After losing one point of Intimacy, Lady Elisa behaved herself and didn’t bother Simon while he slacked off for the rest of the day.
She followed an etiquette instructor and studied the noble etiquette of the royal capital.
Elisa had only been three years old when disaster befell the Scarlet family, so she’d never learned any etiquette at all. After her teacher rescued her, she’d lived in the archipelago, surrounded by nothing but rough adventurers.
During her fifteen years in the archipelago, she hadn’t learned much etiquette, but she’d picked up plenty of insults instead. Like small fry, trash, pests, scum… She couldn’t exactly greet people with words like those.
Because she lacked even the basics, her etiquette lessons were a huge task. Everything from her choice of words to her posture had to be corrected. Her etiquette instructor had once been a court maid and was exceptionally strict.
During her lessons, Lady Elisa would occasionally summon the screen to check on the male servant’s status.
From his status, she could roughly figure out where he was and what he was doing.
After spending half the day standing guard, the male servant went to clean furniture in an empty room, causing his Mood and Energy to plummet.
Seeing him in a bad mood put Lady Elisa in a better mood.
……..
…..
[Simon enjoyed a hearty breakfast and felt the joy of life. Intimacy +2]
The next morning, Elisa opened the screen and once again saw a notification that his Intimacy had increased.
For the past few days, the male servant’s Intimacy had gone up by 2 every morning at breakfast, only to drop by 1 over the course of the day’s work whenever his mood soured, maintaining a steady increase of 1 point per day.
Elisa had already gotten into the habit of opening the screen whenever she had a spare moment to check on the male servant.
It felt a bit like having a pet….one she didn’t even have to take care of and could check on anytime, anywhere.
After finishing her black tea, Lady Elisa glanced at the total Intimacy.
[Intimacy: 8]
It was already approaching 10, soon to break into double digits.
[Note: Standing guard is dull and monotonous. Simon has grown tired of it and hopes to be given an errand task.]
Glancing at the note, Lady Elisa closed the screen.
The same note had been there for several days now, and Elisa hadn’t granted his request even once.
Hehe. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You want to run an errand? You’re just looking for an excuse to sneak out of the estate and have some fun!
Don’t think I can’t see through your little scheme! I used to treat the errands my teacher gave me the exact same way when I was a kid!
Taking a detour along the way, browsing shop windows, buying some snacks, enjoying the scenery by the roadside… Don’t even dream of experiencing such bliss!
Stay here and suffer with me on the estate!
As she walked toward the etiquette classroom, Lady Elisa brooded darkly to herself.
***
Standing in the entrance hall, Simon wondered whether he should deduct a few more Intimacy points to make Elisa take his wishes seriously.
But if a game relied on punishment to guide its players, the players would inevitably abandon it.
The right approach was to entice them. Give players plenty of little moments of happiness and keep that dopamine flowing.
At a time like this, not only should he not deduct Intimacy, he should actually increase it!
He made an adjustment in the setting.
[While standing guard, Simon reflected on his life lately and felt a sense of peace. Intimacy +1]
Looking at the screen, Elisa was pleasantly surprised and nearly broke into a smile but fortunately managed to stop herself in time.
She was in etiquette class right now. She couldn’t smile.
In social situations, even a smile was an accessory, something to be worn only on the appropriate occasion. Constantly wearing a smile would be seen as a sign of loose character.
Tch, there were so many rules.
Glancing at her etiquette instructor to make sure she hadn’t noticed her zoning out, Elisa continued looking at the screen.
[Intimacy: 9]
[Note: When Intimacy reaches 10, the next feature will be unlocked.]
There were other features?!
Elisa froze. Checking up on the male servant’s status every day had already added plenty of fun to her otherwise tedious days of studying. If there were even more features, she could hardly imagine how much fun that would be!
She had originally thought that raising [Intimacy] had no practical use. Who would’ve thought it could unlock new features!
The value of [Intimacy] soared in her mind.
