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“Good night, Papa Howard, Mama Sonia.”

Susie gave each of them the customary good-night kiss on the cheek before leaving with a smile.

This was something that had started after she became their foster daughter—at Howard and Sonia’s request.

At first, with the memory of being a middle-aged Japanese man, she had felt an incredible resistance to it. But once she actually tried it, while there was some embarrassment, she found she could do it without a problem.

She figured maybe it had to do with the influence of this body. And now, it had become a full habit—something natural. In fact, not doing it felt more unsettling. During the past week, without those good-night kisses, both Susie and the Cloud couple had felt a certain loneliness.

Now, with the return of that nightly ritual after a week, the three of them felt a gentle warmth in their hearts.

Earlier that day, from lunch all the way into the afternoon, Susie had clung to Sonia, pouring out every detail of her week-long trial. As if to say the little bit she had told during the carriage ride back wasn’t nearly enough, she talked on and on. And Sonia listened the whole time with a delighted expression. Occasionally, she would ask questions or add a comment, but she clearly found pure joy in exchanging words with Susie.
After Howard returned home, Susie stuck to him as well. At dinner, she kept chattering, and Howard nodded along with a hearty, “Hmm, yes, yes,” clearly enjoying her stories. Even after dinner, Susie settled on the long sofa in the living room, squeezed between the couple, and continued talking.

Her way of clinging close, as if she didn’t want to be apart from them for even a moment, made the doting couple’s affection soar past its limits.

“Today… no, you’ve done your best this whole past week. Let me say it again, Susie. Welcome home after a week away. Rest well.”
“Good night, Susie. We fluffed your bed together to make it extra cozy. Sleep well. Anne-Marie, you can go rest, too. You must be tired after your first day—take Susie to her room, please.”
“Yes. Thank you, madam. Then, if you’ll excuse me, sir, madam.”

Down the hallway, Anne-Marie walked ahead with a lamp, guiding Susie back to her room. Even the opening and closing of the door was handled for her, which made Susie feel awkward, but in the end, she was led all the way to her bed and even tucked in.

“Good night, my lady.”
“Good night, Anne-Marie… Um, thank you for today. A-and… please take care of me… from tomorrow on too…”
“Yes, and I will do my best. Pleasant dreams, my lady.”

With that, Anne-Marie gently closed the door behind her.

“Ahhh… my own bed, my own blankets, my own pillow… Mmnn… this is the best.”

She pulled the quilt over herself, hugged the pillow, and pressed her face into it with a blissful murmur.

“Miss Anne-Marie… Oh, I’ve got to stop putting ‘miss’… I’ll slip up if I’m not careful. For now, I’ll pay more attention to it. But still, she really is an apprentice, huh… even though she seems like she can do everything…”

At lunch and dinner prep, Susie had heard the clatter of dishes breaking from the kitchen, followed by a loud smacking sound like someone getting hit with a Harisen, and then Anne-Marie’s muffled groans.

(Miss Elrose really is Spartan… Maybe Miss Anne-Marie is good at preparing tea, but not at kitchen work…)

She recalled the Cloud couple sipping the tea Anne-Marie had made, satisfied smiles on their faces.

“Housemaids don’t usually do cooking… But as a lady’s maid, maybe you do have to handle everything? Miss Elrose makes it look that way… So she really did come here to train, huh… It seems tough, but I hope she does her best.”

Susie shifted around under the blankets, feeling the comfortable cotton of her pajamas against her skin.

“Mmm… this feels so good. My own home, my own bed, my pillow, my pajamas… why does it feel so safe?”

She wriggled again under the covers.

“Miss Anne-Marie’s… massage… it felt so good… That’s… dangerous… If I get addicted to that… then…”

The feather quilt began to stir and tremble. She knew she should be careful; the next room was Anne-Marie’s. But the movements under the blanket only grew bigger.

Susie’s bed was set against the wall, and just beyond that wall was Anne-Marie’s room. A moment ago, when she had left Susie’s room, Susie had sensed her return to her own quarters, the sound of clothes changing, and then lying down. Though only one wall separated them, it wasn’t thin. This was solid construction, not something sounds could easily pass through.

Knowing that, Susie buried her face into her pillow, trying to muffle any voice that might escape.

The quilt thrashed harder, the mattress creaked and shook, and soft, uncontrolled breaths filled the room.

***

On the other side of the wall, someone strained her ears.

Normally, such faint sounds wouldn’t be heard without magic. And had she used magic, Susie would surely have noticed immediately.

This was pure physical ability. For someone with high-ranking Scout training like her, a wall like this was nothing.

“O… oh my lady…! S-such… such sweet, adorable… v-voices! T-This… is… good progress!! Someday… someday it will be me… me, directly… My lady!!”

On the other side of the wall, another figure moved in rhythm.

No one in the Cloud household realized that a very real danger for Susie had now lodged itself under the same roof—just a wall away from her.

“M-my… my lady!!!”

***

“…! Enemy? There’s an enemy here!”
“Eh? What?! What’s wrong, Mia?! Is there a Demonic Beast nearby?!”
“No, Bibi! An enemy! An enemy!!”
“What? Not a Demonic Beast?! Then what is it?!”
“I said it’s an enemy!! A super dangerous one!! Ugh!”
“What?! What is going on, Mia?! What enemy?!”
“Mmm… It’s dangerous… truly dangerous!”
“What is?! What’s this enemy?! Just spit it out already!!!”