Chapter 4: Thawing the Ice Queen
There was a very specific kind of terror that came with knowing your own body was being held hostage by a digital entity with a perverted sense of humor.
Leon stood perfectly still as the neon numbers ticked down in his peripheral vision while Beatrice stopped just three feet in front of him with her clipboard held firmly against her chest.
Her icy blue eyes were analyzing him like a scientist observing a particularly disgusting bug that had crawled onto a clean laboratory table.
"I am waiting for an explanation Leon," Beatrice stated in a voice that left actual frost lingering in the air. "You have destroyed valuable property and assaulted a high ranking member of the staff so you better have a spectacular reason for why I should not execute you right here."
The kitchen was so quiet that Leon could hear the erratic beating of his own heart pounding away in his ears.
He looked at Beatrice’s incredibly strict and beautiful face before letting his gaze travel down her tall figure.
Her black maid uniform was impeccably tailored and completely devoid of a single wrinkle but it was undeniably tight around her hips and thighs in a way that highlighted her perfect proportions.
[Countdown: 18... 17... 16...]
Leon knew that violently soiling himself in front of a dozen beautiful women would utterly destroy his will to live and probably get him killed anyway out of sheer disgust.
He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and allowed his newly awakened mana to circulate through his body to calm his trembling muscles.
"Well Lady Beatrice the truth is quite simple," Leon began as he took a bold step forward to close the distance between them.
Beatrice narrowed her eyes behind her glasses because a lowly male servant stepping toward her instead of cowering on the floor was a completely unprecedented event in this household.
She didn’t retreat but her grip on her silver clipboard tightened slightly as she prepared to unleash a burst of freezing aura to put him in his place.
Leon channeled all the fake confidence he had just used on Elara and looked directly into Beatrice’s chilling blue eyes without breaking eye contact.
"I merely lost my balance because I was severely distracted by how incredibly tight your skirt is," Leon said in a loud and clear voice that carried across the entire room.
Someone in the back of the kitchen actually fainted and hit the floor with a soft thud but nobody bothered to check on them. Elara’s jaw dropped so far it practically touched the spilled flour while Beatrice just froze completely in place like a poorly programmed NPC.
Leon didn’t stop there because the system’s objective required the full suicidal package and he only had five seconds left on the clock.
He lowered his voice into a smooth and sultry register while flashing her the most charming smile his poorly nourished face could manage.
"It looks terribly uncomfortable to walk in so I was just wondering if you needed any help taking it off," he added with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
[DING!]
[Quest Completed Successfully!]
[Your dignity and your trousers remain spotless.]
[Distributing Rewards: +15 Charisma, Skill ’Piercing Gaze’ Acquired, System Shop Unlocked.]
A warm and pleasant sensation washed over Leon’s face and body as the fifteen points of charisma instantly took effect.
His previously dull eyes seemed to brighten with a hidden depth while his posture naturally straightened out to make him appear far more appealing and confident than a servant had any right to be.
The newly acquired Piercing Gaze skill activated passively and caused his stare to take on a magnetic and almost hypnotic quality that locked onto Beatrice’s pupils.
The Head Maid of House Sterling was entirely speechless for the first time in her rigidly disciplined life. The sheer audacity of the comment had completely bypassed her mental defenses because her brain simply refused to accept that a weak male servant had spoken those words to her.
A faint tinge of pink began to creep up her pale neck as Leon’s newly enhanced gaze pierced right through her cold exterior and made her feel incredibly exposed under her uniform.
"You..." Beatrice finally managed to whisper as her icy aura began to waver uncontrollably around her. "You insolent arrogant little..."
Before she could summon her magic to turn him into a popsicle the heavy kitchen doors swung open yet again to interrupt the chaotic standoff.
A tall knight clad in gleaming silver armor stepped into the room with a heavy hand resting on the pommel of her sword.
"What in the Goddess’s name is happening in here?" the knight demanded in a booming voice that commanded immediate obedience.
it was almost like the entire House Sterling would gather at this point.
Leon recognized her instantly as Dame Valerie one of the personal bodyguards to the noble daughters of the house. She had fiery red hair tied back in a strict braid and a fiercely beautiful face marked by a small scar over her left eyebrow that only made her look more intimidating.
She was a powerhouse who could probably arm wrestle a troll and win without breaking a sweat.
Beatrice quickly adjusted her glasses and forced her blush to recede as she turned to face the knight with her usual strict demeanor.
"It is nothing Dame Valerie," Beatrice replied smoothly while purposefully stepping in front of Leon to block him from the knight’s view. "We merely had a minor accident with some flour and a servant who requires some extreme reeducation."
Leon raised an eyebrow at Beatrice’s sudden attempt to shield him from the scary knight because she had just been ready to murder him herself two seconds ago.
He couldn’t tell if his new charisma stat was working miracles or if she was just too embarrassed to let anyone else know what he had just said to her.
Valerie frowned and crossed her muscular arms over her armored chest as she surveyed the flour covered disaster zone and the paralyzed kitchen staff.
"Clean this mess up immediately because Lady Seraphina requires her post training meal in exactly twenty minutes," Valerie barked out before letting her sharp gaze drift over to Leon. "And get this filthy boy out of my sight before he ruins my appetite."
Leon kept his mouth shut and wisely decided to blend into the background because his system had thankfully stayed quiet since the knight’s arrival.
He watched Valerie turn on her heel and march out of the kitchen while Beatrice let out a long and frustrated sigh.
The Head Maid turned back to face Leon and he immediately noticed that her icy blue eyes were no longer glaring at him with pure hatred but rather a strange and cautious curiosity.
"You will report to my private office tonight after the evening shift is over," Beatrice commanded in a low voice that only he could hear. "If you are even one minute late I will personally freeze you from the inside out."
She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she spun around and marched out of the kitchen with her clipboard clutched tightly against her chest.
Leon watched her sway her hips as she walked away and couldn’t help but feel a massive headache building behind his eyes because surviving this estate was turning out to be incredibly complicated.
[System Notice: New items are available in the System Shop. Would you like to browse?]
Leon mentally told the system to shut up.
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