Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Freshman Hides A Slave (2)

Elisha’s sky-blue eyes widened as she took in Carla’s appearance, and she stuttered,

“I didn’t mean for you to go this far with it…?”

“???”

What do you mean? You were the one who practically threatened to keep an eye on us!

Confused, I glanced at Carla.

“…?”

Carla also tilted her head, just as puzzled.

It seemed Carla also hadn’t expected this reaction from Elisha.

Amidst the bustling atmosphere due to class assignments, an awkward silence enveloped our surroundings.

Both realized that there had been a serious misunderstanding, but neither was willing to break the silence.

As I looked at Elisha in bewilderment, she returned my gaze with an equally puzzled expression.

Unbelievable…

But now, seeing her like this, I realize something.

Despite a few issues, Elisha was essentially a good person. She was a major supporting character in H&A.

She wasn’t on the same level as those overly proud aristocrats or generally insane mages I had been so wary of on the outside.

Even though Elisha may feel inferior to Carla and be obsessed with her, she likely didn’t wish for Carla to be entirely broken.

So, then, what did she mean when she sternly told me to keep Carla in line the other night…?

I found myself frowning before I even realized it.

Suddenly, I noticed that Elisha had been alternating her gaze between Carla and me, and her look was strangely familiar.

“Ah.”

I just remembered it then.

Wasn’t that the same expression Carla had when I first commanded her?

…All things considered, Elisha was as much a lady as Carla was.

The Sylvan Magic Tower was an elf tower, and as a high elf, she must have been treated like a princess for most of her life.

So, naturally, her knowledge about sexual matters would likely be at a similar level to Carla’s when I first bought her.

Thinking about it now, Elisha in H&A was also quite naive.

I thought it couldn’t be helped since it was a game suitable for all ages, but what if Elisha’s sexual awareness in real life was just as innocent as in the all-ages version of the game?

In that case, the ‘night service’ that Elisha knew of would be much softer compared to what Nana or Carla knew.

Maybe it was at the level of sex education that a typical aristocratic lady would have, like Carla once mentioned.

So, I decided to subtly ask Elisha to clarify.

“Uh… Glenchiel?”

“Wh-what is it, Yandel?”

Elisha seemed momentarily flustered, probably not expecting to be called out.

High Elves were said to have keen senses, so this distance should be fine. So, I asked her softly,

“May I ask what you meant by ‘night service’?”

“…Under normal circumstances, that would be an extremely rude question, but I suppose I must make an exception this time.”

Elisha sighed lightly and unfolded her fan with a ‘whoosh.’

With her lips concealed behind it, she leaned in slightly and whispered, after glancing around cautiously.

“It refers to a servant sharing the bed with their master, doesn’t it?”

“Ah… And if you were to sternly discipline a slave during this ‘night service,’ how would you go about it?”

Elisha pondered for a moment, her sky-blue eyes blinking a couple of times before answering.

“A little spanking…?”

“……”

Okay.

That settled it.

Elisha was as naive as a baby when it came to this.

At this point, even Carla had realized what the misunderstanding was and stood there, mouth agape.

Frankly, imagining oneself before becoming a slave wouldn’t be that difficult.

However, judging by how Elisha’s expression gradually brightened, she seemed to interpret our reactions in a particular way, and eventually began to smile triumphantly.

“Oh? It seems you’ve slightly exaggerated my words, Yandel.”

“Well, uh…”

Elisha nodded modestly as if she understoond everything. She was about to nod along with Carla when she looked at her and hesitated.

“Hmm. I appreciate your keen interest, but I’d be even more ‘grateful’ if you remember that we are in an academy, a place for learning.”

Her tone was somewhat admonishing.

But if you listened closely, it had an undertone of, ‘Shall we just pretend there was a misunderstanding when there wasn’t?’

And emphasizing ‘grateful’ likely referred to a better reward, as she had mentioned before.

The only problem would be how the surrounding people interpreted what Elisha just said.

To those who didn’t know the full context, it could easily look like was criticizing my nightly activities.

Well, from Elisha’s perspective, she was offering a reasonable compromise. But to those who didn’t know the details, it could look like it was entirely my fault.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In fact, if you listen carefully now, you can hear people pretending not to eavesdrop on our conversation but murmuring among themselves.

“My goodness… Never judge a book by its cover, and yet with such a fair face…”

“Was it a commoner? This is why vulgar people give themselves away.”

“Tsk. What do they think this sacred academy is?”

Ah, just as I thought. It was this kind of atmosphere.

Although my reputation wasn’t crucial for what lay ahead, there was also no reason to tarnish it meaninglessly.

