Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 167: VOL 3 - 5: You really love drama, Seraphina.

Upon hearing her young master's question, Seraphina smiled charmingly and quickly produced from her storage ring a beautiful black crystal card with golden details at the corners and a multitude of carved runes. On one of its faces, it bore an engraving of an ancient golden scale holding a simple-looking spear, which she showed to her young master as she spoke in a calm, professional tone.

"There's no need for you to worry about that, young master. Your personal maid is not only a certified lawyer, but also, the young miss and Master Silverwood foresaw the situation and have already contacted the best law firm at the university, which will be entirely at your disposal and will support you in everything you need."

"So you're also a lawyer..."

Erik commented, a bit surprised, as he looked at the card Seraphina had placed in his hands before resuming her massage of his shoulders. He especially noticed the strange spear in the engraving, which, for some reason he couldn't understand, gave him an odd sensation, as if he were somehow before an immemorial relic that had witnessed history itself. But he quickly shook his head gently to dismiss the strange thought and then said in a somewhat agitated voice.

"Seraphina... you're definitely the best personal maid in existence..."

His young master's words set butterflies fluttering in Seraphina's stomach, while a charming blush took over her beautiful face and an enchanted smile appeared on her lips. At that moment, she spoke in a soft, tender voice, worlds away from her usual serious, professional tone.

"Fufu, thank you very much for the compliment, young master. This Seraphina exists only to serve and care for you, and rest assured that I will do everything in my power to continue being the maid worthy of your praise and affection..."

Hearing his reliable personal maid, Erik couldn't help but take the small hands on his shoulders—causing them to pause—then raise his head to look into his maid's beautiful gray eyes. At that moment, he spoke in a calm yet sincere voice.

"You really don't have to do so much, Seraphina. You're already perfect—maybe even more than that—so you can relax a little. I don't appreciate you because you're perfect; I appreciate you for who you are: for all the effort you put into taking care of me, for how mischievous you are, for how jealous, for how playful, for how fun. In short, you're an irreplaceable part of my everyday life, to the point that I don't know what I'd do if one day you decided to leave. So don't overexert yourself; I don't want you to end up burned out and tired of me, hehe."

Upon hearing her young master's sincere words, Seraphina's entire persona of the perfect maid crumbled as her expression melted into one of pure ecstasy and almost obsessive love. She lifted her hands from her young master's shoulders and, with extreme care—like handling the finest, most delicate porcelain—took his face, then tenderly kissed his forehead.

"Erik... I could never tire of you. I am your personal maid and will remain so for all eternity; rest assured. So never say that again. In all my long, dark, and lonely existence, the only bright spots have been these last centuries alongside Sigrún and Eleonora. But that brightness is a mere firefly compared to the sun these last few years by your side have been. These years have been the happiest I've ever had..."

"I don't think I'm that special... but I feel the same. I also feel incredibly lucky to have you in my life. You're exactly what my life needed, yet it seemed so out of reach that I never even dared to dream of it..."

Though somewhat surprised by both Seraphina's change in demeanor and her calling him by name, Erik still spoke in a warm voice, looking directly into the gray eyes of his beautiful maid to convey his sincerity. Her eyes widened with delight and happiness. At that moment, Seraphina spoke in a low, visibly enchanted voice.

"Thank you for allowing your humble maid to occupy a place in your heart, young master. I swear on my life that I will never let you regret it."

Hearing Seraphina, Erik couldn't help but smile with a hint of irony while shaking his head slightly. Then he spoke in a somewhat defeated tone, feeling the hands of his strange but adorable personal maid return to his shoulders to massage them diligently.

"You really love drama, Seraphina..."

"I'm completely serious, young master. This Seraphina lives and breathes for your sake. Without my young master, life has no meaning..."

Seraphina responded with a bright smile, reverting to her serious, professional demeanor. At that moment, Erik quickly stood and, with a fluid motion, turned to bring his face right in front of Seraphina's, who couldn't help but look at him, blushing—three parts nervousness and one part anticipation.

In that instant, the star-haired young man leaned in slightly and gently kissed the corner of his maid's tempting cherry-colored lips, then sat back down and spoke in a calm, carefree voice.

"Stop spouting nonsense, or I'll have to punish you."

"...Thank you for the sweet reward, young master."

Blushing so hard it seemed steam might billow from her head, Seraphina could only manage to speak in a heavy tone after several seconds. Erik chuckled in amusement as he settled back in his seat and took up the book he had been reading earlier, then commented in a calm voice.

"It's not a reward; it's a warning."

"I understand, young master..."

Seraphina replied in a breathless voice, pressing her hands tightly against her chest, afraid it might explode at any moment, as it was beating more powerfully and erratically than ever. Meanwhile, her mind wandered through ideas on how to get more of those incredibly delicious warnings.

