Chapter 88: Ropes, Marks, and Strangeness

Since the content of The Self-Cultivation of a Maid proved useful, Eileen decided she could proceed to the next step.

With this in mind, she produced a long rope.

Amelia: “???”

What was this for?

Amelia had only skimmed a few pages of The Self-Cultivation of a Maid and was familiar with very little of its content. At this moment, she had no idea what Eileen intended to do with that rope.

Looking at Amelia, Eileen said, “Miss Lily, please allow me to share more of your burdens.”

According to The Self-Cultivation of a Maid, there was a subsequent step a maid had to take to truly share her master’s worries. Since her previous action had been accepted, this next step could not be overlooked.

With that, Eileen took the rope and tied herself to Amelia.

Their bodies pressed tightly together as the rope coiled around them, loop after loop, cinching them ever closer.

Amelia could feel Eileen’s body heat and softness with startling clarity. She opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated.

Should she stop Eileen’s strange behavior? But Eileen meant no harm; she was simply trying to share her burden. The method was only strange because of the bizarre book she had read. It wasn’t Eileen’s fault; it was the book’s fault.

Never mind. She would stick to her original idea and say nothing, letting Eileen discover the truth on her own.

Amelia chose to remain silent.

As long as things didn’t veer into exceptionally strange territory, she could endure it. Above all, she couldn’t explain that this was bizarre behavior, lest she embarrass Eileen.

[Brothers, am I watching a legitimate show? Why does this seem a bit… off?]

[What exactly is in The Self-Cultivation of a Maid? Can someone give me a copy?]

[Squeeze together! Squeeze more! Squeeze them hard!]

[Judging by Amelia’s expression, she seems to find this strange, but she isn’t refusing. Why isn’t she refusing? Deep down, is she actually hoping for something? Ehehe.]

[Can you tie it even tighter? I love seeing the ropes dig into the skin.]

The viewers were intensely excited, sending a barrage of bullet comments one after another.

Amelia felt a little awkward. She turned her head, avoiding the bullet comments. But while she could ignore the comments, she couldn’t ignore the warmth from Eileen’s body, no matter how hard she tried.

That warmth, that softness… it was too vivid.

And why was the rope tied so comprehensively?

It started at their feet, binding them together, and wound all the way up to their shoulders.

Eileen finally finished tying them together completely and, just as the book described, tied the rope into a dead knot.

Seeing that Amelia had expressed no opinion throughout the process, Eileen sighed with relief inwardly.

‘At first, I wondered if this might be strange. I’ve never heard of a maid and master being tied together like this before. But since Her Majesty said nothing, it must be normal. I never knew a maid had to do such things. If it weren’t for The Self-Cultivation of a Maid, I would have never known. There is still so much I need to learn.’

Eileen resolved to study The Self-Cultivation of a Maid more diligently in the future, to learn the methods a maid should use to care for her master.

Amelia had no idea what Eileen was thinking, but the night had grown late, so she simply said, “Eileen, it’s time to sleep.”

“Understood. Then I’ll turn off… the light.”

Mid-sentence, Eileen realized she could no longer move to turn off the light. Tied tightly to Amelia, she couldn’t get up.

Even though the rope was in a dead knot, with her strength, she could forcibly break free. But wouldn’t that make the entire tying up pointless?

Eileen felt that binding herself to Amelia was a way of sharing Amelia’s burdens. If she tore the ropes off so casually, wouldn’t that signify an unwillingness to help?

According to The Self-Cultivation of a Maid, once a maid and master were bound together, it should last for at least the entire night.

Eileen fell silent.

“We do need to turn off the light and sleep, but now…” Amelia looked at Eileen beside her.

“I’m sorry, Miss Lily. I can’t go turn off the light right now.”

“That much is obvious.”

“In that case, Miss Lily, do you mind sleeping with the light on?”

“With the light on? Well… fine, I suppose that’s acceptable.”

Seeing the slightly anxious look on Eileen’s face, Amelia couldn’t bring herself to voice her own objections.

Eileen sighed in relief at Amelia’s words.

The night was deep. An autumn wind swept through White Maple Academy, and fallen leaves could be seen drifting from the branches outside the window. By tomorrow morning, the ground would likely be covered in a layer of pale leaves.

In the bedroom, Amelia closed her eyes.

But a few minutes later, she opened them again.

She couldn’t sleep.

It wasn’t because the light was on. It was because she was bound, and the sensation of the ropes pressing into her made her feel unnatural. Finding it hard to sleep was only to be expected.

She glanced at Eileen beside her. Eileen had already fallen asleep, her long eyelashes fluttering gently, her pretty face fair with a rosy blush, looking so delicate it seemed a touch would break it.

So close!

Realizing the distance between herself and Eileen, Amelia’s face flushed slightly.

They were both girls, but sleeping tied up and pressed together like this still felt a little… odd.

And this rope really was cinched very tight.

Amelia couldn’t help but squirm her body slightly.

It was just a tiny movement, yet Eileen immediately woke up: “What’s wrong, Your Majesty… oh, no, Miss Lily.”

As a guard, Eileen’s senses were naturally very sharp. Even the slightest disturbance would rouse her. She looked at Amelia with concern.

Amelia hadn’t meant to wake her and said helplessly, “It’s nothing. I just feel the ropes are too tight.”

Eileen understood. “I see. We’re both lying flat on our backs, which makes the binding feel tighter. If we turn on our sides, there should be a bit more room.”

As she spoke, Eileen shifted onto her side.

Hearing this, Amelia also turned onto her side, facing Eileen.

When they were face-to-face, Amelia felt their faces were even closer, almost touching. This made her gaze flicker.

At that moment, Eileen also felt the atmosphere was a little strange.

