Chapter 18: Why aren’t you afraid of me?

“Sniff sniff~~”

“Master, you smell like another woman!!”

In the morning, Luvia grabbed the ears of a certain beast-eared girl and lifted her off her body…

Luvia rubbed her temples, feeling a bit groggy.

It was probably because of “doing academics” with Monet yesterday…

She glanced at the clock beside her.

It was only ten in the morning…

Her plan to sleep in had been interrupted. Luvia pouted and casually pinched the face of the culprit—

“Guu…”

These past few days, after finishing her night work, Shuang Na would come to Luvia’s room.

She claimed it was to report on work. But for some reason, Luvia always felt like she was here to urge her to get out of bed… and she always arrived before Floshi.

“Your little nose is quite sharp…”

Hearing this, Shuang Na blinked curiously and asked, “Master, what is your relationship with that woman?”

“I saw her in the alchemy laboratory… She’s a mature big sister.”

As she spoke, she seemed a little inexplicably disappointed…?

“It’s just a normal employer-employee relationship.” Luvia replied casually, “I pay her, she does the work. It’s that simple.”

“But why can she leave her scent on you?”

Shuang Na asked unwillingly,

“I’m also in an employer-employee relationship with Master…”

“I want to cover Master’s whole body with my scent too!”

“…?”

Luvia raised an eyebrow. Why did that sound so strange?

“It’s because that woman took the initiative and rubbed herself all over me… I couldn’t even stop her.” Luvia explained, her tone carrying some dissatisfaction.

“Oh… So Master likes proactive types…”

Shuang Na nodded seriously, as if she had memorized this information.

“…What do you mean by proactive?”

Luvia felt the conversation was heading in a bad direction…

She could only blame Shuang Na for being too clever, plus her [Negotiation Expert] trait. Every time she talked with her, Luvia felt like the rhythm was being controlled.

However, when the topic was getting out of control, the best solution was to change the subject—

“Shuang Na, how was your harvest last night?”

While asking, Luvia had already opened the panel.

[Shuang Na]

[Position: Treasure Hunter]

[Status: Resting]

[Daily Output: 21 Gold Coins (95%)]

[Daily Working Hours: 6h]

[Special: None]

[Suggestion: Balance work content to fully utilize this unit’s value.]

“Reporting! Following your instructions, I tried collecting some fourth-tier magic materials…”

“How was it?” Luvia asked casually, “Did you feel it was a bit too much for you?”

“Mmm…”

Shuang Na nodded somewhat dejectedly.

Luvia had already expected this.

Although the Treasure Hunter trait could directly locate those cunning magic materials… once the quality of the target materials increased, the difficulty of collection would rise exponentially.

“I’ll find you a magic teacher. Your current goal is to improve yourself.”

“As for collecting low-tier materials, we’ve already gathered enough these past few days…”

“Ensure three hours of work each day. Use the remaining time to adjust your condition and prepare for daytime magic classes.”

Luvia was giving instructions,

when she suddenly noticed that Shuang Na in front of her seemed to have frozen.

“Learn magic?”

“Me??”

Shuang Na could hardly believe her ears…

“That’s right,” Luvia explained indifferently, “Your combat ability is too weak. If you encounter high-tier materials, let alone collecting them, you might even lose your little life.”

“So I want to invest in you…”

“Once your abilities are sufficient, you can go look for those true legendary treasures… and collect those high-tier materials that cannot be bought with gold coins.”

Luvia’s explanation sounded very reasonable… but Shuang Na sensed something off about it.

If it was simply because she wasn’t strong enough to handle high-tier magic materials…

then she only needed to hire a powerful mage.

She could sniff out the location of the materials first, and let the mage handle the rest.

Why spend a much larger sum to help a mediocre half-beastman slave like her improve her magic level??

“Is it… really okay…?”

Shuang Na of course knew—

The cost of a private magic tutor was unimaginable.

Even the gold coins she had earned these past few days from collecting low-tier materials would barely cover it.

But…

The master before her still looked completely indifferent, as if she had only given an order as simple as eating or drinking.

“Is there a problem?”

Seeing Luvia’s puzzled gaze, Shuang Na lowered her head.

“No… Thank you, Master.”

Although she said this, her wolf ears drooped down…

“No need to act so reserved… Remember, you are mine.”

Luvia frowned and said, “If I choose to invest in you, that’s my business.”

“So don’t misunderstand. I just want to train my tool to be more handy…”

Hearing this, Shuang Na slowly raised her head…

A strange light flickered in her azure eyes.

Master was always like this.

She would say harsh things, but if one thought about it carefully, one could sense the care and gentleness behind those words…

“…I understand.”

Shuang Na suddenly took hold of Luvia’s hand.

The latter’s expression clearly showed some surprise, but…

just as Shuang Na had expected, she did not pull away.

“As expected… you like proactive ones…”

“…What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Shuang Na smiled at her. “I’ll go rest now~~”

Luvia pursed her lips and didn’t reply.

She felt something was off…

As the sound of the door closing behind her rang out, the luxurious bedroom was left with only her.

She got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked outside under the morning sunlight…

The Caris family manor was once again full of vitality today.

Yet for some reason, a faint sense of unease rose in Luvia’s heart…

She covered her chest and carefully felt this sensation.

She didn’t know how to describe it.

Everything was getting better, but she just couldn’t feel at ease…

After thinking for a long time, Luvia found only one possible reason—

Plot correction.

“If things continue like this, how can it work…”

Luvia murmured.

As the villainess daughter, none of the beautiful girls around her were afraid of her.

Even with the game panel in hand, she felt no sense of control when攻略 other characters.

Everything… seemed to be developing in a direction beyond her control?

“Bang!”

Suddenly, the bedroom door was pushed open violently.

Before Luvia could react,

a blonde girl nimbly slipped in, a lively smile on her face.

“Your Highness Luvia! Let me help you change your clothes~~”

“Floshi…?”

Floshi familiarly pressed Luvia down in front of the vanity mirror, then took out the dress she usually wore from the wardrobe.

“Your Highness, yesterday the teacher at the alchemy academy said I can take the elementary professional assessment!”

“Come, please raise your arms~~”

“By the way, Shuang Na said you’re in a very good mood today. Did something nice happen?”

She looked quite excited. Luvia wondered what Shuang Na had told her…

“Is it… because of that big sister in the laboratory?”

Floshi blinked her emerald eyes, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness.

Meanwhile, Luvia — who had been watching Floshi’s overly familiar behavior from the moment she entered —

felt her eye twitch slightly…

Something really was wrong!

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

Luvia steeled her heart and reached out to pinch Floshi’s cheek,

“Daring to act so smug in front of me. Have I been too nice to you lately??”

“…!”

Seeing Floshi’s small face go from excited to deathly pale in an instant,

Luvia finally nodded in satisfaction.

“Y-Your Highness… I’m sorry…”

Floshi looked like she was about to cry…

Didn’t Shuang Na say that Her Highness Luvia was in a good mood today?

Why…

Why was she always the one being treated differently?