If everything had gone according to the original plan, even with a hit to my reputation, I would’ve gained Elisha’s support for three months. Moreover, all this could’ve been blamed on Elisha!

But now, this makes me the sole bad guy.

This was a problem.

And if I could hear this, High Elf Elisha would undoubtedly hear it, too.

Did she not anticipate that her words, which were meant to clarify the misunderstanding and aim for a better future, would be interpreted this way?

Though she covered her mouth with her fan, the eyes revealed above it were trembling uncontrollably.

Realizing too late that she had spoken in a way that could easily be misunderstood, Elisha stammered,

“No, I… Umm…”

Before she could make an attempt to correct the situation, Carla stepped in, raising her arms to block my path and loudly exclaimed,

“Master has done nothing wrong!”

“…Carla?”

Elisha seemed taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected this.

Carla must be puzzled why even in this situation, she was defending me.

“It was me, a mere slave, who spoke familiarly to Lord Glenchiel like before! That’s why Master scolded me!”

“Carla, are you seriously…”

If Carla’s words this morning were true, then Elisha could tell whether Carla was speaking sincerely or making things up.

And right now, even I can feel the sincerity radiating from Carla.

“Because of my faults, Master had to apologize to Lord Glenchiel. So, it was only right that I also apologized to Master physically!”

“Physically? What on earth did you…?”

Elisha couldn’t tear her eyes away from the kiss mark on Carla’s neck, swallowing hard. And so, Carla discreetly covered the kiss mark with her hand.

“Hehe… It’s my fault for being stupid. Master shouldn’t be blamed. He just put me to my place as you said, Lady Glenchiel.”

Her wandering eyes never settled, and her slender limbs were trembling. The forced smile on her face looked as if she was recalling a painful memory and suffering from it.

In reality, she was just overwhelmed with her attempt to lie when she wasn’t good at it.

Initially, that kiss mark was just one of many that Carla had practically begged me for. How could it be a bad memory?

However, the people around us probably wouldn’t think so.

Just moments ago, the crowd was blaming me, but now their eyes shifted toward Elisha. Unlike me, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. Still, one didn’t need to speak to get their point across.

By now, a story must have taken shape in their minds. Once close friends, due to their standing as the heiress of the Lindelheit family and the successor of the Sylvan Magic Tower, they grew distant as they felt the widening gap between them. And jealousy and inferiority slipped into that gap.

Then, one day, the Lindelheit family fell from grace due to accusations of social misconduct, becoming slaves.

In a twist of fate, or perhaps not, they returned to the Academy as slaves and greeted their old connections. But what came back was a cold shoulder and blame directed at the master.

Because I might have been a bit excessive in disciplining Carla, now Elisha was trying to step aside to avoid trouble. Even now, Carla stepped up, saying it was her fault, wary of the backlash that might come her way if the blame was laid on her master.

The crowd’s gaze naturally cooled. Perhaps thinking the same, Elisha opened her mouth with a troubled expression.

“Enough! That’s enough, Carla!”

Then she looked at me and said in a tired voice,

“Yandel, I believe your training is sufficient. Please, show some magnanimity as a master.”

“I will take your advice to heart, Lady Glenchiel.”

“Sigh… Then, I shall take my leave. We’re in the same class, Class A, right? I look forward to working with you, Yandel.”

“I, too, am honored to be in the same class as Lady Glenchiel.”

Matching her tone, Elisha nodded and quickly left with her servant.

Then I patted Carla’s shoulder, who was left standing alone in front of me.

“Well done.”

“Master?”

Unsure if it was intentional or not, Carla kept tilting her head, puzzled by the sudden change of events.

Seeing this, an idea popped into my head, and I leaned in to whisper,

“Carla, let’s go ahead as planned for today.”

“Um… do we still need to show this to Elisha?”

Carla asked.

“I’m not doing this for Elisha.”

I replied.

I was doing it to show the others.

At least until the rumors die down, people would think that how I treated Carla was entirely due to Elisha’s coercion.

I’d been manipulated enough, so a little petty revenge like this should be okay.

“Ah, of course, Carla. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

I assured her.

“I don’t mind. We initially planned to do this anyway, and more importantly, it’s something you, my master, want. …You’ll reward me if I do well, right?”

Carla looked up at me, her eyes filled with curiosity.

“Of course. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“Um…”

Carla hesitated for a moment, glancing around before lifting one leg slightly like a magpie.

Then, as if sharing a secret, she whispered in a very low voice,

“I’d like to eat whatever you’re having, Master.”

“……”

I paused. Such a cunning creature.