‘Her Majesty’s eyes are so beautiful, like a blue lake under the sun. Too dazzling.’

‘Her Majesty’s face is also very beautiful. A perfect shape, flawless skin.’

‘Her Majesty’s body is so soft.’

Thoughts Eileen had never entertained before flooded her mind.

On her side, she could feel Amelia’s ample chest with absolute clarity. That pressing sensation gave her a strange tactile feeling she had never experienced.

Her Majesty has developed so incredibly well…

As this thought surfaced, Eileen’s cheeks flushed.

She felt it was entirely inappropriate. As both a guard and a maid, how could she entertain such irreverent thoughts? This was Her Majesty! How could she imagine Her Majesty in such a strange way?

Sleep!

Go to sleep immediately! Stop thinking these bizarre thoughts!

Eileen hastily closed her eyes, trying her best to fall asleep.

A few minutes later, Eileen opened her eyes with a sense of helplessness.

Can’t sleep.

She looked at Amelia, who had now fallen asleep, her long eyelashes fluttering gently.

Gazing at Amelia’s delicate, pretty face, the restlessness in Eileen’s heart gradually subsided.

Though the softness of the other person’s body still disturbed her mind, as a qualified guard and maid, she had to learn self-control and maintain composure within that restraint.

Eileen closed her eyes again.

==========

The next day.

Bright sunlight streamed through the glass window, filling the bedroom with a warm and gentle light.

Amelia woke up feeling satisfied.

She had slept well, feeling as if she had been hugging a soft body pillow all night. Very comfortable.

But the moment she opened her eyes, she was startled. “E-Eileen, what happened to you? Didn’t you sleep at all last night?”

What greeted Amelia’s eyes was Eileen’s somewhat haggard face. She even saw dark circles under her eyes.

“I’m fine, Miss Lily. No need to worry about me,” Eileen replied expressionlessly.

In truth, she hadn’t slept a wink all night.

The moment she closed her eyes, her physical sensations became incredibly distinct. The softness of Amelia’s body against hers was something she felt with unmistakable clarity, and a strange feeling seemed to sprout from deep within her heart.

This process repeated itself throughout the night, ultimately leaving her staring wide-eyed until dawn.

“This…” Amelia looked at Eileen helplessly. “Regardless, let’s untie the rope and get up. While I’m in class during the day, Eileen, you can catch up on sleep in the dorm.”

“No, I must follow Miss Lily to provide protection.”

“Don’t worry. I am a Low-Rank Apostle, after all. And I’ll be with the other students. Nothing will happen.”

“But…”

“Alright, Eileen, be good and go to sleep.”

“…”

Eileen couldn’t win an argument against Amelia.

In any case, she first pulled apart the ropes, freeing herself and Amelia.

Released from her bonds, Amelia stretched her arms to loosen up. But immediately, she noticed a problem.

There were distinct rope marks on her arms and thighs, as if she had undergone some sort of shameful play. And these marks clearly wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

Amelia’s expression turned serious. She had to go to class. If anyone saw these marks, what on earth would they think of her?

Thankfully, it was autumn, so she could wear more clothes.

“Eileen, today I’ll wear a long-sleeved dress, long enough to cover my arms and legs. The fabric shouldn’t be too sheer,” Amelia immediately instructed.

“I understand, Miss Lily.”

Eileen quickly rose to prepare Amelia’s outfit, while Amelia went to wash up. She also casually glanced at the bullet comments that appeared after waking up.

[Tsk tsk, after a whole night, Amelia already has so many strange marks on her body.]

[The scene just cut from Eileen’s insomnia to the morning. During that time we missed, did Eileen do anything strange to Amelia or not?]

[Hmph, even if nothing strange happened, I’ll just assume it did. All these rope marks on her body are proof.]

[Time to draw a doujinshi.]

[Dear doujin artist, brother or sister, please let me read your work!]

Amelia looked at the bullet comments, speechless.

Seriously? Nothing happened at all. How could these bunch of perverts have such wild imaginations?

After washing up, Amelia went to change into the dress Eileen had selected. She ate the breakfast Eileen had prepared, then headed off to class.

Today would be a peaceful day.

==========

In the blink of an eye, it was October 15th.

During these past few days, Amelia hadn’t met with Bennett again. He seemed extremely busy, being the most popular candidate for Grand Duke Heir, and often needed to interact with various nobles and wealthy merchants.

Furthermore, Bennett had to draft the contract for their cooperation. To ensure its comprehensiveness, he wouldn’t make a hasty decision.

This was different from Verna.

Verna had drafted their contract without spending too much time, but relatively speaking, its terms were less binding on both sides, so a quick decision was possible.

Bennett, however, clearly wanted to draft a far more detailed contract.

In any case, the fact that Bennett hadn’t sought her out wasn’t a bad thing for Amelia. She continued living her life as Lily Hicks, a student in the Harp Class at White Maple Academy.

During this time, she occasionally wandered around the academy with Verna and Vera, and their relationships improved considerably.

They looked like three harmless young ladies. But who could have imagined that among those three seemingly harmless girls, two were merely pretending to be harmless?

Afternoon.

The time pointed to 1:30 PM.

There was no Harp Class this afternoon, so Amelia didn’t need to go to the teaching building. She ate the dessert Eileen had made while browsing various noon newspapers.

“Hmm? This is…”

Suddenly, a report in one of the newspapers caught Amelia’s eye. Her eyes widened in shock, and her grip on the paper tightened so abruptly that she tore right through it.

The Queen of the Fallen Kingdom of the Steele Kingdom Sighted in Bonn City! The Steele Kingdom’s Old Count, Rupert Ross, Weeping Tears of Joy, Rushes to Join Her. Now Gathered.

Seeing this report, Amelia was truly stunned.