Chapter 818: The Time Gap
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 818: The Time Gap
"Young Master Muen, the Head Maid is very terrifying."
"Hmph," Muen snorted with disdain.
"Young Master Muen, Miss Ariel is very terrifying."
"Heh," Muen scoffed.
"Young Master Muen, when the two of them fight, it’s even more terrifying."
"Alright, that’s enough out of you."
Muen frowned, finally stopping Noah from continuing her incessant chatter about how scary An and Ariel were, which had started the moment they left Marquis Angus’s estate.
Terrifying?
How terrifying could they be?
Don't they both end up tearfully begging for mercy and softening up once they're in bed?
Having just emerged victorious over Ariel the night before, Muen felt like he was standing very tall today, and his resolve was rock-solid!
It was just a little spat. Watch him handle these two disobedient girls in a matter of minutes...
BOOM!
The moment Muen pushed the door open, a massive chunk of debris came hurtling toward him. It grazed his cheek by a hair’s breadth before slamming directly into the ground beside him.
"..."
The stinging sensation on his skin lingered. Muen’s cheek twitched as he glanced sideways.
As the dust cleared, he realized it wasn't just a random rock—it looked suspiciously like that marble sculpture in the garden his father loved so much.
Supposedly, that sculpture was the work of some abstract artist, famous for its bizarre style and profound meaning that was incomprehensible to ordinary people. Regardless of the "profound meaning," Muen had never been able to make sense of its complex structure and indescribable shape.
Now, it was even harder to understand, because only a mangled half remained. As for the other half...
Patter, patter, patter...
The stone shards raining down like hail were likely what was left of it.
"No way..."
Muen was instantly dumbfounded. "You call this a fight?"
"Huh?"
The little maid asked in confusion, "If this isn't a fight, what is it?"
"This is total demolition!"
Muen charged into the mansion.
In an instant, waves of scorching heat and icy chills—like the two poles of the world—seeped into his pores, violently stimulating every sense in his body. A berserk aura trampled toward him like a stampede of buffalo across the grasslands. Even the weather seemed affected by the low pressure here; while all of Belland was clear and sunny, dark clouds loomed exclusively over the Duke’s Estate.
The maids were huddled in corners, trembling. Above the mansion, two beautiful figures stood facing each other across the air. Sparks seemed to fly where their gazes met—unfortunately, this wasn't some romantic scene of wind and moonlight, but a shitshow of intertwined killing intent and fury.
"Little firecracker, admit defeat and get out of the Duke’s Estate now, and I might just spare your life," An said coldly. Steel condensed into a giant serpent beneath her feet; every sway of its body kicked up countless shards of debris. However, her primary means of attack this time was no longer just the Steel Divine Blessing—a torrential Fighting Spirit swirled around her, its power staggering.
"Who are you calling a firecracker? You’re the firecracker! Your whole family are firecrackers!"
Facing An’s intimidation, Ariel didn't show the slightest hint of fear. Her brows arched as she snapped back, "How about you get out? I might spare your life, too."
"I am the Head Maid of the Duke’s Estate. On what grounds should I leave?"
"I was personally invited in by Muen. What right do you have to tell me to get lost?"
"Heh."
An sized Ariel up with a mocking gaze. "Shameless. Don't you prefer women?"
"Who—who’s shameless?! Whether I like men or women, what does it have to do with you?"
Ariel’s face flushed red as she shouted angrily, "You’re the one who’s shameless! You’re clearly a maid, yet you’re fooling around with your own master..."
"Shut up! I’m going to strip you naked, you little firecracker!"
"I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!"
BOOM!
Fire and steel, Fighting Spirit against Fighting Spirit—two titanic forces collided once again.
As Muen drew closer, he watched one familiar object after another turn to dust in the aftershocks of their clash.
"Ah! Father’s favorite flower!"
"Ah! Father’s favorite tree!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Father’s favorite fountain!"
Watching these things meet their destruction one by one... though their monetary value was negligible to the estate as a whole, Muen’s heart couldn't help but seize painfully.
He had indeed done plenty of spendthrift things lately, but even now, he didn't dare imagine...
Just how high his father’s blood pressure would spike when he saw this.
It would probably be higher than the tallest clock tower in Belland.
No, he couldn't let these two keep doing whatever they wanted. As the current master of the Duke’s Estate, he had to stop this.
"Enough!"
Muen roared in a deep voice, "Both of you, stop right now!"
"Hmm?"
The two of them turned their heads slightly.
An’s beautiful face remained elegant and serene, but it was now tinged with a cold, murderous intent, making her look dangerously seductive—like a poisonous flower of incomparable beauty.
Ariel had already reined in her previous anger. Her expression was incredibly calm, her eyes as deep as the sea. But Muen, who knew her well, realized that she was now completely serious—her most dangerous state...
"Ha... haha..."
Muen shuddered. His previously straight back went limp again. A handsome, peaceful smile forced its way onto his face as he said in a gentle, soft tone:
"What I wanted to say was... please stop fighting. If you keep going... it doesn't matter if you damage the plants or my father’s collection, but if you hurt yourselves, that would be terrible. My heart would break."
"..."
"..."
Muen’s words acted like a pause button, causing both of them to momentarily freeze.
But just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Noah, who was following behind him, suddenly tugged on his sleeve like an idiot.
