up, so that should be enough, right?
"Then how about we go out on a date tomorrow?"
"A date...?"
"Yeah, just the two of us wandering around? I've been busy with ceremony prep and stuff, but tomorrow we've got nothing."
Date in name only, really.
It was basically the same as our usual outings with Lize.
"What do you think? We eat something tasty, walk around, do stuff you like—sound good?"
"........"
"I wanna do that. You?"
"If that's what you want..."
"Then it's settled?"
"...Yes."
I didn't know if Lize was naturally this passive or if it was because I was her lady.
She kept saying it was fine, no big deal.
So that should be okay, right?
"By the way, Lize, did you switch perfumes?"
I'd been hugging her from behind for a bit, and now...
A scent wafted from the nape of her neck, definitely not her usual one.
Not overly sweet, but subtle, soft, with a hint of sweetness.
A fresh, fragrant aroma, clearly different from normal.
"Oh, uh... yes..."
"This new one's great. So subtle yet fragrant."
"A maid I know gave it to me as a gift before coming to the academy..."
"Hmm... really? Who?"
"Just one of the younger maids, a junior. Back when she was in training, I helped her out..."
"Ah..."
Lize was my exclusive maid, but she was popular with others too.
Pretty, cute, kind—that was Lize. Of course.
"I see...?"
"Yes..."
Hmm... It had smelled nice earlier, but now it bugged me a little.
It was nothing, really nothing.
"Hmm..."
"Is something wrong...? Did I do something...?"
"No. Lize, you're not at fault. No problem at all."
"Then...?"
She truly hadn't done anything wrong.
She hadn't messed up, and the perfume suited her fine.
No real issue, but my mood soured anyway.
For real.
"Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady."
"You really like this new perfume you tried today?"
I asked while still hugging her from behind.
"Not that much... It's just sweet that a younger maid gave it to me. My old one ran out recently..."
"So?"
"I'm just grateful for the gift. Actually, today was the first time I tried it."
"I see?"
My mood lifted a bit.
My lips curved up without me noticing.
"Then, Lize."
"Yes, Young Lady."
"Keep today's perfume as a memento, and use mine instead? I brought plenty from home."
"...Pardon?"
Lize whipped her head around, which she'd kept turned away until now.
That surprising, huh?
"What? Don't like it?"
"No, but... I can't use yours, Young Lady. I'm just your maid..."
"Psh. It's fine. Not that expensive anyway. When we go out, I just spritz extra a couple times. No big deal."
"......."
From behind, I wrapped my arms around her lower abdomen and whispered into her ear.
She protested at first—no, that wouldn't do—but I kept insisting it was okay until she finally agreed.
It was from a junior maid, after all—a maid's gift.
Compared to the high-end one I used and offered to share, this was cheaper and lower quality.
Probably good for Lize too, right?
Of course, even if she refused now, I'd make her use mine anyway.