Yuan Zhaoxian looked down at Jingya lying on his bed.
She was a woman who, despite having not a shred of Inner Power, had managed to understand barrier-level formations and even caught a glimpse of his 'Dark Domain'.
'Those eyes that shone with golden light, surely somewhere...'
As he closed his eyes for a moment, recalling his previous life, an exclamation unconsciously escaped his lips.
"...I see. So you were 'that woman'."
He and she had never met face to face.
Moreover, her appearance was so different from what he remembered that he couldn't recall it immediately.
"How could you be a person of this clan..."
In his hand was the steward's directive that Jingya had brought.
"...What a peculiar twist of fate."
He gently brushed aside Jingya's hair that had fallen across her face.
"How strange indeed is destiny."
All he had done was chase away the servants in the morning.
And as a result, in just half a day, someone he had never directly met in his previous life suddenly appeared as his maid.
He smiled and shook his head.
The occurrence of unexpected events.
Isn't that what makes the world still interesting, even to him?
He rose from his seat and left the bedroom.
He needed to first find a way to perfectly conceal his demonic energy, if only to prepare for her eyes.
If he could not just hide it but control it, that would be perfect.
Perhaps half a day.
At most, a full day should be enough.
It was just a matter of modifying and creating a mental technique to perfectly conceal demonic energy, why would it need more time than that?
Yuan Zhaoxian calmly entertained thoughts that no martial arts master would agree with as he entered his study.
"...Sleep well, and I'll see you later, Golden-Eyed Witch."
***
The situation before she fainted felt like it had been nothing more than a nightmare.
Jingya woke up feeling incredibly refreshed.
How long had it been since she'd slept so soundly?
Forgetting about the Luoyang Sword Clan, forgetting about the Second Young Master and Third Young Master, it was as if she had returned to her childhood, when she lived with her family.
How long had it been since she had opened her eyes without any worry, fear, or anxiety?
When she pushed aside the blanket that had been warmly wrapped around her and got up, there was a teapot and cup placed by her pillow.
As she drank the cold-brewed tea with its fragrance, she felt like there was nothing in the world to envy.
Though she had tasted countless high-grade teas while working as a receptionist at the Sword Clan, she had never had tea that made someone feel as comfortable as these tea leaves she was tasting for the first time.
Moreover, the bedding she had been lying on, though old and worn, was of the highest quality that she had never slept in before.
And the teacup she was holding, though slightly chipped, was none other than rare celadon.
'Where is this...?'
The room she was in felt old-fashioned and cozy, while naturally exuding a high level of refinement.
Her attention was caught by the terrifyingly elegant calligraphy on the wall scrolls, the mountain and field carvings in fragrant wood, and the earthenware containing dried flower petals that gave off a comfortable scent. She carefully got up and arranged the bedding.
Then she lifted the blackwood shade that had been blocking the intense sunset light seeping through the paper windows and opened the window.
"Ah..."
The scene that unfolded there naturally drew an exclamation from her lips.
The vast area surrounded by forest was so wide it couldn't be taken in at a single glance.
The Wang Pavilion, situated at the very edge of the Luoyang Sword Clan, was connected to nature itself, stretching outward.
And it had drawn that nature into its embrace, fashioning it into a garden.
Wide grasslands, low hills, streams and marshlands. And even ponds and lakes.
It was a breathtaking sight intermingled with the setting sun.
And above all.
It was now February.
While Luoyang was in winter, this Wang Pavilion was in spring.
As she stood lost in that amazing scenery, a strangely playful voice reached her ears.
"How is it? Beautiful, isn't it?"
That voice brought her back to reality.
"Ah...!"
The person who had called out to her from the courtyard was wearing old white cotton clothes.
"Yes. Did you sleep well?"
He gave her a small wave.
"Ah, yes. Thanks to you..."
He had a slender youth's build with a gentle boy's face.
She thought that rather than a handsome young man, pretty boy was a more fitting description for his snow-white skin and soft features.
"Good. I'm glad."
Then he smiled mischievously.
"My neck hurts from looking up to talk, so get ready and come down to the first floor."
Then he left, turning the corner with a casual stride without waiting for an answer.
"Ah...!"
And only then did Jingya realize.
That pretty boy was none other than Yuan Zhaoxian, the First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan who was known by the derogatory title of Swordless One.
And she also realized that where she was standing was his bedroom, and in their first meeting, she had dared to look down at her master while conversing.
***
"...So, you say your name is Jingya?"
To Yuan Zhaoxian's leisurely question as he sat back comfortably, Jingya, having regained her usual composure, replied calmly.
"Yes, my lord."
At her demeanor, Yuan Zhaoxian smiled mischievously.
"You were quite heavy earlier."
Of course, this was a joke from his perspective.
Having obtained the power of the Dark Scripture, there was no way he would find the weight of one woman heavy.
"Ah, I- I'm terribly sorry."
She realized.
There wasn't a single servant in Wang Pavilion right now.
It was none other than the First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan who had moved her when she fainted.
Jingya's mind became dizzy.
'Come to think of it, I fainted in that forest. First, I met those experts dressed as security guards, then that terrible formation, and then...'
Clearly she had had a terrible nightmare, but after waking up, it was as if she couldn't remember.
'I definitely saw something, but was that a dream...?'
The shock that exceeded her capacity to process had jumbled her memories and erased the parts she couldn't handle.
