Qin Wei first looked at his protector, "Vanessa, this is Luna, my personal maid who has been with me since childhood. She's also a disciple of Blossom Tower, but…" he added quickly. "At the moment, she returned to my side to serve me again."
Vanessa's brow twitched. Her eyes narrowed slightly, observing the lady. However, her aura was still flaring like she couldn't wait to burn this woman.
"She'll be staying here from now on," Qin Wei went on. "According to the rules you recited to me and she reminded me earlier, I'm responsible for her housing and provisions."
Then he turned to Luna, his gaze a little softer now as he spoke. "And Luna… this is Vanessa. She was assigned by my father-in-law as my protector. I trust her more than anyone in this House. And yes, she is the acting master of this villa. So, if you want to live with me, you can't show hostility to her."
Vanessa's heart skipped slightly when she heard those words. Her expression softened a bit.
But then, Luna crossed her arms under her chest like a jealous and possessive girlfriend, lifting her chin high as her lips curled into a sneer in response to the introduction.
"Hmph. I can take care of Master on my own," she said in a dismissive voice. "We don't need outsiders sticking their noses in our matters, Master. Master Icarus can request the House Lord to dismiss her. And if he insists on keeping her, then it will confirm that this woman is not the Master's protector but a prison guard. Also, I'm strong enough to earn for Master's living expenses. Master doesn't have to depend on House Griffin's allowances. Since Madam isn't here anyway, Master can come with me to the Blossom City."
Vanessa was just about to cool down, but Luna's aggressive comment flared her up again. She took a step forward while almost drawing her blade. "Outsider?" she echoed coldly. "You're the outsider here, Luna. Everyone in this residence serves the House Griffin, even the Master Icarus himself. You're the only one with no ties. How dare you come into our House, and spout those words of taking Milady's husband away?"
Qin Wei rubbed his temples, feeling the pressure climb like steam in a kettle. He knew that Luna was slightly out of line, but he couldn't bring himself to scold her. And Vanessa… well… she is a Rank-8, someone he came to trust, and someone he decided to depend on, for his training. Since the system assigned her as his mentor, training with her will help him the most with that 100% boost.
While he let out a deep sigh, trying to think of a solution to solve this problem, Vanessa's gaze then turned to him this time as she continued, "And don't forget, Master Icarus, the rules of the House are clear. While you're allowed to bring in maids as you like, if their realm is above rank five, their stay must be approved by me."
Qin Wei's brows drew together at realization. He remembers that rule very well, but he cannot keep Luna away from his life.
As he doesn't want to disappoint her by just admitting it right away, he faked his displeasure by clicking his tongue. "But Luna isn't just some maid. She's family. You can't treat her as just some maid."
Luna turned, her expression softening in an instant while Vanessa's face hardened. Her voice dropped to a tender coo as she leaned in. "Oh, Master Icarus… I'm so touched."
Qin Wei visibly flinched as the blanket slightly slipped, revealing a part of her upper body. As she realized and hurriedly covered herself while staring warily at Vanessa, he took a quick step back from the conversation and cleared his throat. "That said… Yes. We should follow the household rules."
Luna blinked, caught off guard by his change of statement. "Master?"
He gave a helpless shrug, forcing a bitter smile. "Luna, you forgot that I'm just a matrilocal husband here, not just simply Thea's husband. I don't have the right to make decisions on residence or personnel. And in Thea's absence, she has the right to make the decisions." He tilted his head toward Vanessa.
Luna's expression changed to something colder as she turned to face Vanessa again. Her lips pressed together for a moment. Meanwhile, Vanessa smirked, crossing her arms as both of them stared at one another.
"Fine," she said finally. "What do I have to do to stay?"
With a steady gaze on her and maintaining an authoritative tone, Vanessa said. "If you want to stay, there are rules that you must follow."
Luna raised a brow but said nothing.
"First," Vanessa continued, "you're not allowed to remain in the Master Icarus's residence past midnight until dawn, especially on his bed," she added while slightly flinching at the last set of words.
