"The house seems a bit too old, doesn't it?" Sylph frowned, catching a faint musty scent in the air.

  "It's not too bad. I actually think it's quite nice. Having a place to live means having a home." Tia glanced around the living room, as if filled with anticipation for the future. However, she seemed even more attached to Kenley, following closely behind him no matter where he went.

  Kenley nodded."Tia's right. Space is scarce in the Imperial City. The church providing us with a decent residence is nothing short of the Mother Goddess's blessing."

  Sylph, however, remained unimpressed."That's easy to say, but the dust here is thick enough to bury someone, not to mention those dreadful cobwebs. With so many rooms, cleaning this place is going to be a nightmare. How are we supposed to rest tonight?"

  She wasn't wrong—the large house was nice, but maintaining it would be a real hassle. Wealthy merchants and nobles had servants to take care of such things, but Kenley had nothing. Cleaning a house this big would be no small feat.

  Just then, Tia stepped forward."Don't worry! Leave the cleaning to me! I may not know cleaning magic, but I can still do it by hand." Her gaze was firm and determined. Though she was once a princess, that was in the past—now she had to learn to adapt to her new identity.

  As a servant, it was her duty to ease her master's burdens at all times.

  Sylph was stunned. She clearly hadn't expected Tia to volunteer for housework. After a brief moment of thought, she suddenly smiled."Alright, if Tia is cleaning, I'll help too!"

  "You, Sylph?" Tia was visibly surprised.

  "Hehe, Tia, we've finally reunited. Let's face this challenge together!"

  "Alright!" Tia responded energetically.

  The two girls then turned to Kenley."Master (Kenley!), we'll get to work now!"

  Kenley was speechless. He hadn't even said anything yet, and these two were already so proactive. The house was huge, and if they had to clean it every day, it would be exhausting.

  He really needed to consider hiring some servants in the future…

  "Wait!" Kenley called out, stopping them.

  "Huh?" Both girls turned around, looking puzzled.

  "Neither of you are cleaning tonight."

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  "Why? Are you really going to let Tia sleep in such a filthy bed and stay in this rundown house?" Sylph placed her hands on her hips, looking indignant.

  So you're worried about Tia, huh? Kenley thought to himself.

  "No, I have other plans," he replied patiently.

  "Other plans? What plans? Don't tell me you're just looking for an excuse to slack off and stay at an inn instead? No matter how rich you are, you shouldn't waste money like that!" Sylph was completely baffled.

  Kenley sighed."Haven't you noticed something strange about this place?"

  "Strange?"

  Kenley pointed upwards.

  Following his gesture, Sylph looked up. But the moment she did, her face turned pale.

  "Ahhh!" She let out a shriek and lunged straight into Kenley's arms.

  With a thud, she crashed into him. Damn, as expected of the elven princess—she was soft as a cloud. Even through his coat, he could tell she was well-developed.

  "What's wrong, Sylph?"

  "S-Sp-Spider! A spider!" she stammered, trembling.

  "You're afraid of spiders?" A smirk played on Kenley's lips.

  "I'm not scared of anything else, but I'm terrified of spiders!" Sylph's eyes welled up with tears.

  "I see…" Kenley didn't doubt her fear, but he was curious."Aren't there spiders in the Elven Forest?"

  "There are, but I always lived inside the Tree of Life. I only saw them occasionally when I went outside." Sylph thought for a moment before answering.

  "Well then, I guess I can't count on you to clean." Kenley took a step back, putting some distance between them.

  "What do you mean by that?!" Sylph frowned at his retreat, assuming he thought she was being lazy.

  Kenley simply shrugged, offering no further explanation. The answer would be clear soon enough."Princess Sylph, neither you nor Tia need to clean tonight."

  "Why?" Tia couldn't help but ask.

  "Tia isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty!"

  Kenley shook his head."Tia, take a break tonight. You don't need to clean."

  "But why, Master? Tia doesn't understand."

  At that moment, the sound of chatter and horses neighing came from outside the front door.

  "They're here!" Kenley's lips curved into a smile.

  "They? Who's‘they'?" Sylph didn't understand, exchanging a puzzled look with Tia.

  "You'll see soon enough. Let's go take a look." Kenley ruffled Sylph's hair before heading outside.

  "You! You scoundrel!" Sylph's heart skipped a beat at his touch, and she blurted out,"I'm not some little child for you to keep patting my head!"

  Walking up beside her, Tia giggled."Sylph, it's obvious—Master likes you."

  Sylph's eyes widened in shock."W-W-Who likes me?!"

  "Master, of course." Tia shrugged.

  "Hmph! It's not surprising that he likes me! I am the princess of the Elven Forest. There are countless people who admire me—I don't care if he's one of them!" Sylph lifted her chin haughtily.

  Just then, a voice called out from the doorway."Sylph, stop being so full of yourself. I just think your head feels like a big golden retriever's—really satisfying to pat!"

  "A… golden retriever?" Sylph looked utterly confused.

  "Maybe it's some kind of pet?" Tia guessed.

  "What?! That scoundrel actually compared me to a pet?! I won't forgive him!" Sylph bristled with anger.

  "Wait, don't be mad, Sylph! I was just making a wild guess. Master was probably just joking with you." Tia quickly tried to calm her down.

  "Hmph! If it weren't for you, Tia, I wouldn't let him off so easily!" Sylph clenched her fists while trailing closely behind Kenley.

  "Hehe, Sylph, you're actually really cute when you're like this," Tia giggled.

  "Ah! Tia, you better not tease me!" Sylph lunged toward her.

  Tia laughed and dodged."Alright, let's hurry and catch up!"