Servant has been gone three days, and honestly, these three days felt like a boat adrift on a gray lake.

First, without Servant’s care, my bed turned into sticky morning fog, and I didn’t want to rise. Second, Egisia Academy’s meals are tasty, but compared to Servant’s, they’re like lantern light next to the sun, so even eating lost its warmth.

Worst of all, I can’t pinch Servant’s soft cheeks; my hands itch like restless sparrows, and it drives me mad. I didn’t think I’d falter so fast after he left, but habit coils like ivy around a wall, all thanks to how well he tended me.

“Uh, um… Xinuo Miss, why have you been sighing so much lately, like autumn wind through dry reeds? Is something on your mind?”

A blonde beauty in a maid outfit stood at my bedside and spoke; she’s Yumigawa Senki, and as for the getup… two days ago, I noticed her face was like Servant’s reflection in still water, so I told her to wear a maid outfit, and the resemblance showed like matching moonlight—blood siblings indeed.

Sadly, Yumigawa Senki’s looks are the only clear spring here; everything else is a cracked basin.

Sigh.

I let out another sigh, like steam fading off hot tea. Sighing really doesn’t suit my image, but what can I do, when my days have grown used to Servant’s rhythm like cicadas to summer? I’ve existed longer than I can count, but I still crave comfort like a cat seeking the sunny spot.

Truly, Yumigawa Senki only has a face to show; in every other way she’s clouds without rain compared to Servant. Are you two really siblings?

“…Xinuo Miss, you’re not thinking something rude, like thorns under a rose, are you?”

Yumigawa Senki gave me a helpless look, a wry smile like a bent reed.

“Yumigawa Senki, listen.”

I sat up, ran a careless hand through my too-long hair like combing a wind-tossed willow, then eyed her and couldn’t help complaining. “Are you really a woman? Look at Servant—he’s a boy, yet his housekeeping is a full tool chest, and he’s flawless at cooking, laundry, and sewing. And you—never mind cooking or tea, you can’t even manage hair like a straight ribbon. I actually had hopes for you, and that hope broke like thin ice.”

“Xinuo Miss, you must know, in the entire Mizumi Clan, no one tends people better than Emperor; he’s like spring rain on thirsty soil.”

Hearing me, Yumigawa Senki’s smile soured again, like a lemon in clear water. “Besides, I can’t even do basic dressing up, and I spend my days training in deep mountains like a lone pine. I know I lack feminine charm, and I’m sorry to have let your expectations blow away like dandelion fluff.”

I stared at Yumigawa Senki for a long moment, my gaze weighing like a stone on scales. Her face is beautiful, her figure is excellent, and her chest… is very large—so large it clouds the sky.

“Uh, Xinuo Miss, why are you looking at my chest like a drawn blade? That’s got to be my imagination, right?”

She instinctively covered her chest and stepped back, like a fawn into the trees.

Sigh, forget it.

Instead of sighing like leaking bellows, I should find a way to discover—or train—a maid to stand in for Servant. Half of his level would be a lantern in snow.

Creeeak—

The door swung open, and in drifted a cute little girl with silver hair like moonlit streams, hugging a plush kitten and wearing a white dress like fresh milk. She’s Servant’s little sister, named Yumigawa Nozomi.

“Sister Xinuo!”

She scampered over like a sparrow to a branch, then pulled a few candies from her bag and offered them to me. “These are made by my brother! I couldn’t bear to eat them, like hoarding fireflies in a jar. Now they’re for you, Sister Xinuo—cheer up! No amount of complaining at Qianji Sister will turn her handy overnight!”

“Littlesky, you brat! You don’t have to salt the wound like winter wind!”

“I like the usual calm Sister Xinuo best, like a quiet pond! So hurry and bounce back!”

Ignoring Yumigawa Senki’s protest, the little sister stuffed the candy into my hand, wearing a smile soft as morning sun.

“Thanks.”

Getting comforted by a teeny loli—tsk, I’m slipping like sand through fingers. I shook my head, then stroked her silver hair, smooth as silk under water. Hm, that felt nice. Wait—wasn’t Littlesky the one who spent the most time with Servant at the Mizumi Clan? If that’s the case…

I asked at once, like tossing a pebble into a clear stream. “Back at the Mizumi Clan, you spent the most time with Servant, right?”

“Mhm, mhm! I’ve stuck to my brother since I was little like a shadow at noon! I’m definitely the one who’s been by him the longest!”

Proud as a tiny peacock, she puffed out her small chest like a sparrow balloon.

“Then you’re also the one who knows Servant best in the whole Mizumi Clan, right?”

“Of course!”

“Good. I have a task for you, Littlesky.”

“What task?” She tilted her head, cute as a fox cub listening.

“Simple.”

I unwrapped a candy, popped it in my mouth, and sweetness bloomed like ripe fruit under sun, the texture smooth as polished jade. No wonder Servant carries a perfect homemaker vibe; even his candy tastes like spring festivals.

After a brief sigh of admiration, I pointed at Yumigawa Senki like pointing out a path. “Train Yumigawa Senki into a maid. If she reaches half of Servant’s level… no, one third, that’s enough to light a paper lantern.”

“Eh? Me?”

Littlesky pointed at herself, then waved her hands like flustered butterflies. “I’m the same as Qianji Sister—when it comes to housework, my brain’s a blank field. Training a maid is impossible like growing lotus on stone.”

“I know that. But you’re very familiar with Servant, right? Including the way he cares for people—the rhythm, the warmth—like tea poured at just the right heat? So don’t overthink it. Train Yumigawa Senki by following the way Servant cared for you, like tracing a pattern. As for cooking, laundry, and tea-brewing, I’ll find others to handle those tiles.”

I swallowed the candy, its sweetness lingering like sunset glow, and added that.

“Oh? If it’s like that, maybe it’ll work!” Littlesky nodded, quick as a bobbing blossom.

“Um…”

Silent until now, Yumigawa Senki finally spoke, her tone helpless as drizzling rain. “Why me? And Xinuo Miss, what’s the reason you made me wear a maid outfit two days ago and banned all other clothes, like an edict?”

“It’s your face, Qianji Sister.”

“It’s your face.”

Littlesky and I spoke in chorus, our voices crossing like two sparrows midair. Huh, didn’t think we’d land on the same reed.

“What’s wrong with my face?”

Yumigawa Senki still looked lost, like mist without wind.

“Because you look a lot like Servant.”

Besides your face, can’t you be like him somewhere else too? The thought rose in me like smoke.

“I look like Emperor? It’s not that obvious, is it?” Yumigawa Senki still couldn’t let it go, clinging like a burr.

“It’s obvious!”

Littlesky whipped a few photos of Servant from her kitten bag, her tone firm as a struck bell. “Your hair and eye color match my brother’s like twin moons, and your features share plenty of lines, especially your face shape. In the Mizumi Clan, you’re the one who looks most like my brother, Qianji Sister!”

“Ha…”