“Pardon? What do you…”

After being openly mocked twice, the Count finally sensed something amiss. Learning that someone as insignificant as me possessed more intelligence than him must have been quite a shock. His hearty laughter dissipated like moisture under the hot sun. His pudgy hand carelessly touched the teacup.

“Hmph. No matter how clever, a servant is still a servant. What good is knowing how to tend flowers when you’re just a servant? You have no land, no seeds, nor sufficient nutrients to make those flowers bloom.”

Right. His message was clear – just quietly pour the tea. Since those pudgy hands still held my lifeline, I refrained from any unnecessary words or actions. I quietly lifted the teapot to pour tea into the Count’s cup and checked the other cups. While the Count had been droning on with his boring talk, Asrein seemed to have drunk quite a bit of tea. Just as I moved to properly pour him tea, something caught firmly against my foot.

“Woah…!”

With nothing to grab onto, I tumbled forward, still clutching the teapot. Clang. The slightly cracked pot spun round and round next to my hand that had hit the floor. After my knees slammed into the rough carpet, confusion struck me before the pain did.

Try though I might, I couldn’t understand why I’d fallen. I hadn’t done anything foolish like tripping over my own feet, there was nothing slippery to step on, and no obvious obstacles in my path. Falling over ‘something’ on bare ground with just a carpet seemed completely unnatural.

Clutching my aching knee, I looked to the side and spotted the Count’s small foot moving spitefully under the table. That explained everything. That bastard had deliberately tripped me. Filled with a mix of indignation and anger, I was about to open my mouth without considering the consequences.

“You worthless insect!”

The sudden shout jolted me back to reality.

“Not content with spilling tea on my shoes, now you’re pouring tea on our esteemed guest’s clothes!”

When I quickly raised my head, I saw strange stains on Asrein’s neat navy coat. Damn. The teapot lid must have opened during my fall, splashing the lemon tea inside. Though the cooled tea spared him from burns, the lemon tea mixed with ginger and sugar remained quite sticky.

“I didn’t do it intentionally…”

Kneeling before him, I froze stiff, managing only to move my lips. Asrein silently took out a handkerchief from his pocket and quietly wiped the stains. Having fallen for such a childish trick, I could only watch helplessly, unable to shake my sense of injustice. The Count, red with anger to his scalp, jumped up from his seat and thrust his finger in my face.

“I knew you’d do this again. Hurry up and apologize to the Professor!”

“I’m sorry…”

“Who would believe those empty words are sincere?!”

A fierce hand struck my head without mercy. Thwack! The brutal force sent me staggering, forcing me to brace against the floor. The blow to the back of my head was so severe that my vision spun and briefly darkened. When I regained my senses, I found myself bowing low before Asrein.

“You just had to shame me, didn’t you.”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

“I don’t need someone who stupidly tries to climb above their station while showing no gratitude!”

This was plainly him venting his anger. Unable to direct his fury at Asrein, who held special favor with the Emperor, he treated me like a convenient garbage dump for his emotions. While mumbling continuous apologies, the feeling of injustice wouldn’t leave me.

Even if I desperately grabbed Asrein and pleaded “I didn’t do it on purpose,” would he believe me? Despite his earlier favorable attitude, he would hardly take the side of a servant he’d just met over the Count with whom he maintained a cooperative relationship.

“Professor Asrein. Are you hurt? This wretch dared to show such disrespect…”

“Thanks to him cooling the tea adequately, I’m fine.”

Despite the actual victim dismissing the incident, the Count’s anger showed no signs of subsiding. He continued unleashing his rage while I lay flat on the floor, breathing heavily. All sorts of negative thoughts flooded my mind. Once Asrein leaves House Ameli, I would return to that day a month ago. Having completely fallen from the Count’s grace this time, no amount of begging would earn me another chance.

“Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. I’ll throw you to the mountain beasts right now.”

Should I just close my eyes and make a run for it? The fat Count certainly couldn’t catch me if I made a desperate dash for the main gate. But Captain Shupen’s sharp sword would pierce through my shabby clothes and pale skin instead. The outcome remained the same either way. A crushing sense of powerlessness weighed on my shoulders, trapped in this deadly situation by an absurd scheme with no escape.

Just when I was about to surrender to futility,

“Count Ameli.”

An amused voice cut through the sharp atmosphere. Asrein maintained his relaxed demeanor, but unlike before, it carried a strange pressure. My body felt even more rigid than during the Count’s rage.

“Why take on such troublesome work?”

“W-what?”

“Let me tell you a sure way to deal with an insolent servant without bothering to take knights to the mountains.”

To my growing dismay, Asrein showed no sign of taking my side.

