"Hm?"
Elianna seemed to notice Karin's glance and turned her head with a smile.
"Karin-san, you've looked at me a few times in a row. I-is it because you're nervous?"
"Nervous? Maybe." Karin sighed softly. "But more than that… I think I'm lost about what comes next."
She exhaled, then spoke to Elianna with genuine sincerity.
"Elianna… thank you for coming with me~"
"It's nothing. If you want, I can come with you again next time, too~" Elianna replied with a gentle smile.
"Next time, huh~~~"
Elianna's words—and her experience—gave Karin at least a sliver of reassurance. Maybe the king wasn't just "playing around."
But considering he'd had her come together with Elianna, Karin still couldn't swear he would take responsibility for anything. After all… what if he simply wanted two maids present at once?
Realizing there was no point spiraling, Karin forced herself to drop the topic.
"Still… His Majesty really is perverted," she muttered. "He had other sleepwear to choose from, but he insisted we come in maid uniforms… I can't even guess why…"
As she spoke, her fingertips unconsciously twisted the lace edging of her apron, betraying how much she cared about the reason Akuto insisted on it.
Truthfully, she already had her own theory—but she didn't say it out loud, wanting to test what Elianna thought first.
Beside her, Elianna tilted her head, as airheaded as ever.
"Why would Akuto-sama want us to wear maid uniforms? Um… because maid uniforms are cute?"
"And Akuto-sama said that, to him, maid uniforms are the outfit that suits us best~" Elianna blinked those clear blue eyes innocently, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt like she meant to present her prettiest self to Akuto.
Karin couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"Elianna, you don't understand the point," she whispered, lowering her voice. Her green eyes flickered under the corridor lights with a mix of slyness and helplessness.
"Wearing a maid uniform during the day to serve him is one thing. But even at night, when—when we're being summoned…" She trailed off, her pale cheeks flushing with suspicious heat.
Elianna tilted her head in confusion.
"But Lady Erika said Akuto-sama's obsession with maid uniforms is because of the 'cultural influence' from his homeland…"
Karin remembered that question coming up earlier, too. After all, Elianna had asked him directly while Erika and Akuto were alone—because last night she'd seen something that left her shaken, with Elianna still in her maid uniform the whole time.
Akuto's answer then had been "Japan's cultural influence," and that he liked uniform roleplay.
All of a sudden, Elianna seemed to remember something. She lifted one finger.
"Ah! Speaking of which, Akuto-sama even prepared a maid outfit for me where the front hem is a little shorter~ He said it makes it easier to move… and easier for him to see me clearly."
See her clearly? See what clearly? Karin reflexively thought.
And in the blink of an eye, she understood exactly what Elianna meant.
Before Karin could say another word, Elianna activated the holy cross Akuto had given her and used a teleportation spell.
"Whum—"
Golden light flashed.
When it faded, Elianna was wearing the maid uniform she'd mentioned—the one with a shorter front hem.
"Hah…"
Karin let out a breath without realizing it.
Because it was only a little shorter. Not the ridiculous, shameless thing Karin's imagination had immediately conjured.
"Karin, do you want Akuto-sama to have one made for you, too? Something like mine?" Elianna asked, turning in place as the skirt swayed.
"N-no, I…" Karin took an instinctive half-step back. "I think this is fine. Like this."
If she was ever going to adjust anything, she'd rather decide after tonight.
At the very least, before she faced Akuto in private, she wanted to be herself—exactly as she was.
"You don't want one? But… Karin's legs are really pretty," Elianna said, entirely earnest. "And today Akuto-sama even said your ankles are the most delicate he's ever seen~"
As she spoke, Elianna suddenly reached toward Karin's skirt—then tugged upward with a quick, mischievous motion.
Karin yelped and stumbled back so hard she bumped into the corridor pillar, face going scarlet as she yanked her skirt back down and fixed her outfit in a flurry.
"E-Elianna, you idiot! What are you doing?! You can't just do that to a girl! When did you turn into this kind of… naughty maid?!"
She straightened her bow tie, then huffed as she re-centered it and tightened the green gemstone brooch at her collar.
When she looked up, Elianna was watching her with a strangely playful smile.
"Karin-san… you're the one who put so much effort into your look. And you're going to call me shameless?"
"Maybe it's just my taste," Elianna added, nodding solemnly, "but I think Akuto-sama will definitely like you when you've dressed up this carefully~"
Karin went quiet, fingers unconsciously winding around a lock of hair.
In the end, she didn't scold Elianna further. Elianna was still trying to comfort her, after all, and Karin simply… let the moment pass.
As they drew closer to Akuto's room, muffled sounds drifted through the door—sounds the two of them recognized all too well.
Karin's steps stalled.
She pressed her lips together, frozen in place, staring down at the tips of her feet wrapped in black stockings.
"Ka-rin-san?" Elianna turned back and took her hand, smiling.
"If you feel shy, I can go in first and show you how it's done, okay~?"
"…"
After a few seconds of silence, Karin inhaled slowly and looked at Elianna with a softness she'd never shown her before.
She realized something then: Elianna's gentleness and cluelessness—paired with the flashes of mischief and sharpness Karin had just seen—made her far more dangerous than she looked.
Karin's own brand of "mischief" only worked on genuinely kind, gentle people—like Liliana, Elianna, even Erika.
But in front of a Godslayer, being too clever, too sharp, could invite trouble.
So Karin had always kept that side of herself tightly leashed.
Elianna was different. She simply lived as herself, mistakes and all, and people were inclined to tolerate her.
And judging by the fact Akuto had summoned her again today… he seemed to like her exactly the way she was.
As for Karin…
Karin didn't dare show her true self in front of him.
In the end, she straightened her spine like someone accepting a sentence. She smoothed every fold of her skirt, adjusted her lace cuffs into perfect curves, and finally tucked a loose strand of hair neatly behind her ear—each movement carrying an almost ceremonial gravity.
"Mm. Thank you, Elianna… but it's okay. I can handle it myself~"
She lifted her chin, looking like her usual confident, sly self again—except the faint tremor in her voice betrayed her nerves.
…
The reason for that tremor was simple.
In that brief pause, Karin had suddenly realized something crucial—and she'd made a decision that felt far too heavy for her to carry.
"Click."
The moment they reached the door, Akuto's room opened on its own.
As the door swung wide, they finally saw what those sounds had been—Lucrezia Zola, the Witch of Sardinia, in her violet dress, leaning unsteadily against Akuto as the aftermath of a private ritual still clung to the air.
Her chestnut hair spilled like a curtain, catching the moonlight and scattering it in shifting patterns across Akuto's body as she moved.
Noticing the door, Lucrezia turned her gaze toward them, eyes sharpening with curiosity. When she saw the two maids had arrived as instructed, she arched a brow and pulled her expression together with visible effort.
"Ara~ And here I thought I smelled something… Isn't this the adorable little maid?"
It was clear Lucrezia was trying to maintain her image.
Akuto, however, had no intention of waiting.
He tightened his grip, murmured something too low for Karin to catch, and in the next instant Lucrezia's resistance melted away. Her body went limp, and she slumped unconscious against him, drained by whatever bloodline art he'd just applied.
At the same time, the door behind Karin and Elianna eased shut with a soft, final click—sealing the two maids inside the room.
Out in the hallway, only a faint trace of perfume remained, and the quiet carpet that had swallowed the sound of their footsteps.
(End of Chapter)
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