1. The Elf Maid and Her Young Mistress (New Volume!)

In the sunny, pleasant Great Yng Empire, it has always been one of the most powerful empires among all nations, both economically and culturally. That said, some incoming tourists do not come to pursue the bustling and somewhat noisy scenes of the Great Yng Empire’s capital, but rather to visit places that feel more like a “vacation”—slightly away from the capital, yet not too close to the desolate and bleak borders.

Within the Great Yng Empire, there are indeed quite a few such “vacation spots,” with a moderate level of prosperity and liveliness, plus one or two famous attractions, directly governed by the royal family of the Great Yng Empire.

Glamorgan Castle is one of them.

This is a small town currently without any lord overseeing it, directly governed by the Imperial Council. It is neither prosperous nor desolate, and it is well-known among the people of the Great Yng Empire because part of its territory includes an inland sea.

With the sea, naturally, there must be a “beach.” Thanks to this, the town has always been the legendary “dating spot,” “honeymoon destination,” and… the place with the highest demand for XX sets.

For various reasons, although there is indeed a “Count Glamorgan” within the Great Yng Empire, Glamorgan Castle is not actually his territory. Instead, it is a castle jointly governed by several nobles, including Count Glamorgan. Among them…

Is a young lady, an unmarried noblewoman, which is not particularly rare in the noble-rich Great Yng Empire, making her existence just an ordinary noble young lady.

When the young lady woke up from her beautiful princess bed in her lovely bedroom, it was already past the time for noble, elegant tea-drinking in the warm sunlight. The thought that she had overslept quickly made her frown.

Due to the overwhelming number of nobles in the Great Yng Empire, a significant portion of noble families are not much different from ordinary people. However, the young lady was not so poor that she couldn’t afford a maid. The reason she overslept was simple: the only maid allowed to take care of her…

Woke up even later than she did!

“Lucy!”

A noble and elegant woman should not lose her temper; at least, she must maintain her grace even when angry. However, thinking of the laziness displayed by the maid she had hired at a considerable “price,” and her attitude of being unbothered by mistakes, the young lady felt increasingly displeased.

“Lucy! Ludwig!”

【Click】

Finally, the door was opened from the outside, revealing a fairy girl in a pink nightgown, her long white hair tousled, clutching a pillow and rubbing her sleepy eyes as she stumbled in.

“Miss, you’re so annoying… You’re already awake, can’t you just dress yourself and make tea? Oh right, I want herbal tea.”

If it weren’t for the fact that she had grown accustomed to enduring this for so long, the girl would have really wanted to blast this lazy fairy maid away. After all, it wasn’t just the lazy expression on her face; even her movements and thoughts were filled with three words: You’re so annoying. She was consistent in her demeanor, too lazy to even lie. It was hard to tell whether to call her honest or arrogant. Looking around, aside from a certain purple-haired maid who resembled an onion, who else would dare to be so brazen as to make their master do the work?

“At least fulfill one duty of a maid, Ludwig. Are those long elven ears just for being petted and licked by men?”

They say elves are very diligent, accustomed to training with the rising sun every day, yet this maid was a different story altogether.

“Eh? Didn’t I help you clean and deal with the mice yesterday, Miss? Cleaning is tiring, so you should just buy an alarm clock for yourself from now on…”

“I’ll consider it…”

The girl sighed and waved at the fairy maid, “Help me get dressed; I have troublesome humans to meet today.”

“…Yes, Lady Iris… so annoying…”

“Did you just say I’m annoying?”

“No, it’s your misunderstanding; you’re just too sensitive.”

The fairy maid named Ludwig approached her long-serving master—Lady Iris—and picked up a nearby comb, starting to untangle her somewhat messy golden hair.

“Miss, I think curly hair doesn’t suit you.”

“You actually know what ‘hairstyle’ means? Fine… I’ll hear your reasoning…”

“Because it’s a hassle to comb…”

“!”

“Of course, it’s even more troublesome when you ask me to dry your hair after your bath… Why don’t you trust the power of magic and use a wind magic stone to dry it yourself?”

Ah… what a lovely scene it was, with a master who had no airs about her and a maid who had accompanied her for many years, playfully bickering in the bright morning.

If other maids saw this, they might blush and run away!

After tidying up her master’s hair, the fairy maid drew back the curtains, letting sunlight pour in and illuminate the entire room.

As the girl checked her long hair to see if it was properly arranged, she asked, her voice slightly deeper than before.

“So, how’s the cleaning going?”

“Ordinary, I suppose. Not much different from what… Louise told us. The only regret is that fairies tend to flee at the slightest touch, leaving me with no desire to chase after them… That ‘woman’ you mentioned, can’t she send some powerful fairies our way?”

The maid sighed, and for a brief moment, a glint of cold light flickered in her eyes. “Something… that could make me happy…”

“There will be, Ludwig. After all… ‘she’ has been waiting for this moment for a long time, eager to tear us apart. But who hasn’t been waiting for a long time? At least we’ve eliminated the last hidden danger; no one on this continent can stop the rule and strength of my great Empire of Tings!”

The girl stood up and walked to the wardrobe, using her old method of selecting which dress to wear today while softly speaking.

“But there’s one thing I’m very concerned about, because the outcome of ‘becoming a king’ is quite different from what I imagined. At the very least, I don’t want a pretentious man to affect the Empire. So…”

“Ludwig, go tell that girl to bring the right people along. As for her seeming to like a certain man, if she performs well, I wouldn’t mind giving her the chance to enjoy that.”

“Sure!”

The maid replied, then, changing from her earlier laziness, quickly left.

“Speaking of which, that child suddenly becoming childish—should I say it’s a sign of slackness… or…”

“Is there really something we can make use of with this Mr. O’Keefe?”

——

Everyone, a new volume begins!

Volume 8 will be the Queen’s volume, and I will start digging into the Queen’s story! I hope everyone will support me! Let’s get those monthly votes and donations rolling! PS: Remember to join the group if you won last month.

Character illustrations will follow in the places where the characters appear, let’s go!

Character Illustration: Elf Maid Ludwig

In hand is the Moonlight Greatsword (for real)