"Ah~mm~!"

Lia stretched lazily while yawning as she walked out of her bedroom.

She had just opened the door, her eyes still not fully open, when she saw a white figure float past her.

Lia: "?"

The lingering drowsiness dissipated instantly. She poked her head out curiously, looking in the direction the figure had gone.

When she clearly saw the figure, Lia froze in place.

It was a young girl wearing a black and white maid outfit.

Had they hired a minor?

As her gaze traveled down the girl's clothes, Lia's eyes fixed on the lower half of her body.

There, protruding, was a...

White tail!?

Now Lia was completely stunned. She frowned, utterly confused.

Since when did they have a beastkin maid in the house?

Wait!

Come to think of it, she did bring back a cat girl yesterday.

In fact, the fur color of this cat-person maid in front of her was identical to the one she brought back yesterday.

Just as she was about to call out to the cat-person maid ahead, a gentle voice beat her to it.

"Good morning, Miss Lia."

As if sensing Lia's presence beforehand, she turned around, looked at Lia, and bowed very respectfully.

"...?"

This time, Lia was completely dumbfounded.

She held her head, countless questions flooding her mind, unsure how to process it all for a moment.

"You... can speak?"

Oh no, that's not right. Beastkin could speak originally.

She should be asking how she learned human language.

Too sudden.

Lia's mind was still a bit foggy. Having dealt with beastkin for about ten years, she understood their innate wildness better than anyone.

Those who lived in the wild were difficult to tame.

So apart from Helnersen, who due to his longevity remained at the old mansion as a butler,

No other beastkin could become a maid.

Their inherent nature determined that they were simply not suited to serve others.

In her daze, Lia heard the cat girl in front of her start speaking.

That soft and gentle voice slowly reached her, making Lia feel incredibly soothed:

"You can call me by my name, Vanilla."

"This is the name my master gave me."

Vanilla? Master?

A flash of insight struck Lia's mind, and she immediately thought of Viktor.

He's quite the player... no, how did he manage to do this?

Lia, looking completely bewildered, beckoned to the cat girl maid.

"Come here for a moment, Vanilla."

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"Yes, Miss Lia."

Vanilla obediently approached Lia's side.

Lia looked down, examining her.

Cat people were generally small in stature, especially female cat people, who tended to be even more petite.

The white-haired girl before her barely reached Lia's chest.

"Unbelievable..."

Lia's voice sounded in amazement.

She remembered how exhausting it was when she was educating those beastkin.

Just teaching them to read and speak normally took her nearly two years.

Not to mention other knowledge.

And she had only experimentally sent this cat girl to Viktor's bedroom.

In just one night.

Not only could she fully understand human language, but she could even politely introduce herself.

Beastkin never knew what politeness was.

Even Lia's subordinates were only respectful to her alone.

Lia carefully observed the cat girl's behavior and manners, which were completely like those of a normal human maid.

"Magic is truly astonishing..."

She could only attribute all of this to the wonders of magic.

In any case, Vanilla's performance had already exceeded her expectations.

So, she asked with some anticipation about what currently interested her most:

"Can you use magic now?"

"You know, like 'bam!' and shooting out a big fireball..."

Vanilla just raised her obedient face, smiling as she watched Lia's animated gestures.

Only when Lia herself began to feel a bit embarrassed did Vanilla lower her head respectfully and say:

"I'm sorry, Miss Lia, I'm still working hard to learn."

"Master told me that becoming a mage is not something that can be achieved overnight. It requires talent, and even more so, constant effort."

"Uh... ah, well, you're right."

Lia never thought there would come a day when she would be educated by a beastkin.

And by a cat girl who was so much younger and smaller than her in both age and size.

Indeed, she had been too hasty.

Wanting a mage to appear among the household's beastkin was just a sudden whim of Lia's.

Even if Viktor hadn't succeeded, she wouldn't have said anything.

Suddenly, two soft little hands grasped hers.

Lia was a bit stunned, but in the next second, Vanilla lifted her hand and placed it on her own soft cheek.

A softness transmitted from her palm, spreading all the way to Lia's heart.

Were all cat people's faces this soft?

Vanilla nuzzled Lia's hand with her soft cheek for quite a while before finally letting it go.

"Please don't worry, Miss Lia."

"Master said this behavior would make unhappy people cheerful again. I sensed that your mood wasn't very good, so I took the liberty."

"Oh, ah... thank you."

Lia looked at her hands suspended in the air, grasped at nothing, feeling the lingering softness on her palms, somewhat lost in thought.

"Please don't thank me, Miss Lia."

With that, Vanilla bent her body, bowing respectfully.

"The kindness you showed in saving us will never be forgotten."

"You can call on me anytime, use me anytime."

Hearing her words, Lia could only smile helplessly.

She placed one hand back on Vanilla's head, rubbing it gently.

"How old are you? You don't need to act so mature."