She had no idea what the new feature did, but who could resist finding out? As an adventurer, exploring the unknown was in her blood!
To unlock the new feature, Intimacy had to reach 10. It was currently at 9, just 1 point short.
All she had to do was wait until tomorrow morning. Once the male servant finished breakfast, he would give her another 2 points, meeting the requirement. Even if another point was deducted because of work today, tomorrow’s increase would still be enough.
Elisa tried to turn her attention back to her etiquette lesson. She should wait until tomorrow and let the male servant fulfill the requirement on his own.
But her heart refused to listen. It felt as though ants were crawling around inside her chest.
Why wait until tomorrow? All she had to do was give the male servant an errand, and she could gain intimacy and meet the requirement today!
Unable to contain her impatience, Elisa interrupted her etiquette lesson for the first time.
She walked out of the etiquette classroom and summoned the head maid.
“Young Lady Elisa.” Maria came to Elisa’s side and waited for her instructions.
“Which of the male servants is relatively free and reliable?” Elisa asked.
She couldn’t directly name Simon and send him out on an errand, for the same reason as when she’d asked for the cold drink.
Her etiquette instructor had given her similar advice. A young lady like her, with no male relatives around and living alone, needed to keep her distance from male servants. Otherwise, it would be all too easy for unpleasant rumors to spread.
It wouldn’t do even if no outsiders saw anything. The servants on the estate could sometimes leak information about their employers as well, especially after being bought off by outsiders.
Once such rumors began circulating, getting into the social circles of noble ladies would become much more difficult.
The lives of nobles really were complicated.
Elisa sighed inwardly and looked at Maria.
Maria considered her young lady’s request. A male servant, relatively free, reliable… The image of one servant came to mind.
She replied, “Simon meets your requirements, young lady.”
“Oh?” Elisa waited for Maria to elaborate.
“Simon was one of the servants hired in the second round,” Maria explained. “He takes his work very seriously and always completes every task meticulously. However, precisely because he’s so meticulous, he works a little slower than the others.”
He doesn’t work slowly because he’s too meticulous. He works slowly because he slacks off too much! You’ve been fooled by him!
“A little slower?” Elisa pressed.
“About one-third slower,” Maria gave a precise answer. “But even if the other servants spent twice as much time on the same task, their work still wouldn’t be as meticulous as his.”
He’s only one-third slower? But according to his status, he spends more than half his time slacking off.
Tch, that [Best Employee] ability really is powerful. He gets the work done in very little time and still produces results far better than everyone else’s!
Elisa nodded. “I have a letter for him. Have him leave now and deliver it to the post office. The letter is in my room. Take it to him.”
Elisa led the head maid to her bedroom and took out a letter. It was addressed to her teacher and hadn’t originally been urgent, but now it was perfect for serving as the pretext for an errand.
The head maid took the letter and left the room.
Elisa reflected on their conversation just now. Throughout the entire exchange, she never once mentioned Simon by name. It was the head maid who recommended him, resulting in Simon being given the errand.
Of course, that was only how it appeared on the surface. Once she narrowed the criteria down to male, free, and reliable, Simon was the only possible choice.
There weren’t many male servants on the estate to begin with. Those of higher rank all had their own responsibilities, leaving only the ordinary male servants with free time. And with his [Best Employee] ability, Simon was bound to be the most reliable among them or at least, he appeared to be.
Elisa was quite pleased with her little scheme, and even her steps toward the etiquette classroom became a little lighter.
A response soon appeared on the screen.
[Simon has been given an errand. He realizes he can inflate the reported carriage fare and use the extra money to buy snacks, filling him with joy.]
[Intimacy +2]
Elisa’s expression stiffened slightly. In disbelief, she read the notification again.
What’s this about inflating the carriage fare?!
And what’s with this embezzlement?!
I thought the most you’d do was go shopping on the clock, but you’re actually planning to steal my money and spend it!
That’s money I risked my life to earn!
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