"Young Master, Young Master! Didn't you say you were going to spank the Head Maid and Miss Ariel to let them know who the real master of the Duke’s Estate is? Why haven't you started yet?"
"..."
Noah!
Muen was so angry his blood nearly flowed backward.
This silly girl, why couldn't she read the room?
He had said he was going to spank them, and he had said he’d show them who was boss, but clearly, now was not the time!
Couldn't she have waited a bit?
Couldn't she have picked a different place?
A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall [garbled text].
A real man knows when to be soft and when to be hard!
Unfortunately, Muen didn't have time to lecture the little maid. Upon hearing those words, Ariel’s eyebrows shot up.
"Oh? Spanking? Master?"
She sneered, "Why don't you come and try it right now?"
"Who? Who said that?"
Muen put on a stern face. "I never said any such thing!"
"Eh? But Young Master, didn't you... mmmph!"
Muen clamped his hand over Noah’s mouth and signaled the other maids to quickly drag this idiot away, or else the entire Duke’s Estate would be destroyed by her big mouth.
Once the threat from his "teammate" was removed, Muen finally exhaled. He hurried forward and grabbed both of their hands.
"How could I ever hit you? You are both the most important people to me, my treasures. I wouldn't dream of hurting you."
"Eww—"
Ariel shuddered, her skin crawling with goosebumps. "So cheesy. Disgusting."
"What do you mean cheesy?"
Muen looked into her eyes. "These are my true feelings."
"That makes it even cheesier, okay?!"
Ariel bared her teeth. Muen’s sentimental act made her very uncomfortable.
An, however, squeezed Muen’s hand back and said affectionately, "I believe the Young Master."
"See? An is still the—"
"That is why I will clear out these pests at any cost. These pests don't deserve the Young Master’s love..."
An turned cold again, her beautiful eyes filled with killing intent as she looked at Ariel. Ariel, naturally unwilling to back down, glared back fiercely.
"Alright, alright, stop it."
Cold sweat dripped down Muen’s forehead. He quickly interrupted An to stop her from saying anything else dangerous.
"You are both the people I love most, understand? I can't stand to see either of you get hurt, understand?"
"Young Master, I was just cleaning up the pe—"
"An."
Muen interlaced his fingers with An’s. "Stop, okay?"
"[Indecipherable mumbling]..."
"Hmph."
Ariel curled her lip and muttered, "I was the one who wanted to start a beautiful girl harem, but it ended up with you having the harem instead. You’re feeling pretty smug right now, aren't you?"
"Of course."
Faced with Ariel’s sour remark, Muen nodded candidly. "Very smug."
"You..."
"Because you are both one-in-a-million wonderful girls."
Muen said seriously, "Because of that, I feel like the luckiest man in the world."
"...That’s just too despicable."
Unable to resist the sincerity and heat in Muen’s eyes, Ariel looked away and whispered, "Damn you, Muen Campbell..."
"Yes, I’m despicable, I’m shameless."
Muen struck while the iron was hot, pulling the two of them a little closer. "So let’s call a truce for now. Come on, put away your weapons, pull back your Fighting Spirit, and go take a bath and change your clothes. When you come out, I’ll have dinner with you. Look at you, you’re both covered in dust."
"...Fine."
"Hmph!"
...
Seeing the two of them finally cease fire and leave, Muen let out a long sigh of relief.
Although many of his father’s favorite things had been sacrificed, at least the situation hadn't escalated to the point of no return.
In that case, the sacrifices were worth it.
"Don't worry, Father. I’ll do my best to repair everything before you get back."
Muen pressed his palms together and prayed to the Goddess.
He hoped his father wouldn't be able to tell that all his favorite things had been patched back together when he returned.
"Quick, quick, quick! Go prepare dinner! A candlelit dinner! Make it romantic!"
After his symbolic prayer, Muen hurried to instruct the maids to get tonight’s dinner ready.
He needed to have dinner with An and Ariel to solidify his victory.
"Are we setting up a candlelit dinner for three?" Noah asked.
"Stupid!"
Muen gave the little maid a sharp flick on the forehead. "In this situation, if I try to have dinner with both at once, do you think the shitshow isn't exciting enough? A candlelit dinner for two—set up two of them!"
"Huh?"
Noah was stunned. "Two? How are you going to do that? Do you know a cloning spell, Young Master?"
"Why would I need a cloning spell? To cuck myself?"
Muen said with a straight face, "I’ve simply done a bit of planning."
"What planning?" Noah was still completely baffled.
"Why do you think I told them to go take a bath?" Muen asked.
"Because..." Noah thought for a moment. "Because they’re dirty right now?"
"Stupid! It’s to create a time gap!"
Muen gave her another flick. "An is efficient. Combined with her usual maid duties, she always bathes very quickly; she can finish in about fifteen minutes. Ariel isn't the type to soak for ages either, but she’s completely unfamiliar with the Duke’s Estate’s luxury bathing facilities. As long as no one helps her, she’ll waste a massive amount of time on it. It’ll take her at least an hour to finish. Do you get it now? That is the time gap!"
"Ah... I—I get it!"
Noah nodded, looking at her young master with utter shock.
It seemed there was a reason the Young Master was loved by so many girls. At least when it came to being a scum man... he was incredibly talented!
"If you get it, why aren't you working?"
Muen adjusted his bowtie and took a deep breath.
"You lot go to work. I... have a battle of my own to fight."