Vanilla enjoyed the petting, involuntarily letting out a purring 'hoo-hoo' sound.

Cat girls could be unhappy too, and sometimes, Lia would comfort them.

Lia smiled, her eyes full of affection:

"See?"

"You're still just a child who needs to rely on others."

......

"Viktor?"

Lia suddenly pushed open the door to Viktor's bedroom and stepped inside.

She saw the half-open window by the bed, with a gentle breeze blowing in through the gap.

Viktor was sitting in a chair by the window.

He held a complex and abstruse magic book in his hand, reading it intently.

The breeze ruffled his clothes, making him appear particularly hazy in the morning light.

This was an elegant, noble count.

Lia stared at Viktor, somewhat dazed.

"Hmm?"

Viktor slowly raised his head to look.

Feeling his gaze, Lia suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

"Did I... disturb you?"

As soon as she said it, she regretted it.

She had never been so considerate before.

In the past, regardless of whether Viktor was sleeping or not, she would rudely push open his bedroom door.

Saying this now made her seem a bit unnatural.

But Viktor didn't seem to mind, just lowering his gaze.

The book flickered slightly, turning into points of starlight, disappearing from his hand.

"It's fine."

Hearing Viktor's response, Lia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah, right."

"How did you manage to do it?"

Viktor knew she was referring to Vanilla.

The cat girl they brought back yesterday.

In fact, she had already become one of Vega's followers.

Hmm... Vega's third follower.

As an evil god, tampering with others' thoughts was an incredibly easy task.

Even Angus couldn't prevent Vega from turning him into a fool and arbitrarily altering his faith.

The little cat girl, who didn't even have her own thoughts, was naturally at Vega's mercy.

Vega gave her thoughts, granted her knowledge, allowing her to skip those tedious stages of enlightenment.

However, he wouldn't tell Lia about this.

So, Viktor explained with a pretense of profundity:

"The power of magic."

"Do you find it amazing?"

Lia nodded, reluctantly accepting it.

Then, she immediately asked her next question:

"Weren't you supposed to return with Gwen?"

"Where did Gwen go?"

The commotion Viktor caused in the Northern Territories had already reached the royal capital.

Angus was killed by Jaxu, and Jaxu was then killed by Viktor and Gwen working together.

The development of the entire incident left people feeling incredibly rueful.

Although Lia didn't understand why, after Viktor had beaten up Angus, Angus's son also wanted to kill him?

Was Uncle Angus really that despised?

However, Lia didn't care much. Apart from Gwen, she never really liked Angus's family anyway.

Viktor just looked out the window and said calmly:

"Gwen?"

"She was summoned by the Emperor and returned to the royal capital early."

Lia blinked, somewhat puzzled.

Why would the Emperor summon her?

Before she could ask further, a servant arrived at the door of Viktor's bedroom.

She was panting heavily, her face flushed red, seeming quite urgent.

Upon seeing Lia, the servant quickly adjusted her breathing, patted her chest, and hurriedly said:

"Miss Lia, I've finally found you."

"Ah, Master..."

The moment she saw Viktor, she suddenly froze, her words seeming to get stuck in her throat.

Lia realized the servant's concern and waved her hand:

"Don't worry about him from now on, just say what you need to say directly."

"Yes... yes."

The servant lowered her head in confusion and continued:

"Lady Leon sent a message. She said."

"Among the 'children' rescued yesterday, there was... an elf mixed in."

Lia was stunned upon hearing this.

"An elf?"

"That's what Lady Leon said."

Lia rubbed her forehead, as if feeling somewhat troubled, and fell into deep thought.

As nature's favored ones, elves couldn't be casually captured.

If someone were to coerce an elf, the captor would face punishment from nature itself.

Moreover, it was explicitly forbidden by the Empire. In terms of international status, elves were considered friends of the Empire.

If someone dared to capture an elf and the news got out,

The Empire's army would probably be at your doorstep the next day.

As for Cocotte? She didn't count.

She had signed a contract with the Kravina family and was an official employee of their household.

Free to oppress as they pleased.

Lia stroked her chin, muttering:

"Those Reiser folks... they've got some guts."

After all, the batch of goods they had just intercepted was originally meant to be transported to the Reiser family.

Now Lia understood why a convoy of beastkin slaves needed a fourth-tier warrior as an escort.

So they were hiding such a big secret.

"So, what happened to that elf?"

Hearing Lia's question, the servant lowered her head and hesitantly reported:

"Everything is fine for now, it's just..."

"Just what?"

Lia looked at her curiously, gesturing for her to continue:

"That elf lady keeps saying she wants to find their country's long-lost Elf Queen."

"Huh? Long-lost Elf Queen?"

......

In the royal capital, not far from Blaiston.

Viktor's mansion.

Among the flower beds, a sleepy elf wearing light clothing was lying on a cloud.

Suddenly, she woke up and sneezed.

"Achoo!"