Bullying from the Maid

Greg stood in the night breeze at the edge of the Clock Tower, listening to that opening remark, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Hey, hey, you're going to kill me for being a few minutes late? Isn't that a little too strict? What is this, workplace bullying for the modern age? Or does my life, in the eyes of my esteemed former personal maid, amount to nothing more than punctuality down to the second? Ah~ I get it. This must be some twisted expression of loyalty, right? Showing you care through death threats. What a touching master-servant bond-it gives me chills..."

Greg drew out his words, staring at Ellie with lifeless eyes.

Ellie seemed not to have heard his elaborate string of complaints. Maintaining her perfect smile, she tilted her head slightly, looked at him with those clear blue eyes, and continued:

"And coming to see me in such ragged clothes, young master? How rude. If you neglect your appearance like this again, I'll strip you naked and toss you into the fountain in the central square~"

Greg: "..."

He looked down at his Academy uniform, covered in dust, scorch marks, and tears, then looked back up at Ellie, whose every strand of hair was immaculate in the moonlight.

"Public execution for looking scruffy?! Aren't your punishments getting more and more bizarre?! Besides, whose fault is it I look like this? It's because I had to rush over to meet someone who left me a death notice and disappeared! You think I wanted to climb this ridiculously tall Clock Tower dressed like a beggar?!"

Ellie blinked, seemingly giving it some thought, then lightly clapped her hands as though struck by a revelation:

"Ah, now that you mention it, that was indeed an oversight on my part. Next time, I'll prepare a change of formal clothes for you before carrying out your punishment. That should solve the problem, shouldn't it?"

"It absolutely does not! The clothes aren't the point!"

Greg pressed a hand to his forehead. Communicating with this maid, whose mind worked so differently from everyone else's, felt more exhausting than dodging monsters in the Dungeon.

Just then, a drifting cloud passed, and clearer moonlight spilled down unobstructed, bathing the top of the Clock Tower in silver.

The next complaint Greg had been about to make caught in his throat.

Because beneath that cool moonlight, he saw it clearly.

Deep in Ellie's blue eyes, always curved in a perfect smile, something flashed past before she could fully conceal it: worry so profound it seemed impossible to dispel.

That worry was so real that it formed an absurd, jarring contrast with her breezy threats of "I'll kill you" and "I'll strip you naked."

Ellie seemed to realize the moonlight had betrayed her, too. The rehearsed smile on her face faded slightly.

She looked at Greg, remained silent for two seconds, then spoke in a tone utterly unlike the one before, so calm it was almost cold:

"Next time, don't pull that disappearing act on me again. You... hopeless idiot."

No threats, no jokes, and no honorifics.

Just a blunt statement, even tinged with impatience.

Greg froze.

After saying that, Ellie turned away and looked back down at the scattered lights of Yenil City, leaving Greg with only her profile, edged in silver by the moonlight.

The night breeze lifted her long golden hair, brushing strands across her expressionless face.

As Greg watched her, most of the irritation in his heart suddenly dissipated.

He knew.

Neither her words nor her tone betrayed the slightest concern, but he knew better than anyone-Ellie meant it.

She truly was worried about him.

If she didn't genuinely care, why would she have followed him without hesitation to the very end in all those fucking "Bad Ends" in the original story, no matter what idiotic path he chose or what miserable fate he suffered, accompanying him toward that wretched ending that had been inevitable all along?

She was the only one.

The one person who would stand beside him from beginning to end.

Even if he wasn't the protagonist of this world, even if he played the villain everyone despised, even if he got himself killed time and time again.

"Honestly..."

Greg sighed softly, his voice scattering in the wind. "What is there about me that makes you go this far?"

He took two steps forward to stand beside Ellie, looking down at the city at night as she did.

"Listen, Ellie."

He spoke, his voice much calmer now:

"I'm not a noble anymore. The Sass Family struck me from their rolls, and you're no longer my maid, either. You're free now. Why not... take this chance to live the life you want?"

"The life I want?"

Ellie turned her head, a trace of genuine confusion appearing on her face, as if she couldn't understand why Greg would ask that question.

"I believe I'm already living the life I want."

"Huh?"

"Because..."

Ellie explained earnestly, even raising a finger:

"Whenever I'm annoyed, I can beat you with my sword, and that makes me very happy. If I did that to someone elsewhere, I'd probably become a wanted fugitive. That would be a hassle. So I'm already quite satisfied being able to beat you legally. This is the life I want."

Greg: "..."

He took a deep breath, feeling that little surge of emotion he'd just experienced go straight down the drain.

"Hey! You rotten maid! What do you take your master for?! Your personal emotional punching bag?! A human stress-relief toy?!"

"Former master," Ellie corrected calmly.

"A former master is still a master! Show me some respect, damn it!"

But despite his shouting, Greg knew Ellie's words were only half the truth.

Beating him might genuinely make her happy, but the deeper reason was that "leaving" had never even occurred to her as an option.

She had long since bound her own existence to the person named Greg Sass.

Whether he was a noble or a commoner, whether he was riding high or down on his luck.

If he had a choice, Greg actually didn't want her to stay by his side.

To him, this world was fraught with danger. All those death CGs, both known and unknown, hung over his head like the sword of Damocles.

Following him would only drag Ellie into the same dangers. Her absurdly powerful combat abilities might even trigger a worse chain reaction, leading her toward those bad endings.

Although Greg had expected she might not leave easily, he hadn't anticipated how adamant she would be.

Greg sighed again, this time with greater resignation.

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

He gave up trying to persuade her and switched to a more practical subject:

"But let me make this clear first: I'm barely scraping by myself right now, roughing it in that hellhole of a Dungeon. So I probably won't be able to pay you for the time being..."

He paused, his gaze sliding meaningfully toward the little leather purse at Ellie's waist, which looked rather substantial.

"...Wait. You should have some savings right now, shouldn't you?"