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Emilia remained unaware of her partner's regrets, and happily greeted her older sister with a kiss on the cheek.
Sam had been a little gloomy since last night after she was denied entry into her little sister's room, but considering the time and the fact that the girl should already be asleep, she could only reluctantly return to her own room to sleep.
With one sweet 'good morning', however, all that gloom was instantly wiped off her face and replaced with a smile. "Did you have a good sleep? If you like, it's alright to skip school today."
Emilia took her seat next to the taller girl and shook her head in denial. "No need to skip school, I don't get tired so easily."
Noticing a new young maid sitting on a chair in the corner, Emilia couldn't help but raise a brow in surprise, since she hadn't seen her in the mansion before. "Who is the new little girl?"
The twenty-two year old who was called a little girl by a highschooler could only look at them with a bunch of question marks on her head. 'Excuse me? I'm neither short nor flat-chested? What little girl?'
Samantha coughed. "Apparently, Noelle's little relative. She said the girl was looking for a part-time job, and is very good at household chores, so I let her come. The housekeeper told her to observe the other maids for the next week to learn, then she can start her work."
Emilia nodded, not taking the matter to heart. Anyway, one more cute maid never hurt anyone.
Sam nodded. "By the way, did Noelle tell you about our new plan?"
Emilia tilted her head in confusion. "New plan? Oh, wait a minute, maybe she sent me a message? I haven't checked yet. Ahh…! I seem to have left my phone in my room—"
Michelle, who had been patiently waiting next to her for an opportunity to serve, immediately grasped her chance. "I will fetch it right away, young miss."
Emilia, who had wanted to reprimand her for not calling her either 'Emilia' or 'princess', could only speechlessly watch her dash up the stairs like a bolt of lightning. "…"
Sam giggled. "You know, when she first came here, I thought she would be a useless girl who would drag you down, but she's pretty hard-working, isn't she? You know she guards your door at night?"
Emilia was relieved to hear that Sam wasn't so prejudiced against her 'servant' anymore, but why was this at her expense?!
She could only grumble in dissatisfaction. "Guard my door at night? What is she, a gargoyle? When does she sleep, then?"
The taller girl coughed. "Well, she wasn't just standing there. She had a futon and everything."
Emilia could only purse her lips, feeling stunned. If there hadn't been a bathroom inside, and Crystal went out during nighttime, wouldn't she be scared to death by the ghost at the door?!
Moreover, this was clearly something Michelle did without letting her know! To say Emilia was dissatisfied would be an understatement at this point.
When Michelle returned with Emilia's phone, the redhead took it with a satisfied nod. "Come here, kneel down next to me?"
"E-Eh?" Confused, Michelle could only do as she was told.
Feeling a warm little hand on top of her head, the short-haired girl blushed.
Emilia smiled as she ruffled the girl's hair. "Michelle is a good girl, always thinking about me. Very adorable."
Just as the little maid's face was about to let out steam from both happiness and embarrassment, she was stunned when Emilia held her ears firmly… and started squeezing and pulling.
The redhead's expression was still all smiles, but anyone could tell that she was a little upset. "I'm happy that you try your best for me, but don't you know I don't like disobedient girls? Huh, dare to harm yourself without my permission, who allowed you to touch my people?"
Michelle could only gape at her dumbly. "E-Eh? I-I—?"
The younger girl glared at her, lips pursed in dissatisfaction. "I heard you put my girl to sleep on the floor? Who gave you this courage?"
Michelle was struck dumb for almost a minute straight before she pointed at herself blankly. "M-Me?"
Emilia snorted. "Obviously. How do you plan to compensate me if my girl got sick because of your carelessness? Just because I let her do as I please doesn't mean I don't care. Do you think my Michelle is easy to bully?"
Michelle, who had always known that her princess had a strange way of thinking, suddenly realized that she had vastly underestimated her eccentricity. Had she not known better, she would really start to wonder if there existed another Michelle whom she had unknowingly bullied.
Plus, it looked like even if she got sick, she would still have to apologize for not taking proper care of herself?! Being the servant of her princess was harder than she thought!
Emilia frowned. "Hmm? Are you thinking something disrespectful?"
Michelle quickly shook her head in denial. "N-No, princess, I-I'll try to be more careful in the future?"
Emilia sneered. "What, is that it? Since there are rewards for doing well, there obviously have to be punishments for being disobedient and naughty?"
Michelle gulped. "P-Punishment?"
Cynthia almost rolled her eyes at the expectant and excited tone of the girl's voice, but decided it was beneath her to make a comment, and remained silent.
Unfortunately, Emilia's next words immediately doused all of Michelle's expectations. "That's right, for the next three days, you are not allowed to serve me. Um, you will rest and take good care of yourself, and if you don't gain half a kilo by the end of the week, it's another three days off for you!"
"NO!"
Emilia frowned. "You don't want to listen, then—"
Michelle was immediately terrified of being dismissed from her service. "I'll listen to the princess! I just hope that you change the punishment, I think it's not enough—!"
Meanwhile, the 'new maid' who was observing all of this in silence, could only wonder what great sins she had committed in her past life.
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