After receiving such a wondrous gift from Lady Carolina, I can’t stay mad at her. It’s just like Aria said– she’s just bad with words. I forgave her the moment I tested the necklace for the first time.

It’s been hours since then, but I still can’t get enough of it. I keep injecting my mana into it to feel Aria’s heartbeat. It makes me feel like she is right here with me, even though she isn’t.

And the best part is, a lot of the time, it didn’t let me inject any mana. Which means that Aria was using her necklace at the same time. Hehe, I wonder what she might be thinking while feeling my heartbeat.

 

Also, I wanted to ask Aria about her talk with Sir Franklin, but I didn’t get any chance to do so. It probably wasn’t worth mentioning, considering Aria didn’t say anything to me, and they joined us shortly afterwards.

But judging by how he fled the room as soon as he arrived, maybe he tried something.... Nah, there is no way. He is famous for a certain incident that made it to every newspaper in the kingdom. So, I am quite certain that he didn’t try anything. Especially with Betty and the other shadow guards around, no one stands a chance to harm her.

 

Hah, the only thing I can do now is finish this company work and get back home to satisfy my curiosity.

Yeah, that’s right, I better stop daydreaming and get back to work.

 

***

 

After returning home, we bid farewell to Sir Franklin. Surprisingly, Lady Carolina stayed and accepted Aria’s offer about joining her research team.

When Carolina told her about it, she was on cloud nine. Damn it, I am so jealous of Carolina. I know it’s wrong, but I keep wishing that it was me who got her so excited. I just can’t help it.

 

Lady Carolina occupied a spare room in the guest wing of the mansion. Even though she had her personal maids with her, I just checked around to see if there was anything she needed. And by the looks of it, she was settling in comfortably, and everything was in order.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard,

 

“Letica, is that you?”

 

Oops, I got caught. Although I was bound to run into her in my uniform, I wanted to stall for as long as I could. I should ask Betty for some stealth lessons.

 

“Yes, Miss Carolina. It’s me, Letica”

 

“What are you wearing?!”, she stared at me.

 

“Uhm, uniform”, I said.

 

“I didn’t take Aria to be so… kinky. She’s making you roleplay as her maid, huh. Well, I ain’t judging. She has always been a weirdo”, she said.

 

“No, you’ve got it all wrong. Aria isn’t making me do anything. And she doesn’t have such… kinks” Whaa- why am I blushing? It’s because she’s putting ideas in my head. I won’t do anything naughty again, at least not without asking Aria first… Well, maybe I’ll do it once or twice, but not more than that.

Aah! It’s no time to be thinking about naughty stuff.

 

“Oh my! It seems I was spot on again. Damn, Aria doesn’t wait around, does she”, she misjudged my reaction.

 

“No, it’s really nothing like that. I really am her maid. This isn’t a costume”, I said.

 

“Then why did you blush so hard? And get your story straight, are you her assistant or maid? Stop lying on my face”, she asked.

 

“I am not lying. I work as her maid when we are at home, and as her assistant when we are outside. And before you ask, no, she is not forcing me to do any of the jobs… I have some urgent tasks that require my attention, so I will need to leave now. I want to express my gratitude for the present you gave me, I am thoroughly enjoying it”, I ended the sentence in a formal tone, before giving her a chance to talk back. I need to flee or this girl will keep pestering me, all the while teasing.

 

As I left, I heard her voice in the distance,

“What were you even doing here?”

I pretended not to hear her and kept walking.

 

Phew, thank God, she gave up and went back inside her room.

 

***

 

Finally! It’s nighttime, and I am alone with Aria.

 

“So much has happened in the past few days, right?” Aria asked.

 

Yeah, first we got Wies and his father here, all the way from Lerio. Then there was that breast enlargement milk. We are yet to see any effects, but I’m sure it will work. I bought it from my Shop after all.

Then there was our first official date, it’ll probably stay as the most memorable day of my life. Everything was just so perfect.

Then next up was the whole act, which was a great success as well.

Then Carolina decided to stay here and join Aria’s research team. Not to mention the great present she gave us.

 

“Yeah, so much has happened in such a short time. And if I am not wrong, Lady Sophia is about to return here in a few days as well, isn’t she?”, I asked.

 

“That’s right. She will be here around this weekend as well. Seems like we’ve put together a nice little team. I love it”, she said.

