19 Chapter 19: Card Played

The maids of the Athenus county were once again standing around the walls while their youngest master, lord Isaac von Athenus, indulged in his morning coffee while gazing over the newspapers.

Oh, how charming he looked as he read each line with his stoic face, never frowning, never smiling.

Were he made by an artist, the artist would be one hailed as the greatest and the worst at the same time.

The lord tapped his cup down.

He picked the newspaper up, and stood as well.

"I will, be back."

The maids bowed deeply and the lord walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, they turned to each other and giggled merrily.

"What do you think he does every now and then with the newspaper?"

"Oh, I wonder too. I've heard he takes the newspapers to his own building and then you never see it again. It is so random too."

"Ah, our master's mysteriousness is charming too."

""Riigghtt!?""

The three maids all broke into a spurt of laughter as they picked up his cup and dragged it away on a cart.

"Did you know that the lady of house Kaiser's knight troupe is now acknowledged by the Royal Knights?"

At the words of the blonde, the brunette and the ebony haired maids frowned.

"Why mention those scum."

"Hah, so what? Our young master is not just strong, but also charming. That woman doesn't have a shred of charm."

They nodded.

"Who would like a muscle-woman like that? I bet she could arm-wrestle against a bear."

"They call her a flower, she's probably as fragrant as yam."

The three giggled again as the turned the corners and entered the lobby that led to the kitchen. They were greatly lucky today, greatly was an understatement. Had Isaac heard all of this, their heads would be planted next to the same yams and placed in plates in front of those same bears they talked about.

But he wasn't, so they could gossip even more.

"But, is our master as charming though?"

The two others were left in thought at the blonde's words yet again.

"If, by some miracle, I was asked to chose between one of them, I would choose the lady of the house over master Isaac."

"Haah, how can you? What if someone hears?"

"Don't talk about stuff like that!"

"You're too scared, no one in the county restricts speech now, do they?"

"Still!" The brunette maid said. "But, you aren't wrong. I wouldn't be able to spend my life with a stone either."

"Hm, he's still charming."

"And the lady is not?"

"She's more…"

The maids reached the kitchen right then. After abandoning their dishes, the blonde bowed at the other two.

"I should leave now, the master would be going to the academy soon. I better prepare his books."

The maid turned and was about to leave, when one of them stopped her.

"You don't have to do it anymore. The professor's TA is back."

"TA?" The blonde repeated.

"Hah, you're new, so you don't know, right?" The ebony haired maid spoke. "The TA, teaching assistant, is the master's most trustworthy aide."

The blonde's ears perked. Interesting, interesting.

"Tell me more about this, I never heard from the master."

"That's because he didn't know either. Relax, I was shocked when I heard he let you touch his books, but now the TA will handle it all."

"Who is this… TA?" The blonde asked, her interest not hidden. "Trustworthy aide, more than sir Joel?"

"Sir Joel can never compare! How can a man so obsessed with magic ever confide in an old man like Joel? The TA is a lady from a Earl's house. She is a genius only behind the master in terms of magic. She was set to be a professor too, but instead decided to assist the master in his endeavors."

"Oh, his charms even turn his enemies into friends."

"My, my, I never knew," the blonde said. She nodded and turned anyway. "I feel slightly iffy, if you would excuse me."

"Oh sure, the bathroom's all yours."

"Haha, crude."

With those words, the blonde maid dashed away.

She rushed back to her room, pulled away her sheets, opened up her cases, and pulled out a birdcage, a pigeon resting within. With great haste, she wrote a letter.

Maid, she was not!

Spy, she was yes!

"This, should help my lady push this man down for certain."

For the worst person at that.

Kristine's secret card had made it's move. The worst move.