Idle Talk 21
Personal Maid’s――Nija’s Pledge
All of the personal maids of Lilianne La Christophe gathered in the room of one of the maids――Nija, whose repertoire of odd magic tool recently increased again.
Nija who was waiting in her room without her usual deadpan expression, but with her normally eyes half-closed and very loose-looking mouth looked extremely creepy.
Moreover, her bear ears were somewhat proudly glittering as well.
However, the other three could guess why she had such creepy-looking grin plastered on her face.
It was so spooky they didn’t want to ask, but they still had to. If they could receive that grace themselves, they could ignore Nija’s creepiness, that was the degree the girls were blinded to by the rewards that await.
「Nija~ stop it alreadyy~」
「Right~ right~ just what has happened~」
「I think I can generally guess, but I would like to hear the method by all means, please spit it all out!」
「...... Even Mira reached this point」
Her voice was penetratingly cold unlike her very loosely looking mouth, but whether Mira was already used to it or she mustered up her courage for the sake of her beloved master Lilianne, she properly stared back at Nija.
But, it seems to be the latter after all as cold sweat flowed on her back.
「Leave thatt~ asidee~」
「Yeah, yeah, leave Mira’s punishment for later and quickly speak up~」
Jenny and Lacria who couldn’t wait anymore drew closer to Nija, but intending to tease them, the grin on Nija’s face grew larger.
「...... Fufu. Want to know?」
「「「Of course!」」」
Satisfied by the three’s harmonized voices, Nija opened her very loose mouth.
Then, the contents Nija brought up were enough to discourage the three.
That’s because the three never thought of deceiving their master to receive affection.
But, while discouraged, they simultaneously thought: “As expected of Nija.”
The boldness to deceive the master in order to receive the reward.
And the ability to carry out the relatively difficult fake cry was simply done with the use of a magic tool.
That magic tool naturally came from her beastman friend who specialized in remodeling of magic tools.
If, by any chance, some kind of a weakened stimulant influenced Lilianne, it couldn’t be undone, so she couldn’t take such risk by any means.
As expected, that much was impossible for Nija to do.
At worst, her head would be removed from the rest of her body, and at best, she would be dismissed from her post.
But, magic tool definitely wouldn’t affect Lilianne. Of course, she had it remodeled with extreme caution.
「...... Fufu...... Fufu...... Fufufufufu」
「I wonder~ if I should practice my fake cryingg~......」
「How about lightly poking your eyes?」
「That would be difficult......」
In the small room where the four women gathered, a conversation with contents that couldn’t be spoken in public unfolded until the break was over.
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The next day.
The four gathered in Nija’s room that was full of scattered magic tools again.
However, Nija who was grinning so much yesterday was now sitting in the corner, burdened by a great shadow.
Lacria was sprawled on Nija’s bed with her head covered by a pillow. Her ears that protruded out of the pillow were unusually vigorless.
As for the other two, they were making absentminded expressions as if they lost their minds while occasionally wriggling their bodies with entranced expressions when they recalled that incident.
The ears and tail which Mira usually tries not to move consciously are also completely out her mind now, as her wolf ears match her facial expression and move restlessly while her tail stands upright and falls down over and over again.
Jenny’s fox ears similarly jiggle frequently and her tail swayed back and forth.
If someone were to see the girls in such state that they wouldn’t normally display no matter what, they would be certainly confused.
「Uu~...... uu~......」
If someone were to see the expression of Lacria who is flapping her legs while hiding her face with a pillow, they would certainly see that her face is full of shame.
The shameful hell that completely overwhelmed her normally iron heart continued showing its destructive power even now.
But, she still participated this daily girls-only briefing gathering. Was it because of the sadness?
The two who were dumbly staring at the ceiling while wriggling their bodies didn’t know why, but they suddenly received a plenty of reward on a scale they didn’t experience before.
The girls’ thinking were smashed more than usual and their waists were incidentally too, so they couldn’t come to work at all today.
Even if it was in order to punish Nija, a reward is still a reward.
It doesn’t change that it’s like receiving a supreme bliss for them.
Besides, because it was miraculous that Nija got punished for what she has done yesterday, the other three didn’t have any sympathy for her as she was paying for her mistake.
No, they had no energy to sympathize because of the unusual reward.
This time’s reward was too much and they didn’t have any spare energy left to think about anything.
「Hafuu~...... afuu~......」
Although they leaked out seductive voices and they didn’t know what’s what, their expressions were that of supreme bliss so there weren’t any problems...... probably.
Nija who was reduced to ashes in the corner of her room in silence couldn’t compare to the one in bashful agony and two in happiness at all.
A tremendous shadow was spreading above her and destroying her age that wasn’t compromised in years like a torture.
Even if you couldn’t tell from the unmoving Nija, her wilting bear ears make it clear.
Today’s incident must have been like a thunderbolt to Nija who was boasting of receiving the most rewards just yesterday.
In spite of being convinced that she wouldn’t be exposed, Nija carried her mission out yesterday with a huge success just as planned.
But, her heart dropped with the words Lilianne brought overnight.
Her nose that grew from the plan and actions that could be said to be carried out perfectly has been plucked from the root, bringing a despair that made her believe that she just tasted a true hell.
She could only watch the reward that she was supposed to receive after being completely restricted.
Taking any means to receive the reward, no, in fact, a personal maid deceiving her master is obviously a taboo and yet Nija did such action that could cost her life without any hesitation. Her actions were something that couldn’t be expressed in words anymore.
As a result, she could not even avert her gaze as the others received the four to six times more intense than usual reward.
Lacria who still continued being in a bashful agony on top of the bed.
Jenny and Mira who continued savoring the lingering taste of the reward sprawled on the floor.
Nija who was carrying a gigantic shadow over her depressed heart in the corner of the room.
An absence from the work today has been already conveyed by all four.
The chaos in the room continued existing until the each of them fell asleep from exhaustion.
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The day after that.
Lacria, Jenny, and Mira somehow recovered, but it was still impossible for Nija.
She received a direct order from Lilianne who expected that to rest, so Nija was resting for a few days.
After that, when Nija somehow managed to return, she decided to pledge an absolute allegiance to Lilianne.
The pledge of Nija’s allegiance is as a follows:
Mustn’t make Lilianne angry.
Mustn’t be dishonest in the work for Lilianne.
Mustn’t lie to Lilianne.
Lilianne herself wasn’t aware of Nija’s pledge, but Nija swore to never break it and prioritize it over her own life.
Nija pledged the allegiance, but the punishment was enshrined deep in her heart.
Prognostic symptoms that made her quiver every time Lilianne entered her sight remained for a while, but Nija was selected as one of the personal maids of the Christophe House because of her abilities. She somehow overcame her prognostic symptoms and managed to work as smoothly as before.
But, as expected, fear of Lilianne remained deep inside her heart.
In the future, this fear will change shape and continue remaining in Nija’s heart.
Together with the allegiance she swore.
There are only a few people who know that the『...... Ojousama, impressive』she often said currently has a completely different meaning from the past.
Today, Nija served Lilianne as her personal maid by her side as well.