 

“Hey Aria, what did you talk about with Franklin? If you don’t mind me asking”

 

“Hah, it’s a little embarrassing story. I can tell you if you really want to know, but I would prefer not to relive the moment”, she said.

What happened to make her so embarrassed? Argh! I am really curious, but I can’t ask her if she doesn’t want to.

 

“Oh, it’s alright. You don’t have to tell me. I am not that curious”, I said. I don’t want to make her feel any discomfort.

 

“You’re such a terrible liar. I’ll tell you what happened…” Aria then told me about their conversation.

 

I can’t believe he figured that out. He got lucky because Aria underestimated him, or else there is literally no way someone like him could outsmart Aria.

 

I should do my best to cheer her up,

“Haha, he got lucky alright. There is no way he would have been able to outwit you in a fair battle”, after hearing this, her face turned sour, as if I were mocking her.

Well, this is clearly not working. Let’s try to change things up.

 

“Haha, I am surprised that you weren't aware of the incident that made him famous. A few years ago, he seduced Lady Brooklyn Niengrof, who is a widow and the current duchess of the eastern duchy, even though he was already engaged. When he announced publicly that he was ending his engagement, it made quite the headlines at the time. There, he publicly said, ‘His fiance had small breasts, and he would never be in a relationship with a woman having small breasts’. After that, all the women whom he seduced in the past, retaliated against him, and ruined his reputation. Now no one wants to marry him anymore. Hahaha, serves him right”

 

Oh no, What’s happening? Forget about cheering her up, she’s even more down now.

I can see her fuming with anger and humility.

 

“Aah, stop talking and leave me alone for tonight”

 

She threw my pillow on my face.

 

“Ow”

 

I wanted to apologize instantly, but for some reason, my legs just moved on their own, and I left her alone, just like she asked.

 

After exiting, I reached out for the door handle to re-enter and apologize, but then,

--------------------

Forced Compliance active - You can’t go against your Mistress’s order.

 

The order received: Leave her alone for tonight

--------------------

 

“Ouch!”

I felt a dull ache in my abdomen and a pink glow visible through my clothes. When I checked, I found out that it was my slave crest.

 

--------------------

Wait! Don’t try that again. The system registered Aria’s words as an order, so you must obey them. If you don’t give up, the pain’s intensity will increase. So just comply with it, okay? I set the intensity to minimum for now, but it will only increase if you defy her.

--------------------

 

System! You are back. You disappeared and didn’t answer any of my questions, I was kinda worried.

--------------------

I was here all along. I just didn’t want to interfere. And I would like to keep it that way. So only call me when you seriously need my help. I am unable to help you with any relationship issues.

--------------------

Wait, so this is how my orders work. This is the first time I ever tried to disobey her orders. Not that she gave me any serious orders. But still…

 

Sigh, it’s no use pursuing it any further. I’ll just visit her early tomorrow. System, can you tell me how exactly these things work? I never thought about thai before.

--------------------

Sure, whenever your mistress gives you an order, you have to comply. No question asked.

--------------------

 

I knew that already, tell me what I don’t know about.

--------------------

The orders don’t need to be direct. The tone or emotions behind your mistress’s words are enough to determine if it’s an order or not. Your body will have a strong desire to comply with the order based on the strength of your relationship. Which means the stronger your relationship is, the stronger the desire to comply with her order will be.

--------------------

 

That explains why my legs moved on their own.

--------------------

And if you try to disobey, you will be given a warning first, that you just experienced. If you disobey her again, you'll feel the same kind of suffering that any other slave would. Your slave crest would continue to glow throughout the warning period, serving as a reminder not to continue to disobey your mistress. Note that the warning feature is exclusive to you.

--------------------

I see. Thanks for the info…

 

Hah… I shouldn’t have talked about Sir Franklin in the first place. And I’ve got this weird glow on my abdomen. I need to hide it, or it will raise many questions.

 

Wait, I can’t inject mana into the necklace. That means… Hehe… Thank God, she isn’t angry.

 

***

 

Aria’s POV:

 

What the hell! She really just left. Argh! Why did I have to lose my temper over something so trivial?

Worst of all, she was just trying to cheer me up but got lost in her own words and made it worse instead. The way she just took off without saying a word is concerning. She is not upset with me, is she?

Argh! I hate my sudden mood swings!

 

‘I better apologize to her first thing in the morning’ is what I thought to myself as I held the necklace to sleep.