Chapter 25: Chapter 24 – Interior III

In the evening Rosaria and Percibell are standing in front of a large mirror inside the mansion's walk-in wardrobe. Percibell is looking at herself with flushed cheeks and beads of tears in the corners of her eyes.

「Uwuuuu.... do I really have to wear this,」 she cries with embarrassment, dainty fingers tracing along the frills of her apron.

Rosaria chuckles, standing behind her with her hands rubbing the elf's shoulders while she attempts to calm her down.

「Oh, but without this, you won't be a proper maid. It might be a tight fit, but you heard it yourself. Crowley had to go to great lengths to obtain it. Material this fine is quite expensive, you know?」

Percibell slowly studies the intricacies of the maid suit. It's a two-piece black skirt with a white cotton bra and apron, and two short, black shoulder cuffs. The cut is very tight, aside from the wide-hemmed skirt itself, which causes the corset together with the black, see-through velvet stockings to cling very tightly to her skin, underlining the curves in her petite body. The frilled, strapless bra has enough cleavage to show the pale skin of her upper chest. The soft material of her kitten-heeled shoes makes them easy enough to wear, but the clacking sound they make as she takes tiny steps on the wooden floor are completely new to her elven ears.

The biggest issue she has, right after the tight-fitting, forearm-length velvet gloves, is the soft leather choker, the presence of which makes her very aware of her slender neck.

「Can I at least... keep this off...?」 she asks.

「Nonsense,」 replies Rosaria as she helps her fit a white, ruffled ribbon on her head.

While the two are examining Percibell from every angle, the door to the room opens, and Xal walks in unannounced.

「That Crowley couldn't get me my items. Dammit, I knew he wasn't all that much, that useless piece of—」 he says before cutting himself off once he notices Percibell.

「Oh Xal, have you already finished unpacking the food and items?」 Rosaria asks, her eyes and hands busy putting the final touches on the elf.

Xal stays silent and props his chin up with a thoughtful expression while scanning Percibell from top to toe.

Having waited too long for a reply, Rosaria gives him a glance, noticing the smirk on his face.

The elf seems to notice it too as her ears flutter and she attempts to hide behind the princess, but Rosaria's hand pushes her to the front, presenting the maid to him.

「Isn't she darn' cute?」 Rosaria grins proudly, having taken to herself that she's the maker of the cuteness in front of her.

Percibell's red hot head refuses to face him as she's fidgeting with her hands while staring at the floor.

Xal nods eagerly,「You bet it does! Crowley did at least one thing well.」

「Uwaa... nooooo~ stop it~,」 Percibell, not bearing the attention, drops down flat on her butt.

The frilly skirt catches her fall, hiding her legs and giving her a cone-like appearance.

「Fufufu~」 Rosaria can barely conceal her amusement. With a sense of etiquette trained by years at the court, she gracefully shields her lips with the index and middle finger while still grinning and humming.

「Oh, cute Percibell, we're going to have so much fun」

§

Come dinner preparation time, Rosaria and Percibell are bickering inside the kitchen.

「You really can cook?」 the princess looks at Percibell with a doubting face.

「For the fifth time, yes....!」 Percibell rolls her eyes in annoyance but quickly corrects herself. 「Like I said, back in my village every elf had to learn to hunt and cook when growing up. In fact, why don't I just show Miss Melan!」

She taps the dust off her skirt and starts walking, her new shoes clacking on the floor, towards the bucket with hot water, but a hug from behind stops her.

Rosaria slides her face against the startled elf's cheek while grinning, 「You're such a lifesaver! None of us can cook!」 she cries.

Percibell throws her arms up and tries to push her off to no effect. With a mixture of disbelief and disappointment, she looks at her employer.

「Eh? Could Miss Melan actually be useless?」

「Oh you little rascal, come here!」 Rosaria intensifies her grab on Percibell and pushes her face into her slender neck, rubbing up against it while tickling the elf with her fingers.

The maid shakes and wiggles while her uncontrollable laughter fills the room.

「Hahahaha... no-noo s-stopp... hhahaha give...! I give up! Hahhaha, I'm sooooooorrrryyyyy!」 Percibell squirms and continues laughing, with no end in sight.

「You should know that I am a princess! These duties are beneath me!」 Rosaria tells her playfully before letting her go.

In her final fits, Percibell wipes tears off her face while trying to calm herself down and avert another episode. After a short while of collected breathing, she regains a minimal amount of composure.

「But... then why are you living all the way out here like this?」 she asks innocently, and begins to lightly laugh again.

Rosaria quickly closes in on her face and stares directly into her big, silvery eyes, 「Save your questions for later, I'm hungry,」 she declares.

Looking back into her green eyes, the elf jerks back, squeals softly, and hurries to assemble the produce for cooking.

