The woman stared deadpan as she met the disciple's gaze, and Rue stared equally so.
"Aiya~" the maid murmured under her breath, stunned by the intimate embrace.
Several seconds passed, and the flustered state of the maid gradually turned into uncomfortable awkwardness.
Feeling overwhelmed, the maid averted her gaze from meeting Rue's.
"...May you please let go of me…" she asked in an unexpected whisper.
Rue nodded before unraveling the cradle of his arm from around her waist.
Feeling the lifted warmth of his touch, the maid released a grateful sigh.
Settling her crestfallen gaze onto the ground, her face flushed crimson from embarrassment as she recalled the past thirty seconds of chaos ignited from her episode of anger.
How unprofessional of her… She had believed herself to be mature, dogmatic, responsible since she was raised with a specific set of doctrines that were pounded numbingly into her mind.
She had believed it to be a given that her emotions would be shrouded—buried under the leverage of rules.
And yet, she had disproved this belief with her own actions.
She had acted out of place, not in accord with the regulations of her master.
All because she couldn't handle some flared motions.
How childish~
I've grown arrogant…
The maid had grown too arrogant.
And the reason being?
A skewed perception of social schema.
Her actor–observer bias had bled into her personality, tarnishing it into a bratty, undignified, and emotionally volatile manner which heavily contrasted with the professionalism expected of her position.
She was a mere maid acting in such a way.
Simply said, since the woman served in the Reigner family as an upper-end maid, she had gradually begun to mimic the actions, the mannerisms—hell, even the thought patterns—her pride grew lopsided.
She unconsciously began believing her social standing was higher than it actually was.
A self-inflicted delusion…
And yet, here she was, with the gall to hypocritically critique the worth of the man her Lady had handpicked as disciple.
The maid's lower lip trembled.
Her expression shifted through many forms as she wrestled with the discovery of her newfound emotions.
Grife.
Anguish.
Surprise.
Anxiousness.
…ect.
This was a paradigm shift in itself—this whole entourage of events was a life lesson which, while not intentional, was still a lesson.
Watching from the sidelines, Rue stepped back while smiling knowingly.
He already understood her current stir of emotions, having experienced similar self-deprecating feelings when slapped with the cold hard truth of reality.
During that time the inquisitor was much younger…naive.
'She's between a rock and a hard place,' Rue mused internally, 'she either has to stubbornly go against the grain, or she rectifies her actions at the expense of her current mental freedom.'
he shook his head.
Rue didn't harbor any ill will toward the black-haired maid, after all she was still young and dumb.
Such rash and petty squabbles were just part of the learning experience leading toward maturity.
'Man, I'm unfortunately getting old… and well, shouldn't the older generations help nudge the young toward the right direction, no?' Rue chuckled mirthfully.
Funnily enough his mentor used to say similar things, and he, as the rowdy youth he was, he'd always dismiss these little comments as the annoying self-perpetuating rubbish the old said in order to intensify their persona as 'wise'.
Taking advantage of this somber respite, he spoke.
"I apologize for my stupid, retarded, unbecoming impulsiveness," Rue said after noticing a short hitch between the maid's soft sniffing.
As a gesture of goodwill, he extended his arm forward with his palm open expectantly.
"Huh?" the maid choked out, nipping her lower lip in order to quell its quivering.
"You're not mad?" she asked, genuinely confused by Rue's lack of palpable hostility, or even the slightest bit of reaction.
She had attacked him, so shouldn't he at least be a tad bit pissed?
"Nah, you're still young," Rue said with a shake of his head and dismissive flick of his wrist. "My childish antics and lousy informal attitude were the kindling that sparked your anger. So why are you the one apologizing?"
"As I said earlier, I sincerely apologize for that."
The maid nodded softly, understanding the disciples' sediment.
Looking at his extended hand, the maid hesitated, but after a second of contemplating she began to inch her hand forward until she met the man's outstretched own in a formal, yet understanding way.
Both parties were at fault.
"But," she stammered, "I'm the one who attacked you. Yes, while you were being a hard-ass that doesn't just merely equate to a simple mistake on my part, but a willing disconnect from my lady's orders." the maid protested.
"I attacked you, Rue—my master's disciple—out of an emotional impulse."
"That's an unforgivable sin for a servant, and I'm willing to pay any price." she lastly said with a conviction that didn't meet her eyes.
However, despite her protests, he saw through her facade immediately, in front of Rue such a flimsy guise would crumble immediately.
He could clearly see it in her eyes, they stubbornly held unshed tears.
With a long, drawn out sigh, the disciple pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Enough with the punishment stuff. I don't really care about what you did," he said, annoyed.
~~~
~~~
~~~
Sitting on a couch adjacent to the bed, Rue and the maid sat next to each other at a respectable distance.
The woman sat with perfect posture, hands resting lightly on her thighs, while Rue leaned forward, elbows propped on the inner thighs, and his fingers intertwined by the tips.
"...."
The maid 'reluctantly' complied with Rue's insistence on moving past the punishment discordance, after he had cut her off for the nth time.
"From the looks of it, we're both cut from the same cloth, we have the same master." he joked.
"And as it stands, we might see each other quite often since you're my master's personal attendant."
"So, with that said and out of the way, I'd say we should get better acquainted." he offered.
"What do you have in mind?" asked the maid after a pause.
"What's your name? Since you know mine?" Rue pressed.
"My name's Liana. A fitting moniker for a mere maid," she exclaimed with a bit of pride.
"Liana, huh?"
BANG!
POOF!