Chapter 247 - The Tsundere’s Request

The next day...

Dawn filtered the master bedroom in warm morning light.

Kurt slowly opened his eye and took a deep breath to check himself. The throbbing headache from yesterday’s temporal domain overuse had receded. He felt lighter, refreshed, and clear-headed.

Looking down, he found a bare Diana comfortably sleeping on top of his chest, with only a silk duvet wrapped loosely around their tangled hips.

He carefully attempted to slide out from beneath her without waking her, but the moment he moved, Diana tightened her arms around his torso with surprising force and buried her face deeper into his neck.

"Mmm... stay..."

Before Kurt could reply, she began planting lazy kisses along his neck, trailing them slowly up his jawline.

"Diana, I have to get up. I have an important meeting this morning."

She opened her eyes halfway – looking up at him through her long lashes – and lazily played with the dark strands of his hair, twisting them around her fingers. "Must you go so early, Rosie? The bed is so warm..."

’Oh, the temptation...’

His hands slid down her back, resting on her exposed hip before sliding down to firmly cup and play with her juicy rear. Diana let out a contented purr at his touch, leaning further into his hand and pressing her chest flush against his.

"Remember our agreement? We have a date scheduled for later this afternoon. I promise I won’t be long."

"You had better not be," Diana pouted playfully. "If you keep me waiting, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and drag you back by your collar."

"You have my consent."

"Mmm. Kiss kiss?"

He caught her lips in a deeply intimate kiss. Diana leaned over him and melted as her hands came up to cradle his cheeks, savoring the warmth between them.

When he slowly pulled back, she let out a satisfied sigh and loosened her grip as she drifted right back to sleep.

After taking a shower to wash away the last traces of fatigue, Kurt changed into a white fur collared denim jacket and black jeans. Then secured his new rose eyepatch over his eye and equipped his weapons before stepping out into the quiet hallway.

"Ah, Master Rossana. Good morning," Wendy greeted warmly as he came across her while walking down the corridor.

"Morning Wendy."

"I wanted to thank you on behalf of the staff for the wonderful food and pastries you brought back yesterday, but it seems both you and Ms. Valentine wasn’t feeling well. I’m glad you’re looking much better now."

"Thank you. I’m happy you guys liked it."

"I see you’re dressed. Are you heading out early today?"

"Yeah, I have business in the city for a few hours." Kurt confirmed as they descended the main staircase toward the entrance. "I figured afterward I’d find some nice spots to take Diana before our date."

As they reached the foyer and opened the door, a young house servant hurried up to them, bowing respectfully. "Head Maid Wendy, Master Rossana. Forgive the interruption, but there is someone standing outside the outer gate requesting an immediate application for a housemaid position."

At that moment, a passing kitchen servant carried a silver tray lined with freshly baked cappuccino muffins. Without missing a beat, Kurt nonchalantly yoinked one and took a satisfying bite.

"An applicant at this hour?" Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Who is it?"

The servant hesitated as a look of suspenseful confusion crossed his face. "Ma’am... It’s Nichole Firestar."

*Cough!* "ACK–"

Kurt nearly choked on his muffin. *Cough—cough!—* "Who?!"

Wendy looked at him coughing in utter bewilderment before turning back to the servant. "The Firestar girl? The same one from the recent tournament?"

"The very same, Ma’am."

’You’ve got to be kidding me...’

Kurt and Wendy walked together down the smooth stone path leading toward the estate’s iron gates.

Standing on the other side of the iron bars was Nichole. She was pacing back and forth nervously, chewing on her lower lip. The second she spotted Kurt walking alongside Wendy, her bright red eyes lit up with unbridled excitement.

*Gasp*

Realizing she had reacted too quickly, Nichole caught herself. She slapped a hand over her face, cleared her throat loudly, crossed her arms over her chest, and adopted an awkwardly "cool" demeanor, staring up at the sky as if she hadn’t just been vibrating with anticipation.

When the guards opened the gate, Wendy stepped forward first. Taking her role as Head Maid seriously, she folded her hands over her apron and spoke with cool professionalism.

"Lady Firestar. May I ask why a noble Riverton – and the top student of Crossroad Academy – is standing at our gate at dawn requesting to be hired as a common housemaid?"

"I–Well! You see! It’s–It’s about repaying a debt!" She pointed a trembling finger at Kurt as her face turned beet red. "He–He did something absurdly unnecessary for me! And a Firestar never leaves a debt unpaid!"

