The next morning, Cassius sat at his desk in the guest wing, methodically sharpening his sword while reviewing the events of the previous night. Lisa's potions still bothered him, they were far too powerful for standard alchemist guild products.
[You're brooding again.]
"I don't brood," Cassius replied, testing his blade's edge. "I analyze."
[Call it what you want. But you should get ready, your father requested your presence for breakfast.]
Cassius sighed, sheathing his sword. These days, his father insisted on family meals, eager to show off his 'prodigy swordsman' son. As if a few days of training could produce the results he claimed to see.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Young master?" A familiar voice called. "May I come in?"
Cassius froze, his hand tightening on the sword hilt. That voice…
"Enter," he commanded, forcing his tone to remain steady.
The door opened to reveal a young maid with brown hair tied back neatly, wearing the standard Blackwood estate uniform. She bowed deeply, but Cassius barely noticed the gesture. His attention was fixed on her face.
'Lisa?'
"I am your new personal maid, young master," she said, rising from her bow. "I look forward to serving you."
Cassius maintained his composure, though his mind raced. The girl who had "saved" him last night was now standing before him in a maid's uniform, acting as if they'd never met. Was this a coincidence? Or had she planned this? Did she know he's Casian?
[Well, this is interesting.]
'Interesting is one word for it,' Cassius thought. Out loud, he asked, "Arent you too young to be a maid? "
"Age doesn't matter!" Lisa said proudly, lifting her chin. "I'm better at this than most adults anyway."
[That's more like the girl from last night.]
"Is that so?" Cassius asked, raising an eyebrow at her sudden burst of confidence. Such behavior was hardly fitting for a maid.
"Yep!" she grinned, before catching herself and adding a hasty bow. "I mean, yes, young master. The Duchess herself said my skills were very impressive."
Of course, the same girl who'd confidently faced down thugs and worried about an 'endangered' Cerberus wouldn't suddenly become a perfectly poised maid.
"I see," Cassius said, hiding his amusement at her slip. "And what exactly did you do to impress the Duchess?"
"Oh, lots of things!" Lisa said brightly, then paused. "I mean... I demonstrated various domestic skills that proved my worth as a servant, young master."
Her attempt at formality was almost painful to watch. Whoever had prepared her for this role clearly hadn't accounted for her natural enthusiasm.
[She's terrible at this.]
'Agreed. Though that might work in our favor,' Cassius thought. Anyone truly trying to spy on him would have trained harder to maintain their cover.
"Well then," he said, "you can start by tidying up the room."
"Right!" Lisa bounced forward, then caught herself again. "I mean... as you wish, young master."
Lisa darted around the room, alternating between bursts of energy and forced attempts at maidlike grace.
"Young master," she said, turning back to him. "What would you like to wear for breakfast? Something fancy to match your status as a swordsman?"
[Is she fishing for information about your class?]
"The usual will be fine," Cassius replied vaguely, watching her reaction.
"Right! The usual..." Lisa trailed off, clearly having no idea what that meant. She opened his wardrobe and stared at the contents with poorly concealed confusion. "Which is..."
"The blue one," he said, deciding to spare her some embarrassment. Though it was interesting that no one had briefed her on even basic duties.
"Blue! Yes, of course!" She pulled out the garment with far too much enthusiasm for a simple task. "Perfect for a sword- I mean, for breakfast. With your father. Who you're close to. Because you're his son. Who uses swords."
[She's really bad at this.]
"You seem very interested in swordsmanship," Cassius noted, watching her fumble with the formal attire.
"Who, me?" Lisa laughed nervously. "No, not at all! I mean, it's normal to be interested in your master's... interests. Right?"
[Ask her about last night's training session. According to rumors, you were practicing late in the training hall.]
Cassius smiled slightly. "Of course. Did you hear about my training session last night?"
"Last night?" Lisa's hands stilled on his collar. "I heard you were in the training hall until quite late, young master. Very dedicated!"
'Interesting,' Cassius thought. 'She's providing an alibi for where I supposedly was.'
"Indeed. Though the guards say they didn't see me return."
"Oh, well, you know how guards can be!" Lisa said quickly. "Sometimes they miss things. Like children sneaking out. Not that you would do that! You're very proper and... sword... like."
[She's digging herself deeper with every word.]
"You seem very knowledgeable about people sneaking out," Cassius observed.
"What? No! I just meant..." Lisa flustered with his collar. "I would never! I'm a very proper maid who stays inside and... maid things."
[She's even worse at lying than being a maid.]
"Maid things?" Cassius prompted, curious how she'd recover from this one. It seemed like she knew nothing about what maids did which only reaffirmed his belief that she was actually a noble's daughter.
But why would a noble's daughter want to be his maid?
"Yes! Like helping young masters get ready for breakfast," she said brightly, clearly relieved to change the subject.
"Is that all?" he asked. "No other interesting stories to share?"
"No!" Lisa replied, "Of course not. We maids just clean and stuff. No interesting stories here."
"If you say so, Lisa," Cassius replied, then caught his mistake too late.
Lisa's hands froze on his collar. "Forgive me, my lord, but..." her voice dropped to barely a whisper, "I don't believe I ever said my name was Lisa."
For a moment, neither of them moved. The cheerful mask had slipped from Lisa's face, replaced by something sharper, more calculating. Their eyes met in the mirror, and Cassius saw the exact moment her thoughts began to race.
[Well, this should be interesting. ]