That Butler, Serving

When Simon regained his composure, he found himself standing right before Aina.

Aina sat regally on the sofa, wearing black lace gloves. Her hands were folded gracefully in her lap as she watched him in silence.

Xia Lun still stood at Aina's left side, his right hand placed over his heart... It was unclear where he had acquired yet another new prop; in addition to the white gloves from before, a pristine white silk scarf was now draped over his arm.

"Lady Aina." Simon hurriedly bowed his head, daring not to show the slightest discourtesy.

The earlier incident with Sera had already given him quite a headache. Simon glanced at his daughter out of the corner of his eye. She still maintained a very casual demeanor and only straightened her posture slightly when she seemed to sense him looking at her.

"Lady Aina... are you satisfied with Sera's service? She is just an idle young lady who has never taken care of anyone before. I hope you can be lenient with her... Sera is rather clumsy; I feel I should arrange a professional maid for you instead..."

"That won't be necessary," Aina waved her hand dismissively. "I will be departing tomorrow."

Simon's heart sank, unsure of what Aina meant by those words. "Lady Aina... do you feel there are areas the Lais family needs to rectify?"

To this moment, he still hadn't been able to guess Aina's purpose for suddenly coming here.

For now, he would just treat it as a superior coming down for an inspection to assess the welfare of the people.

After all, Aina held the title of the Hero's Wife, so it was quite normal for her to care about the commoners... Simon thought silently to himself.

If Xia Lun knew what Simon was thinking, he might not have been able to hold back his laughter. He knew very well that, given Aina's true nature as the Demon Lord, she wouldn't care even if everyone outside dropped dead... That aloofness, untainted by the mundane world, was actually something he found quite attractive about her back then.

The reputation of the Lais family was fairly decent. The family was strictly managed internally, and no one had committed tyrannical acts or abused the populace... Therefore, since a clear conscience fears no accusation, Simon was not afraid of Aina finding any major problems within their family.

There were inevitably some minor disputes with the commoners... but whether those could be found was one thing, and even if they were known, she likely wouldn't blow such small matters out of proportion.

"Areas to rectify?" Aina snorted coldly. "Don't you, the head of the house, know that yourself? Do you need to ask me?"

"Yes! Lady Aina, I understand. I will definitely correct them properly later." Simon broke out in a cold sweat.

Although he truly didn't know anything, he couldn't possibly say that to Aina's face... He could only agree verbally for now, and then think hard later to list out anything they might have done poorly.

"Let's leave it at that. I am going to rest." Aina paused slightly. "Sera is a good child... just a bit mischievous."

Sera stuck out her tongue.

Just a child of several hundred years old.

Naturally, Simon had already arranged for several maids to prepare the guest room.

It had to be said, the Lais family possessed deep pockets and strong foundations.

Upon entering the room, anyone would likely be instantly captivated by the luxurious bed, which was four or five meters wide. Just looking at it gave one the feeling that sleeping on it would be pure bliss, and no matter how much one rolled around, they would never fall onto the floor...

After dismissing the maids waiting at the door, Xia Lun pulled the gold-plated handle and slowly closed the heavy door.

Having played the butler for so long, it was time to claim his reward from Aina.

"Aina..."

"Heh, what did you call me?" Aina sat on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other. "It seems I haven't fired you yet, have I?"

"Apologies, Milady. This subordinate was rude." Xia Lun bowed slightly.

Since he was wearing this outfit, he naturally had to let the Demon Lord enjoy herself to the fullest.

"Come here, Xia Lun." Aina propped her hands on the bed behind her, curling the toes of her raised foot as if beckoning to Xia Lun. "Come and attend to me."

No sooner had Xia Lun reached the bedside than Aina grabbed him by the collar, and the two of them tumbled onto the bed together.

"You're dawdling. Absolutely no efficiency at all. It's truly absurd." Aina's voice took on a chilly tone. "What an unqualified butler. It seems I need to teach you a lesson."

"Apologies..."

Aina gripped Xia Lun's wrist and forced his right hand behind her back.

"Undo the buttons here. I'll give you only ten seconds."

Xia Lun could only use one hand because his other hand was pinned by Aina, preventing it from moving.

Xia Lun unbuttoned them clumsily. Aina rarely wore this red formal gown, and even though the shawl had already been removed, the buttons on the back were still quite intricate.

Aina's demand was simply an impossible task.

"Alright, time's up. You really are useless."

Aina pressed her body against his, held Xia Lun's head, and offered her lips.

Xia Lun subconsciously extended his tongue, only to be bitten by Aina—not too hard, but not too softly either... It was more of a startle than actual pain.

"This is your punishment..." Aina brushed back her long hair and reached back to undo the buttons herself.

The gown slid from Aina's body as smoothly as if it had been dipped in cream, revealing a form-fitting white slip. Her exquisite curves were now fully displayed before Xia Lun.

"Next is the skirt. You likewise have ten seconds to deal with it."

If Aina were to do it herself, the time would certainly be more than enough... but now it was Xia Lun making the attempt. Furthermore, Aina was being quite uncooperative; she lay on the bed, unwilling to lift even a hand. Trying to remove the skirt from her body was simply futile.

"Time's up. You've failed again, Xia Lun... what a useless butler." Aina looked at Xia Lun provocatively, then bit his tongue once more.

Only a few final scraps of fabric remained, covering the most mysterious parts of Aina's body... At this moment, the large expanses of exposed skin, tender and white as suet jade, were paradoxically less attention-grabbing.

The final line of defense was a very novel style; he didn't know when Aina had acquired it.

"You should be able to manage this time, Xia Lun. After all, this is what you're best at... Look, just hold the edge like this, and pull down..."

Aina's movements were quite bold, and a few hints of pale pink flashed through Xia Lun's field of vision.

Xia Lun said nothing and simply took action.

"How impressive. You solved it in less than a second. As expected of my butler."

Aina opened her arms wide. "That's enough, Xia Lun. No more games. Come and settle your payment. I'll give you whatever you want..."

"Until I take off these clothes, I am still your butler, Milady." Xia Lun tore open the collar of his shirt, and then unleashed the beast within.

The black swallow-tailed butler suit and the blood-red gown lay scattered together by the bedside.

Fortunately... they were the first batch of clothes to survive Aina's hands intact.