But knowing that a perfect maid like herself couldn't afford to waste time like that, Seraphina quickly shook her head, brushing away all unnecessary thoughts. She then returned to tending to her young master with all her heart, massaging his shoulders with a technique she was still refining to this day in pursuit of the epitome of perfection.

...

Time passed slowly as Erik enjoyed the care of his beloved personal maid, eating delicious cookies and reading his book with full concentration, determined to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. But suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the parlor, which quickly faded, leaving two women of almost ethereal beauty in the center of the room. The star-haired boy promptly put his book away and rose from his seat.

"Mas... ugh—"

Before Erik could greet the lovely newcomers, a golden-haired missile slammed squarely into his stomach, causing him to flop back down onto the couch. Somewhat bewildered, he glanced down to see Sigrún, who had buried her face against his stomach, hugging his waist and kicking her feet against the couch to vent her obvious frustration.

"Are you alright, Master?"

Seeing Sigrún's state, Erik could only stroke her silky golden hair gently as he asked in a warm voice. The beautiful master responded with an annoyed huff, hugging his waist more tightly and kicking the couch even more erratically.

"Leave her be; she's just frustrated because she lost a bet and now has to make some potions for free, fufu." Eleonora commented playfully as she walked calmly toward the couch, to which Erik nodded in realization.

"Ohhh..."

With an amused smile on her face, Eleonora soon reached Erik and, after giving him a fond kiss on the forehead, sat beside him. She took his arm in her hands, then let her head rest on his shoulder as she asked in a curious, cheerful voice.

"And how did my brilliant businessman do at his meeting?"

"Pretty well. I reached an agreement with Desmond, and the Atticus family will purchase the licenses for versions 2 and 3 of Manalite, along with their respective production methods. We even reached an agreement for a license of the magic fabric's production method as soon as the patent is released."

"We have to celebrate!!!"

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Sigrún, who seemed to revive at Erik's words, leapt up and shouted excitedly as she hugged him, causing her beloved disciple's head to be buried deep in her voluptuous bosom. Eleonora, seeing Sigrún's childish behavior, commented with a lighthearted laugh.

"In that, you're right, Sig. We have to celebrate our brilliant businessman's first commercial success, fufu."

"That sounds like you're making fun of me..."

Freed from the soft, smothering sensation of Sigrún's embrace, Erik spoke skeptically as he looked at his masters, who immediately smiled warmly and clung to his arms while speaking in unison.

"Of course not." / "I would never make fun of my beloved disciple."

"Mmm..."

Not at all convinced, Erik eyed his masters suspiciously while they adorably nuzzled their heads against his shoulders like helpless kittens. In the end, he could only give in with a sigh, then put an arm around each of their waists as he said.

"Then I guess we should celebrate."

"Fufu/Hehe." In response, Eleonora and Sigrún smiled triumphantly, acting like little girls, to which Erik could only shake his head before changing the subject in a calm tone.

"By the way, you were right about my underestimating the powers of the Arcane Order. The Atticus family had a good idea of what Manalite version 4 means for the militia and came specifically for the related patents."

"See?! I told you—the Manalite you invented can shine on its own. Handing over the patents to the Order just to gain reputation and expand its use was silly. Good thing that old man had enough decency to buy them from you at a decent price." Sigrún quickly retorted, somewhat annoyed by her beloved disciple's foolish actions. Erik could only respond with an ironic smile.

"Hey, don't put it like that. I really wanted to donate the patents to show my support for the Order. Gaining reputation and expanding the use of Manalite is just a secondary benefit."

(Plus, you can't blame me. In my previous life, it took decades for plastic to start being used industrially, and if it hadn't been for the war that forced governments to look for cheap materials easy to produce on a massive scale, who knows how much longer it would've taken. So here, with no major wars on the horizon and such absurdly long lifespans, it was logical to assume that the widespread adoption of Manalite would be a super long-term project...)

Erik added inwardly, while Eleonora—smiling—kissed his cheek and spoke in a teasing tone.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart."

"I'm serious... Besides, even if the big players see the value of Manalite, it's hardly going to be obvious to the general public, who will ultimately be the end buyers. Their opinion matters a lot, so it's still necessary to build trust..."

Erik quickly replied in a serious tone, completely confident in his words. At that moment, Sigrún mimicked Eleonora and kissed his other cheek, then spoke in an equally playful and teasing tone.

"Hehe, wasn't it just to show support for the Order...?"

"..."

Finding himself outnumbered and cornered, Erik chose to remain silent and simply let his head fall back against the couch. There, Seraphina, wearing an amused smile, began gently wiping his face with a beautiful, fine-looking white cloth before cheerfully starting to feed him special cookies.

***

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