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Some time after, the grandfather clock strikes five, sending chimes echoing through the hallway, and Xal descends from his study, led by the smell of food wafting from the kitchen, then all the way to the dining room.

In few short moments, Rosaria and Xal are sitting at the ornate, rectangular dinner table, facing each other across the shorter dimension, while Percibell serves them plates with the meals she prepared: lamb meat cutlets and rye dough dumplings with mushroom and herb stew, with sliced wild lettuce and quagroot, sprinkled with myrrberry juice.

「Mmm... it smells so good」 Xal says while rubbing his hands together, 「feels like it's been ages since I've had proper food,」 he adds.「Ouch!」

A bump coming from below the table turns his attention to Rosaria, who is looking at him with indignation. He grins and holds his hands up as an attempt to apologize for the faux-pas, but it only prompts Rosaria to puff her cheeks and swiftly turn her head up and away.

「Hmph! Not like what you make is edible either!」 she condemns, venom in her voice.

Percibell can't help but giggle under her breath at their exchange while she finishes setting the cutlery for the two. After giving a small bow, she turns around and starts walking away.

「Where are you going?」 Xal stops her in her tracks.

「Eh? T-to... the kitchen?」 she turns around and starts fidgeting, with a downcast look, still not able to look him in the face.

A moment of silence passes, and unable to endure it, she glimpses back at the two and asks with a trembling voice, 「Is... is.. something wrong?」

「Well, aren't you going to eat?」 Xal asks quizically, gesturing towards the table that has only plates for two persons on it.

「Eh? Can I?」she raises her head, wide-eyed, 「with you?」 she adds, and notices Rosaria nodding approvingly.

「It is only natural. You made it, of course, you get to eat. This is not meant to be like the house servitude back in the Kingdom. Come and sit with us. Let us enjoy the food together,」 Rosaria says with a soft smile.

Percibell treads with careful steps towards the chair beside Rosaria, barely making a sound on the carpeted portion of the floor.

「Oh dear... You forgot your plate,」 a snickering Rosaria quips.

「Eh, ah?... Hehehe... Excuse me,」 Percibell hurries off to the kitchen and returns with a plate and cutlery for herself before settling on the table.

She skittishly fills in her portion and everyone starts eating.

「So delicious! Really the only thing I missed from the Kingdom! Food!」 Xal voices, gesturing and humming in an exaggerated manner, with his eyes closed and a wide smile, pretending as if tears of happiness were running down his face.

「Truly! I thought we would be having rudimentary food akin to hunter's food, but this...! Percibell you're a great cook!」 Rosaria chimes in.

A lopsided, toothy grin appears on the elf's face and she can't help but giggle at the praises.

「Eh.. really? Hehehe...」

She shuffles around awkwardly before chomping down on a piece of savory dumpling with a proud and wide smile on her face.

§

A couple of days later, Percibell is wiping off the tables in the common room with a serious expression on her face. Once done, she puffs out her chest with pride while inspecting her work.

Rosaria quietly comes in at the right time and, having examined the results, says, 「How splendid, Percibell, you're truly a lifesaver. I'll preserve a ton of mana with you here.」

「Eh, Miss Melan uses mana to clean? Isn't that a waste...」 Percibell asks curiously.

Rosa opens the long cupboard, looking for something,

「Mhm... Indeed, I couldn't get used to it. Cleaning was never something I had done in my life before departing from the Kingdom, you know?」

Percibell puts on a helpless smile, 「I can imagine... Miss Melan's servants must've always taken care of it.」

「Oh right, have you tended to the horses yet, today?」

Percibell clears her throat, and with a small pause, she says,「Y-yes, I've already fed and cleaned them.」

「Good girl, remember to also let them out to trot around and get exercise,」 Rosaria says as a matter-of-fact without looking at her. She walks over to the corner of the room, opens a different cupboard, and continues searching for something. Percibell stares at her in expectant silence. She notices how the princess' breasts are bouncing slightly every time she moves her chest and, peering down at her own, she starts feeling herself up while glancing up for comparisons. When the princess' breasts squeeze against the front of the cupboard, enough to reveal no bra holding them together, a sudden realization hits the elf and she blushes while immediately letting her hands down.

「W-what is Miss Melan looking for?」 she inquires, embarrassed and still blushing.

「Hmm... A small wooden badge with a sigil on it. I need it to strengthen the barrier. Have you seen it somewhere perchance?」 she asks without turning her head.

Percibell, her finger on her chin, ponders for a moment, trying to recall if any of the places she'd previously cleaned could contain the item. She scans the room with her eyes and replies, 「I can help look for it.」

「Excellent, go and take a look in the storage room, upstairs. You should be able to tell when you find it. It has an elf-made miniature relief sculpture of a tree at the base. I trust you'd recognize the craftsmanship」

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