---

Chapter 5: Give Them a Nudge!

In the darkness, Alice sprawled on her bed with her golden hair down, clutching a puppy doll, curled up and sighed wearily.

“Is this good enough?”

As a maid, she had already received enough happiness from her master; how could she have strange feelings for him or disturb his happiness?

He was busy enough with so many people accompanying him on the school trip; she couldn’t add to his troubles.

Her master’s excessive kindness had led her to develop unrealistic fantasies.

At the end of the day, she was just a maid.

Taking this opportunity, she should learn to be an ordinary maid, maintaining the proper distance between a master and servant.

As a maid, it was natural to uphold hierarchy and silently dedicate herself; how could she even dream of something so unrealistic?

It should be taken for granted.

But…

The encounters with her master, his gentle gaze, the praise he gave her, and the revised version of “The Gray Maid” fairy tale.

Though rational thoughts suppressed the impulses in her mind, all of it lingered in her heart like fireflies on a summer night, hard to shake off.

Speaking of which, her master did not try to keep her.

Isn’t that how it should be? After all, she was the one who proposed to separate from him.

It was already hard to keep up with Charlotte and the others; how could he spare any attention for her?

Clearly, this should be the norm, but…

Burying her head in the puppy doll, she gently bit her lip.

Her fair feet intertwined and curled up, resembling a flower sinking in the rain.

————————

“Roy, you really don’t mind, do you?”

In the evening, halfway through their cuddle session, Charlotte suddenly looked up.

Not just Charlotte, every girl had the same question tonight.

“Are you really okay with letting little Alice go elsewhere?”

“Honestly, junior, your expression says it all.”

“Suggestion. If you can’t let go, why don’t you go with her?”

To this, Roy only gave a faint smile.

Kids have to grow up at some point; endlessly pampering them only raises sheltered flowers.

This school trip is just a once-in-a-lifetime event, not a fight with cultists; what’s there to worry about?

The little one who used to cling to him is becoming more independent; it’s a lie to say he’s not feeling lonely.

But Alice is the future Destined Saintess; she can’t be his maid forever. One day, she has to be independent. Letting her go now is a form of training!

Seriously, they all seem to underestimate me.

Am I Roy, some useless guy who can’t live without his little maid?!

After finishing the usual affectionate exchanges with the girls, Roy contentedly closed his eyes.

Three seconds later.

“Wahhhh!”

Puberty? Rebellion? Has Alice finally hit this stage too?

Damn it, just thinking about being apart from Alice makes ants crawl all over him!

But he wasn’t a bad guy nor an unreasonable old man; how could he go against his little maid’s wishes?!

That night, the young boy squirmed in bed in the dim light.

However, the one who could hardly sleep with anxiety wasn’t the master or the maid.

In a pink room bursting with youthful hearts, a messy-haired elven girl in a white shirt, legs bare and holding a banana, looked serious.

“Everyone, Roy’s love life is facing a major crisis; I declare the first emergency meeting to save Roy’s love life officially begins!”

“Why are you hosting in my room?! Isn’t this a job for the main girl?!” Charlotte kicked Nia off the bed, snatched the banana, and took over as the new host.

“Ahem! Anyway, I think you’ve all noticed, something’s off with Roy and Alice.”

When Princess Charlotte got serious, she exuded an air of authority that made people feel a bit awed—if only she weren’t wearing cute strawberry-pink pajamas.

As the saying goes, outsiders see clearly, the emperor is anxious while the eunuchs are not.

With a rare emotional expression, Alice thought she was hiding her feelings well.

But being women who had been together for so long, how could Charlotte and the others not see through her thoughts?

Rather, it was precisely because her emotions fluctuated so rarely that each slight change when she was with Roy became particularly noticeable.

“Sure enough, it’s that, right?” Leanna yawned, seemingly indifferent.

“Yeah, it’s definitely that.” Xue Nuo nodded slightly in agreement.

Since they all had experience, some things were understood at a glance.

Nia scratched her head, sighing helplessly: “It seems that kid really likes Roy.”

Girls experiencing their first crush often lack self-awareness; the emotional excitement is hard to sort out rationally, not to mention Alice had grown up in a slum, lacking emotional education.

Although nowadays, traffickers trying to cater to their lord’s peculiar tastes would hire women of the night to teach Alice some knowledge about intimate relationships.

But no trafficker would teach their goods what love was.

So even till now, despite some tutoring and theoretically understanding what love means, Alice still has no clear concept of it.

Plus, her reserved nature led to the current situation.

“It’s not just Alice; that guy Roy is also the same.” Charlotte complained irritably.

That guy’s facial expressions were no better at hiding things; he looked the same as usual.

However, the body doesn’t lie.

In the past, just a kiss could drive them crazy; they’d be weak-kneed and unable to walk.

Yet today, he was so distracted, and his power and technique were clearly lacking; it felt terrible.

But none of them wanted to bring it up.

Charlotte rubbed her forehead, legs crossed, and sighed, “He usually does so well; why is he so slow when it comes to his own maid?”

“Alice is the same; she’s clearly holding back.” Leanna couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I don’t get it. They both have feelings for each other, met earliest, and are so close—why is their progress the slowest?” Xue Nuo concluded, looking puzzled.

The four girls exchanged glances and sighed in unison.

As normal girls, they certainly didn’t want any new competitors for Roy’s affection.

But if someone had to fall in love with Roy without making them uncomfortable, it absolutely had to be Alice.

Leaving aside everything else, just Alice taking care of their meals was a significant grace.

Moreover, she was indeed the one who had been there the longest, and Roy himself had shown some hints.

So all this time, they had chosen to ignore the closeness between the master and maid, neither supporting nor opposing it, just waiting for the right moment to pop the champagne.

Just sacrificing a bit of Roy’s sleep time to spend a little more time with another girl wouldn’t be so bad.

But now, it’s a mess! The whole team was waiting at the finish line, and these two were just starting the race!

Especially Nia, who could no longer hold back.

Originally, she felt guilty about stealing from her best friend, but now she was ahead while Alice was still standing still. Didn’t that make her look like a shameless tea-drinking green tea?!

Nia took a deep breath, pounded the wall, and passionately declared, “Ladies, since they’re dragging their feet, it’s time for us to give them a little push!”