"Your place, as a personal maid of Master Icarus, is in the servants' quarters. That's the rule for everyone."
Luna's fingers twitched.
"Second. Your clothing. I don't care how free you were in the House Phoenix or how strong a mage you were in Blossom Tower, but here, you wear standard maid attire during daylight, with no ornaments or distractions. Regardless of what Master Icarus gives you as a gift, you cannot wear it within the premises of Moonvilla. You can only wear it when you step outside of Moonvilla. Even if you want to guard Master Icarus past midnight, you can only guard him outside, never inside."
Luna's smile tightened, but she said nothing.
"Last but not least," Vanessa said, her tone dipping further as she continued, "until I decide you're trustworthy, you are not to take the Master Icarus anywhere alone, outside of Moonvilla. If I'm unavailable, one of our own will accompany you. No exceptions. As long as you follow these three rules, you can continue serving Master Icarus within Moonvilla. If I see you break these rules, you will be subjected to punishment on your first and second warning. Then, expulsion on the third."
For the next few seconds, silence lingered in the room like thick fog until Luna's eyes narrowed slightly, locking her gaze on Vanessa. "Alright," she said. "I agree with the rules."
Just as Vanessa smiled with a firm nod, Luna gave a small smirk. Vanessa caught that smirk and wondered what it was. But then in the next second, her eyes widened, and Luna lunged at Qin Wei's back, putting his arms over his neck. The blanket slipped from her body, and her breasts pressed against his back.
"Wha..." Qin Wei was taken aback, and so was Vanessa. "What are you doing..."
In response, she leaned her head forward and kissed the side of his neck, her long hair fell over his shoulder, before she said, while roaming her hands over his bare chest, "What? It's already past dawn now. According to your rules, I can be with my master from dawn to midnight, right?"
"You..." Vanessa flared again.
But then, Qin Wei let out a groan of pleasure. "Oh my… Luna… stop it..."
His calm shaft once again rose like a tower. Vanessa blushed deeply in embarrassment. She stuttered, pointing her trembling finger at them, "You… you… both of you… Both of you are just shameless and perverted… I am going to inform the Lord."
"Wait..." Qin Wei called out for her, but she strode in big steps and left the room.
As she walked at a brisk pace and stepped out of the house, one of the battlemaids stationed outside asked, "Vanessa, did anything happen?"
Vanessa stopped and then snapped her head toward them, "What the hell are you two doing, when someone entered the house undetected? Are you two sleeping? Rank-6 masters, my foot… You both are useless..."
"Eh? Someone is in the house?" As the battlemaids exchanged their glances in wide eyes, Vanessa shouted at their faces again, "Luckily, she wasn't an enemy. What if she were an enemy? By now, you would see a dead body inside the house. Both of you probably thought who would try to assassinate Master Icarus and just fell to sleep, right?"
As both of them immediately fell to their knees, Vanessa said. "Fine, stand up. Just keep your senses to the maximum and never… ever… let any stranger into the house."
As she turned around to walk again, she stopped and glanced behind, saying. "Oh, by the way, Master Icarus appointed a new personal maid. She had my approval. Keep an eye on her whenever she is out of the Master's residence."
Both of them, who didn't know who entered or what happened, or who this new maid was, could only glance at each other and nod in acceptance of the order.
Vanessa then started walking. As she remembered something, she halted her footsteps again, this time glanced at the house, muttering, "This lady is a Rank-7. Not only is she quite beautiful, but she was also close to Master Icarus. If she only remains as a personal maid or even a Mistress, it should be fine, but her words earlier of taking him away suggest that she might have designs on him to become a secondary wife. Even if he is trash, he is still of nobility, the son of an imperial princess. His son would be of noble birth, too. That would be a jump in status. Moreover, his thing is even bigger than an olisbo I had..."
Her face flushed in deep red again, as those thoughts came to her head. "Stop it, Vanessa. What the hell are you thinking..." She hurried her footsteps, leaving the place.