Yuan Zhaoxian, who had been quietly observing Jingya's confused state, spoke again.
"Fortunately, I found you collapsed while I was taking a walk. Even though Wang Pavilion is warm, if you had been discovered later, it could have been serious."
At those words, Jingya rose from her chair, knelt on the floor, and bowed her head deeply.
"I will never forget the grace you showed in saving this lowly one's life."
Yuan Zhaoxian waved his hand.
"I understand, so get up."
Then he picked up and unfolded the directive on the table.
But Jingya showed no intention of getting up.
"From now on, as I serve you, I will not spare my body and will dedicate my life to..."
"Come now, I said that's enough."
Yuan Zhaoxian, interrupting Jingya's words, looked at her over the directive.
His gaze showed no trace of emotion.
"Besides, I never said I would accept you, yet you've decided on your own to serve me?"
Then he waved the directive.
"Or is this steward's directive giving orders to me, the First Young Master?"
His words struck like lightning in Jingya's mind.
Come to think of it, she had been taking it for granted that she would serve the First Young Master until now.
"...Please kill this lowly one!"
No. She had clearly been keeping in mind that she would have an interview with the First Young Master.
But everything had gotten twisted because she fainted in the forest.
"My, I saved your life, and now you decide to serve me on your own, and now you're asking me to kill you."
Jingya bowed her head even deeper.
"...I apologize."
Yuan Zhaoxian clicked his tongue and took a sip of tea before speaking again.
"I never asked for a personal maid in the first place. I just need a servant or maid who is good at menial tasks..."
At his words, Jingya quickly replied.
"I also started working at the Great Luoyang Sword Clan doing all sorts of menial tasks. Though I may not meet your standards, I will do my best..."
"Oh?"
Making a small "hmm" sound and nodding slightly, Yuan Zhaoxian spoke in a serious tone.
"Then there's one most important matter remaining."
Jingya swallowed hard.
Though obscured by the derogatory title of Swordless One, the First Young Master was said to be unmatched in not only literature, painting, and calligraphy but also in various skills.
What condition would he set?
"Do you know how to cook?"
"Pardon...?"
Jingya unconsciously raised her head to look at Yuan Zhaoxian's face, then quickly lowered it again.
"Cooking, I mean. Do you know how to cook?"
It was the most serious voice in the world.
"I certainly do know how, but I dare not compare myself to professional cooks..."
As Jingya stammered out her answer to the unexpected question, Yuan Zhaoxian slapped his knee.
"So do you have confidence or not?!"
Jingya answered reflexively.
"I do, my lord!"
"Good! You're hired!"
***
Jingya stared blankly at the flames in the small furnace.
With her shabby work clothes found in the maid's quarters, face smudged with soot, and apron stained with soup, it was hard to believe she was the same Jingya who had looked like a noble lady.
How busy she had been with kitchen work after so long.
But with her excellent memory and universally acknowledged work skills, combined with her 'eyes', now she was just waiting for the rice on the furnace to cook.
'That was hectic...'
She sighed softly while warming her hands by the furnace flames.
Everything started when she fainted in the forest because of the formation.
She had been daringly carried by the First Young Master himself and woken up in his bedroom.
And what a series of unseemly behavior followed in the subsequent meeting.
Looking back, it was enough to make her face burn with embarrassment.
To think that she, who had been called Ice Flower by the extraordinary people and high officials who visited the Luoyang Sword Clan, would lose her composure so easily.
'I was confident I could maintain my outward composure even if a sword suddenly came to my throat...'
Even experts who used Qi sense never knew that Jingya could detect their Qi sense.
To think that she would be so absurdly flustered like this.
'All because I unexpectedly fainted on the forest path...'
Her hand-warming motion in front of the fire stopped.
"...No."
When she woke up in the First Young Master's bedroom, she had clearly felt unprecedented refreshment, and her mind had been perfectly clear.
Although she couldn't grasp the situation before and after, it wasn't enough to make her lose her composure in the subsequent situations.
Making her look up and speak to the First Young Master was problematic behavior, but it clearly wasn't enough to be flustered about.
She had enough experience and skill from years of working as a receptionist to handle that level of mistake competently.
What about the conversation afterward?
Just because the First Young Master had thrown out a few casual words, hadn't she acted like a new maid being hazed?
Her being flustered, making mistakes, and only now looking back at the previous situation and feeling something strange.
All of that was...
'...It originated from the First Young Master.'
From their first meeting to the last.
He never lost control even once, created the flow of conversation as he wished, and shook up someone like herself who had enough composure to be called Ice Flower.
'That person is the Swordless One...?'
The same person who had no choice but to chase away the servants just this morning because they were acting too unruly?
The image of Yuan Zhaoxian conversing with her floated in Jingya's mind.
His figure leisurely reclining in a soft, wide chair with a relaxed yet dignified posture.
And those eyes that looked endlessly indifferent, unlike the smile on his lips.
That appearance wasn't that of a Swordless One, but rather like...
Goosebumps ran all over her body.
"Is the rice not done yet?"
"Eek!"
At his voice suddenly coming from behind, Jingya jumped up from her spot in surprise.
"Oh, sorry. Seems I startled you."
Standing in the doorway with an apologetic, awkward smile, Jingya couldn't give any response to the First Young Master at that moment.
She realized then.
That her 'eyes' couldn't read anything from him.