As mentioned before, Aiden had never quietly watched anyone who coveted what was his. Though he’d preferred to send them away quietly….. If they wouldn’t leave on their own accord, there was no choice. He had to be more forceful.

From the start, he hadn’t liked that ‘it’ belonged to May. Just thinking about how his maid had protected that thing still made curses rise to his throat.

“I see heretics have no concept of blasphemy.”

“Blasphemy? I don’t think I’ve ever insulted my god.”

A different religion’s god. To blaspheme against the Empire’s one true god and still maintain such a brazen face… Aiden spoke while grinding his teeth.

“If you’re a priest who can’t even practice abstinence, you might as well become a lapdog to noble ladies with that pretty face of yours. Stop this nonsense here.”

But Johan shrugged his shoulders with an unfazed expression.

“I’m already my master’s dog, though?”

Saying that, he even gave a half-hearted ‘woof woof’ while curving his eyes upward.

“And I told you earlier too. That priests are men with c*cks too. That’s why in my religion, s*x is free.”

“……Shut your mouth.”

“Ah, but I suppose it would be like that for people who believe in the Sun God like Your Grace and master. So… if you want, you can enjoy the sinful thrill of having s*x with a priest, that’s what I was thinking of saying.”

Johan added with a smirk.

“Hmm, in bed perhaps?”

It was clear who those words were aimed at.

As soon as Johan finished speaking, fire sparked in Aiden’s eyes. The speed at which he drew his sword, which he always carried except when sleeping, was faster than ever before.

Johan let out a hollow laugh at the sword point aimed at him.

* * *

Clink. Clink.

The clinking sound of the compass woke May from her deep sleep. She grumbled sleepily at the urgent chain rattling of the monster she’d recently been getting along with.

“So noisy……”

Caught like a shrimp between whales, she needed plenty of time to recover her battered back. However, despite her voice saying she would sleep more, the clinking didn’t stop. Moreover, she felt cold metal pressing against her cheek.

“……What’s wrong?”

When May reluctantly opened her bleary eyes, that’s when she heard the crashing sound. The sound was loud enough to make her pupils dilate instantly from their drowsy state. When she reflexively sat up, she heard a thunderous noise that seemed to shake the mansion.

“……!”

May easily guessed the cause of the commotion. At the same time, the compass began to float, bouncing up and down. Its movements clearly meant she should hurry and subdue the cause.

May hastily left the bed. When she quickly descended to the lower floor, she was greeted by a standoff between Aiden holding a sword wrapped in blue aura and Johan with magic orbs floating above his hands. They both looked disheveled, as if they’d already had one round of fighting.

Debris from decorative items that had adorned one wall of the first floor was scattered across the floor. It seemed the first noise that had chased away May’s sleep was the sound of those things breaking.

After scanning the long sword mark on one wall, May naturally examined Aiden’s face. It was a habit from her long service as his employee. Though unlike then, it wasn’t a habit born from duty. It was just an instinctive check to protect herself.

And today’s Aiden….

‘I need to avoid this…!’

Her hands gripped the railing involuntarily. Seeing his fierce expression, it seemed best to pretend she hadn’t seen anything. The thought that he had seemed to become somewhat more lenient quickly vanished.

Though she didn’t know what had made him so angry…. It was a face like an evil spirit, rarely seen even at the ducal residence.

Naturally, her feet that had stopped midway on the stairs began to slowly back away. However, it seemed she had made quite a bit of noise.

Johan glanced at her casually and spoke with composure, despite the scratch on his cheek.

“Master, this guest says he’s going to behead me.”

It was a calm voice unbefitting someone with a sword at their nose. And at his irritating tattling, Aiden’s expression grew even more fierce.

“……Since she was originally my maid, I don’t need separate permission to kill you.”

May’s eyes trembled violently at the following horrific declaration.

“No, but killing someone……”

This isn’t right….

She couldn’t complete those words. Instinctively, she realized her intervention would only anger Aiden more.

Meanwhile, Aiden, who had been keeping his opponent in check, gripped his sword again. If this had been one of the sparring matches she’d occasionally seen at the ducal residence, she would have thought it was a preparation to seize the advantage.

But in his eyes fixed on Johan, quite a deep murderous intent was boiling. His blue eyes glowing fiercely were like flames that appear blue when they exceed a certain temperature. It meant the depth of his anger was unfathomable.

‘Johan… just what did you say?’

What words could have made him this angry? Even when he had provoked him saying things like his soul was so pure a ghost was attached to him, or that he would remove it for the price of a castle, the atmosphere hadn’t been this intense.

Moreover, while they had verbal fights before, they had never had such a serious physical confrontation.

May turned her trembling eyes to look at Johan. If she couldn’t stop Aiden, she thought she could at least stop him. Until now, Johan had usually listened to May’s requests, so there was some hope. But….

“It’s true that I belong to my master, but my master isn’t your maid anymore, is she?”

Today, it seemed he had no intention of backing down either.

“Why don’t you stop harassing someone who quit working for you?”

May’s face turned pale at Johan’s words delivered with a sneer. You shouldn’t do that, Johan….

“……You seem to have a lot to say for someone asking to have their tongue cut out first.”

And just as Aiden muttered ominously and took a step,

“……Um, I wasn’t being harassed!”

May’s shrill voice broke through the tense air. She fumbled with her words as both men’s attention turned to her.

“I’m, I’m grateful that you came to check on even a former maid……”

Johan raised his eyebrow crookedly at the obviously false statement. His glancing look at her clearly conveyed the meaning: are you trying to appease Aiden and stop me again?

May met Johan’s eyes desperately as she spoke.

“Rather, it’s more painful to see you fighting like this……”

Her dark eyes held a desperate plea for them to please stop. Johan’s eyebrows twitched again when he saw her.

“……Ah, is that so?”

And after answering a beat late, he instantly extinguished the violently fluctuating magic orbs. His face looked quite indifferent.

“And here I thought… master was having a hard time.”

His additional words were also nonchalant. Seeing his appearance that seemed to have lost the will to fight, Aiden also lowered his sword a beat later. Though he clicked his tongue with an unsatisfied expression.

But May couldn’t manage a bright face even after successfully stopping the fight. Because Johan’s face, which had always smiled reassuringly at her whenever such incidents occurred, was very cold.

It was natural, since without knowing the circumstances of their fight, she had ended up only defending Aiden and demanding patience only from Johan.

Even knowing he had no intention of backing down… Even instinctively considering persuading Johan’s side, as usual, if stopping Aiden proved too difficult…

Seeing his face momentarily become expressionless, her heart grew heavy. May looked at him apologetically, belatedly realizing her own petty guilt.

Johan, who briefly glanced at such a May, announced his withdrawal with a polite bow. It was unlike his usual self, so that courteous manner felt quite distant.

Therefore, May’s wavering eyes followed his retreating figure. Seeing her face showing signs of restlessness, Aiden’s eyes crinkled.