“Hehe, we certainly understand each other well. What might this method be?”

Unable to predict the movement of the neat shoes before my knees, I remained on edge. Like a criminal awaiting sentence, I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath. Thump, thump. My heart pounded relentlessly, ready to leap from my mouth.

Now I really don’t know. Though it was just an unremarkable month, I’m grateful I at least got to meet a magical creature. And it was an honor to have a brief conversation with the scholar I admired.

“This child who spilled tea on your precious shoes and is of no help whatsoever-“

Just as my pathetic reminiscence drew to a close, Asrein spoke.

“I’ll take him.”

“Haha, a wise choice… What?”

The astounding declaration left both our eyes wide open. Neither I nor the Count could manage more than moving our lips in shock. Only he maintained his composure, calm like a deep sea amid this raging storm. Soon, a large shadow fell over my head. The approaching shadow transformed into a pale hand in my view. Two fingers carrying a faint scent of ink caught my chin and slowly lifted it.

What I encountered then was,

“Give this one to me.”

Golden eyes blazing with unwavering conviction.

“…”

Were my desperate wishes making me hear things? I hoped this wasn’t a dream I’d wake from. No, this was real. Those lips curved in a gentle arc had truly declared they would take me in. The warmth of another’s touch on my chin felt undeniably real, confirming this reality. Though gratitude didn’t immediately prompt me to pack my bags, doubt surfaced first. Could he be serious? Clearly, I wasn’t alone in my skepticism.

“Professor Asrein. Are you joking…?”

“I regret if I’ve appeared to you as someone who makes such jokes.”

Between his narrowly opened eyelids shone those amber eyes, mesmerizing like embedded topaz. Enchanted like a sailor before a mermaid, I stared blankly before gasping and hurriedly averting my gaze. The gloved hand withdrew around that time. Count Ameli pointed at me with a trembling hand, seemingly unable to process the situation.

“This one is under my authority.”

“Didn’t you just say you had no need for him?”

“That…”

“I trust I didn’t mishear?”

Two sentences were enough to silence the mighty Count. His ceiling-high pride meant he would never retract his decisions. The same Count who had just raged about having ‘no need for an ungrateful wretch’ couldn’t now reclaim me like discarded goods. When weighing his pride against a mere servant, pride would naturally prove more precious.

Who would have thought that detestable pride would become my salvation? Though Asrein’s intentions remained mysterious, how could I hope to understand such deep insight? When he personally offers to pull me from the pigsty, my only option is to quietly surrender the leash.

“What use could you have for such a useless fellow?”

“As it happens, I’ve been looking for someone to assist with research at the university.”

“Hah, this one, doing research?”

Assisting with research at the university… In the end, I was being scouted as a graduate student just like that day two years ago. After coming full circle, I’d returned to the starting point. But this time, confidence filled me that I wouldn’t regret it.

I knew with certainty that Asrein stood apart from all the vain, superficial professors I’d encountered before. So I observed the situation silently, not wanting to risk changing his precious decision. After a moment’s consideration, Asrein spoke again.

“The foolish ones couldn’t understand my words, and the lazy ones dropped out within days. The number who’ve left the research lab now exceeds ten.”

“Then this stupid one surely won’t be of any help to the Professor.”

“Is that so?”

Asrein touched his slightly upturned lips and spoke softly.

“Wasn’t it the Count’s decision to spare this one’s life, finding him more clever than he appeared?”

“…That…”

“Moreover, when you ordered him to demonstrate his knowledge of magical creatures before me, I thought you were proud to show off your intelligent servant.”

“…”

“Since you say you no longer need him, I’m simply trusting the Count’s judgment in choosing this child.”

Looking at the situation objectively: My ‘knowledge’ had dramatically saved me after offending the Count. In other words, the Count himself stood witness to my worth, and my continued survival proved my intelligence.

But denying this now would force the Count to admit his own poor judgment. Moreover, he couldn’t escape criticism for discourteous behavior in using Asrein merely for testing purposes.

The Count, trapped by his own words, tried unsteadily to look away. But Asrein pressed on.

“Surely the Count, who follows his predecessor’s example in caring for servants, didn’t deliberately call him here for humiliation…”

“That’s a grave misunderstanding!”

“Then I’m relieved. Someone of your stature would never stoop to such shallow tricks.”

Light laughter filled the now-chilly reception room. Asrein had fashioned a noose using only the Count’s own words. Like a golden-eyed hawk, he had circled his prey before striking decisively at the first sign of weakness.

—

T/N: Asrein reminds me of someone else. Hmm. A certain cultivator who is also described to be stoic and upholds great values. A certain white-robed emotionally constipated gay from an alternate xianxia universe… *wink wink*