Stealing away from the crowd, I was certain no one noticed my exit. In a place with hundreds of people who had different motives, they were certain to miss a young boy holding a glass of wine, no, make that two glasses of wine, leaving the hall.
I made my way downstairs, through the auxiliary passageway that only members of the household knew of. The main passageway was crawling with annoying adults, even the stairs, and I wasn't in the mood to greet them.
Descending the stairs and making my way to the backyard, I made sure no one followed me.
Upon getting there, I found that my spot had already been occupied by someone. She stood in a corner, also making an effort to be inconspicuous. A young-looking woman, appearing to be in her early twenties. However, that wasn't the most noticeable trait about her.
It was the uniform she wore. She was a maid of my household, and I knew her!
I waited a while since she appeared to be talking to herself for a few moments. I thought the wait would last forever.
Finally, I couldn't wait anymore, so I decided to intentionally recreate loud footsteps in order to notify her of my presence.
Instantly, she ceased her mumblings and stiffened as I made my appearance.
"Y-young master!" She remarked in surprise.
I smiled, nodding at her, with both glasses of wine held in each of my hands. She looked at my face with shock, her eyes fell to the two glasses I held, then turned to me again.
"You won't tell on me, will you?" I grinned mischievously.
"N-no way… b-but, young master… I don't think Milady will approve of you doing this. You're still underage, you know?" She said in her sweet and flustered tone.
'No, duh. You think I don't know that?' I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, Liliana. I'm a growing man, this much is to be expected. Magic isn't my only passion, you know?" I responded, trying to use my smooth words to convince her.
"B-but…" She muttered, looking away, as though considering what to do.
Liliana, or as most of the maids called her, Lily, was one of the youngest member of the servants in our household.
Not just when it came to years, but also in terms of service. Most servants had spent at least a dozen years in the household, but she had only spent about five. She was still new and inexperienced compared to most, which made her personality easy to manipulate.
"I hope you do not think of defying this young master," I said, suddenly switching my tone into something more aggressive tone.
"W-wha-?" She was now flustered, appearing a little scared.
My lips curled up in an evil grin and I licked my lips, staring at her with degenerate eyes.
"Eeeek! O-of course not, young master. I-I promise not to tell anyone." She squeaked powerlessly.
"Of course, you won't," I said in a low tone, drawing closer to her.
She attempted to take a step back the moment I was drawing near, but the intense gaze I gave her caused her body to tremble as she was rooted to the ground.
"Here. Have this."
Liliana looked surprised by my gesture. I gave her a cup of wine out of the two I held.
"Y-young master, I-"
One extra glare from my eyes shut her up as she nervously collected the glass cup and looked at it in surprise. Her body was still trembling, indicating she wasn't comfortable with this.
"Now, the both of us are with glass cups. This way, you can't tell on me or I'll also tell on you. Sounds fair, no?" I smiled.
Liliana widened her eyes in shock. The maid was apparently surprised by my diabolical means.
"Young master… you're so mean…" She whispered, looking at the contents of the wine cup.
"Hehe, of course not. I'm just playing it safe. Besides, this will also make you feel good, Liliana." I winked.
As long as she didn't tell on me, her secret was safe. Plus, she would also get to enjoy the rare wine being served to the important guests we had. Wouldn't anyone call that a win?
"Now then, Liliana. Let's drink to our little secret."
She nodded hesitantly, taking the glass of wine and sniffing it, testing it out with her tongue, swirling it around as it mixed with her tongue, and taking it down her throat in a refreshing manner.
As I downed my glass, I curiously stared at her method of consuming the wine and smiled.
"Liliana, you sure are an expert at drinking wine. Are you sure this is your first glass?" I grinned.
Upon hearing this, the young maid became even more flustered and her cheeks reddened.
"P-please, young master… don't tease me so. I just… heard that this was how to take wine, and I-"
"Pfft." I let out a snicker, amused by Liliana's reaction.
"Y-young master, what's so funny?" She asked, innocently gazing at me.
I kept laughing, while restraining my voice from peaking since I didn't want to gather any attention.
"Ahh, it's nothing. You're just a very funny character." I smiled, still chuckling a little.
"Me? Funny? Young master is so mean…" She pouted in a mock angry fashion.
Apparently, it was a rude thing to call a woman 'funny', and it appeared as though I was making fun of her nervousness.
All things considered, she was still a maid, and I was the young master of this noble family. She was certainly in the right to be nervous in our entire discourse.
"It's not that I'm mean, Liliana. You're just too nice." I smiled.
She was surprised by me saying this, and a slight blush appeared on her face. She was such a charming young lady. Beautiful, shy, mild, and extremely naïve.
Any man would want her just by her looks and personality alone, yet she worked as a maid.
"Y-young master, your praise is too much. I-I'm not that nice… I'm just inexperienced, and-"
My grin became wider as she said this.
"No, you're really nice, Liliana…" I repeated, interrupting her words.
I stared at her with narrowed eyes, while having a dark smile on my face. The young maid looked stunned by my sudden change in expression, now looking more nervous.
" … That is… when you're not trying to kill me."