"Even so, Lady Firestar, this is a private estate. We do not hire nobles for manual labor. Furthermore, your academic duties at Crossroad–"

"I was destined to be a bedridden, useless cripple for an entire year!" Nichole blurted out, her voice cracking with desperate, raw emotion as she cut Wendy off.

She lowered her head and clenched her hands into tight fists at her sides.

"My mana veins were fried. I was supposed to rot in at home for a whole year while my peers moved ahead without me. But... but he fixed it. He gave me my life back."

Her red eyes burned with intense sincerity as she looked up to him. "I want to serve this household for exactly one year. To balance my debt. I’ve already spoken to Principal Axel!

"He already processed my official one-year medical leave from Crossroad Academy! And–and my family is extraordinarily wealthy! I don’t need a single copper in wages! I’ll work for free!"

Overcome with sheer emotion, Nichole suddenly snapped her body forward, bowing at a perfect 90-degree angle.

"Please! Give me a chance to prove my sincerity! I will do whatever it takes!"

Kurt stared at her bent frame, then glanced at Wendy. He gestured with his head toward the side of the path.

The two of them stepped a few paces away to confer in private.

"Well? What do you think, Master Rossana?"

"I think... If we turn her down right now... she has an entire year’s worth of leave and nothing to do. She will definitely stalk me wherever I go for twelve months straight."

Wendy nodded in pragmatic agreement. "And if we hire her under my strict supervision, we can keep tabs on her movements, control her schedule, and ensure she stays out of trouble?"

"Precisely. Let’s just hire her before she makes a bigger scene."

They turned back to the gate where Nichole was still holding her 90-degree bow, trembling slightly in suspense.

*Ahem* "Lady Firestar. You’re hired."

".... *Gasp!*"

Nichole instantly shot up. "YES! AHAHAHA! I DID IT!" She triumphantly threw her fists into the air with a captivating grin.

"Under one condition: you will follow my orders without exception. Now, please return to your residence, gather your personal belongings, and–"

"Oh, I already brought them!"

She turned and pointed toward the grassy edge beside the outer gate.

Sitting in the grass was a colossal, mountain-sized travel bag – and propped right beside it was her colossal, full-sized broadsword.

Both Kurt and Wendy stood in stunned silence, staring at the massive pile of luggage that had been sitting there the entire time.

Kurt closed his single eye, letting out a defeated breath. "Right... Of course."

He turned to walk past the gate, offering Nichole a parting nod. "Good luck, ’Maid’ Nichole. Although now that you work under me, I’ll call you Nikki."

"N-Nikki~?!"

As he walked down the road, he caught a glimpse of Nichole out of the corner of his eye. She was pumping her fist in a silent victory pose behind Wendy’s back, her face beaming with pure joy.

’It’s one year, Kurt... One year with a tsundere...’

......

A short while later...

The familiar, warm scent of freshly brewed coffee and fried beast bacon filled the cozy interior of Sophie’s Diner.

Ding ding

Kurt immediately spotted Emelie sitting in a quiet corner booth near the back.

"Morning, Kurt," Cindy greeted cheerfully from behind the counter.

"Morning, Cindy. Hey, Sophie!" He greeted them before sliding into the seat across from Emelie.

"You’re later than you were yesterday."

"I was stuck in an unskippable cutscene at the front gate."

"What?"

Kurt proceeded to recount the morning ordeal.

"...She took a one-year leave from Crossroad Academy to sweep your floors?"

"She says it’s to repay her debt, but no... I think we all know what she’s thinking. At least Wendy will keep her busy."

"Your life is truly quite the spectacle. But that’s what drives me to place my bets on you." Emelie smiled melancholically as she set her teacup down. "Now, back to business. Is Kenneth actually coming?"

"He might. He technically didn’t give me a response, but he looks like the pragmatic type."

"He better show. We need him. If we’re going to expose Faye’s connection to the Cult without triggering an immediate civil war, we need an internal informant inside the Royal Guard."

"Hmm. But convincing him to act against the First Princess won’t be easy."

"We’ll cross that bridge when he gets here."

Ding ding

"Speak of the devil." Kurt smiled.

The bell above the diner door chimed softly.

The rare low chatter inside the diner briefly died down as the familiar figure stepped through the entrance.

However, the chatter just as quickly continued when they realised that he wasn’t wearing his usual armor of the Royal Guard. Instead, Kenneth was dressed in understated civilian attire.

His eyes swept the diner with practiced, military precision before locking onto the back booth where Kurt and Emelie sat.

Kenneth walked over and stopped right at the edge of their table. "Alright, Rossana. I’m here."