"Wow, nice weather today."
Sol calmly withdrew his hand from Ellen's tail as if absolutely nothing had happened.
He hadn't done anything wrong, after all. Just a friendly skinship between friends.
He was pure, upright, spotless. Ellen, on the other hand, had middling grades in high school.
The two of them—completely, without question—were nothing more than pure friends.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Sol and I are just ordinary friends."
Ellen recoiled like she'd been electrocuted, yanking her tail back at lightning speed. Head bowed, her voice came out stiff and dry.
At that moment, she couldn't even bring herself to meet Nicole's gaze.
Even though nothing had happened, she still felt that weird, guilty sensation—like a mistress caught mid-tryst, clothes half-off, as the wife barged in.
But she really was just friends with Sol!
Even if Sol had begged the heavens open, she never would've let him touch her tail.
Ellen couldn't explain herself. Her dainty feet shifted uneasily, like she didn't know where to put them.
"…"
Nicole stared silently at the two.
"Just the tail." "Just ordinary friends."
She didn't believe a word of it.
That hand had been creeping further up the tail—give it another minute, and would it still be just "the tail"?
And would "ordinary friends" really let each other do that?
Nicole saw right through them. Sol—you damned scoundrel!
Her eyes swept over Ellen. Pretty. Youthful. Definitely not Nicole's type.
But in one department, Nicole crushed her.
She straightened her back proudly, chest forward—radiating overwhelming victory. She would be the champion in the end.
"Say something, Boss Nicole!"
The cat-girl tugged Nicole's sleeve, whispering nervously.
Sol narrowed his eyes immediately. So, it was this little tattletale who'd reported him. Bold little thing… good thing he still had some [Super Cat Treat] left in reserve.
Nicole snapped out of her daydream and forced a calm tone:
"Sol, care to introduce this maid?"
"This is Miss Ellen, maid of Victoria Housekeeping. We met at the arcade. Billy and Anby both know her. Yesterday I forgot to mention—the commission I took was from Victoria Housekeeping. Aside from the 1.2 billion Dennies as payment, they also threw in a few free service sessions."
Nicole nodded faintly.
Her background checked out—nothing shady.
And indeed, the room looked tidier, more comfortable.
But based on Sol's hand placement earlier… their so-called "cleanliness" wouldn't last long.
She had to cut this sprout before it grew.
Nicole extended her hand toward Ellen.
"Hello, I'm Nicole, head of the Cunning Hares—Sol's boss and girlfriend. Thanks for tidying his place up, now he can live more comfortably."
"Hello. I'm Ellen." Ellen accepted the handshake, her tone calm. "No need to thank me. Providing clients with a satisfying experience is just the professionalism of the Victoria Housekeeping."
Two delicate, beautiful hands clasped. Firm pressure. Controlled strength.
Ellen's brows furrowed slightly.
Is this woman's trying to posture? Tch. Well, you picked the wrong opponent.
So childish. She and Sol were just friends, nothing more.
But still… now she was irritated.
Nicole, meanwhile, smiled sweetly.
She had already won. Overwhelmingly.
Ellen and Sol were truly "just friends." But then, she would still take precautions.
Though one question lingered—what exactly was this "Victoria Housekeeping"? She'd never heard of them.
And if they could casually throw 1.2 billion Dennies at Sol, clearly they weren't some small fry.
At last, the handshake ended.
Nicole smiled again. "Victoria Housekeeping must be very busy, yes? For something as small as tidying up, we can handle it ourselves. No need to trouble a professional maid."
On that word—maid—she bit down hard.
Ellen was just the help. Nicole, meanwhile, was the rightful queen.
"…"
Ellen's eyes flickered, chest rising and falling slightly.
She had planned to retreat, but suddenly a streak of stubbornness surfaced.
She knew Nicole. The leader of the Cunning Hares. A woman who'd simply gotten lucky—picked up Sol by accident, then somehow formed an ambiguous relationship with him.
Sure, she was good-looking. Sure, she had the figure. Sure, she had those sly fox eyes.
But beyond that? Looks, age, and dumb luck. That was all.
If Rina the Head Maid had been the one to meet Sol, would Nicole even be in the picture?
Ellen straightened, meeting Nicole's gaze with calm defiance.
"Sorry. Sol is Victoria Housekeeping's most valued partner. I have no authority to terminate his service. Unless he dismisses me, I'll continue—as per his request."
"And aside from that, as Sol's friend, helping him tidy up a little is only natural."
On the word friend, she pressed her tone hard.
She stood tall, upright as a drawn blade.
"…"
Sol felt a toothache coming on.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Ellen, usually so cold, suddenly had to go and get fired up?
Still, it was only a two-person love battlefield.
If he couldn't survive this, when he eventually moved on Anby, the entire world might collapse.
"Tell me, Ellen—does 'tail-touching' also fall under housekeeping services?"
Nicole's fox eyes narrowed, her voice sharp with frost.
Friends could mean nothing. But it could also mean much more.
And tail-touching? That was clearly leaning toward the latter.
This maid—was she trying to challenge Nicole's throne?
How outrageous. Absolutely shameless.
Ellen shifted slightly, awkward. "…That was Sol's request."
Please, let's not bring this up, she begged silently. She was embarrassed enough already.
"And you just gave in?"
Nicole's tone rose.
"He insisted."
Ellen's voice was flat.
"And if he insists, you give?"
Nicole's voice trembled.
"He pressed me for a long time. He's a friend."
Ellen's shoulders sagged. She regretted it. If she'd known it'd come to this, she never would've let Sol touch her tail.
"Cat, is that true?"
Nicole whipped around toward the cat-girl, fury simmering.
Her walls were being dug out, and worse—her wall had helped loosen the dirt.
"That's… exactly what happened, yeah."
The cat-girl sneaked a glance at Sol's blank expression, swallowing hard.
She had a bad feeling things were about to go really south.
"Sol. Do you have anything to say?"
Nicole's voice was low, trembling with equal parts rage and hurt.
"…Sigh."
Sol let out a long breath, head aching.
Nicole, right now, was both a furious tigress and a wounded puppy.
Ellen, meanwhile, hadn't voiced it, but her emotions were a knotted mess.
If he handled this wrong… he was going to be in big trouble.